"Women for Europe"

Project funded by the European Commission and undertaken by the Robert Schuman Foundation and the association Femmes, Débat et Société

The Robert Schuman Foundation and the Association Femmes, Débat et Société together with the European Commission are piloting a major communication project from now until the end of September 2008 in order to raise women's awareness of European issues. They hope by doing this to make their project one the themes of the French Presidency of the European Union.

According to recent polls and surveys women still show a certain amount of mistrust of the European Union. Given this fact the aim will be to reveal the decisive role played by women in Europe as well as the advantages Europe provides for women so that they take greater part in the debate on the future of Europe.

With this in mind several types of action are being planned, notably:

• A poll amongst women to draw up a review of women's expectations of the EU and to identify their priorities in terms of European policy;
• A series of communication activities on Europe designed for women;
• The organisation of an international conference that will rally a wide range of prestigious participants at the start of the French Presidency of the EU in Paris (July 2008);
• Publications on what Europe can bring to women and the specific features of women's expectations with regard to the future construction of Europe.

The targets of these activities will be, apart from French and European women, associations, young people, civil society, as well as French and European leaders