State holds Municipal Conferences on Women's Policies throughout Pará
Events will continue until July in different Integration regions of Pará, as preparatory steps for the 7th State Conference in Belém
With packed auditoriums, concrete proposals, and active listening of local realities, the State of Pará began, this June, the cycle of Municipal Conferences on Women's Policies — a fundamental preparatory stage for the 7th State Conference, scheduled for next August.
Tucuruí, Xinguara, Conceição do Araguaia, and Marituba are among the first municipalities to hold the meetings, with the participation of the State Secretariat for Women (SEMU) and the State Council for Women's Rights. More than just an institutional agenda, the municipal conferences have established themselves as powerful spaces for democratic participation.
At the conferences, women from different backgrounds, territories, and experiences come together to formulate proposals, discuss priorities, and elect delegates who will represent their municipalities at the state level.
The cycle began on June 13 in Tucuruí, with the municipal conference involving leaders from the public sector and civil society in general. The agenda included a broad debate on the challenges faced by women in Pará. With the theme “More Democracy, More Equality, More Achievements for All,” the conference featured a keynote lecture that provided data and reflections on addressing gender-based violence and the role of social participation in the formulation of intersectional public policies.
“The conference in Tucuruí was an important milestone for this new cycle of listening and articulation. From the local reality, we are contributing to the construction of the Municipal Plan for Women's Policies and preparing the agenda for the State Conference. It is essential that the territories are at the center of decisions, with their demands and strengths recognized,” emphasized Márcia Jorge, coordinator of Combating Violence and Promoting Rights at SEMU.
The State Secretary for Women of Pará, Ana Paula Silva Gomes de Freitas, also reinforced the state administration's commitment to institutional strengthening and the construction of public policies based on diversity and the urgencies of the territories:
“Our commitment is to ensure that women's voices are at the center of decisions and that each municipality has the tools to build policies based on its reality. The conferences are spaces for strengthening democracy and the citizenship of women in Pará,” said the state secretary.
Xinguara and Conceição do Araguaia
Xinguara and Conceição do Araguaia expanded the listening; on June 18, it was Xinguara's turn, in the south of the state, to host its 3rd Municipal Conference on Women's Policies, reaffirming the importance of continuing local democratic processes. The event focused primarily on listening to the women of the territory to support the construction of the Municipal Plan and strengthen the bodies and councils for women's policies.
The proposals presented at the conference will be forwarded to the state stage, also forming the basis of the new State Plan for Women's Policies of Pará. The tool has been built based on direct dialogue with the population.
In Conceição do Araguaia, the first municipal conference in the history of the municipality mobilized society around a clear objective: to ensure that decisions on public policies for women reflect the real needs of the population. The meeting strengthened local female leadership and participatory democracy, as highlighted by the SEMU team present at the activity.
Marituba in Greater Belém
The municipality of Marituba held its 5th Municipal Conference on Women's Policies on the 24th, also with the support and presence of the State Secretariat for Women and the State Council. The mobilization brought together representatives from the public sector and civil society to discuss strategies for strengthening gender policies in the municipality, reaffirming the commitment to dialogue and collective construction.
Until July, the Municipal Conferences will take place in different Integration regions of Pará. The process will culminate in the 7th State Conference on Women's Policies of Pará, when the new state plan will be consolidated and Pará's representation for the national stage will be defined.
This initiative is part of the commitment of the Government of Pará to promote a territorialized, intersectional public policy based on the active listening of women in Pará. The state government aims to reaffirm its responsibility for gender equity, social justice, and the strengthening of democracy.
Text by Gabryella Pompeu / Ascom Semu
