Croatia

Empowering Istrian women to empower themselves

One of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom’s main objectives is to ensure gender equality, and to work with its partner organizations to lay the foundations for each and every individual to enjoy the same opportunities. Appropriately, it is often progressive political parties that bring about this societal change.

The Women’s Club of the liberal party „Istrian Democratic Assembly“ (IDS), established as official body of the party in 2013, organized a workshop to consider how the members can actively work to improve the situation for Istrian women. It was only fitting that the meeting was held during the start of the Carnival season, when symbolically everybody puts his or her old behavioural patterns and roles behind, striving to reach new goals and to set new frontiers. So did the Women’s Club.

The workshop focussed on two ideas: One was to develop ideas for future projects of the Women’s Club, the other focus was to organizationally and communicatively prepare the club for the implementation of such specific projects. There were plenty of ideas for concrete projects because unfortunately, Croatia is still far from being an ideal country for its female citizens.

The participants discussed in detail and with great commitment which structural changes both within the party and within the Women’s Club need to be introduced in order to implement concrete projects. Thoroughness comes before speed, and the best project ideas are of little use if the organization is unable to realize them. So the Women’s Club decided to improve both their own capacities while trying to improve the situation for Istrian and Croatian women altogether.

This weekend has shown: The Western Balkans office of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation will continue to support the IDS Women's Club in enabling itself to actually implement the many great ideas of its own highly committed members.