Local leaders connecting Europe: celebrating our women local councilors on International Women's Day

Every day, our EU Local Councillors Network members do something remarkable.  

March is the month when we mark International Women's Day. It is a season to celebrate women from the EU Local Councillors Network who embody the commitment to bring Europe closer to their communities. 

They do not wait for Europe to come to their doorstep. They bring it home. 

Some do it through written words, like for instance Miina-Anniina Heiskanen from Oulu (Finland) with a piece in her local newspaper, on the 30-year anniversary of her country’s EU membership.  

Others contribute to making Europe visible in the public space. María Jesús de los Santos Alonso from Gines (Spain) raised the EU flag in her town, Sevilla, alongside other local leaders and educators, celebrating her municipality becoming the first in her region to join the EU Local Councillors Network.  

Some invest in connections and exchanges within the network, others in opening doors for future generations. Eglė Baranauskienė from Utena (Lithuania) organised a meeting where students discussed about the EU's role in their country, international relations and their own future. 

Katarzyna Łaziuk from Mińsk Mazowiecki (Poland) brought her community's perspective to a European networks conference covering from disinformation to green energy, mental health to youth education. 

We have also the example of Stefanie Schneider from Fuchsstadt (Germany). Together with the Volkshochschule  (adult learning centres) and Mittelschule Hammelburg, she organised the “EU Check”, an interactive lecture for the 9th and 10th grades, aimed at exploring the EU’s role in their daily lives. 112 participants were present, students and other interested citizens. The event covered topics such as drinking water standards, animal testing bans, data protection under GDPR and egg labelling. They are not alone. Many women leaders like Helena Correia, from Lousã (Portugal), Eva Martin Martinez from Sitges (Spain), Leena Suojala, from Hämeenlinna (Finland) have been active contributors since the start of our network, keeping the connection between Europe and their communities alive. 

What unites them all is a shared belief: European democracy works best when it gets close to people, one local initiative at a time.