On 7 and 8 July 2025, the Tunisian city of Kairouan is hosting the workshop series “Water and Equality: Towards Inclusive Local Governance in the Kairouan Governorate”, with the participation of local government representatives, civil society organisations and elected officials from Tunisia, as well as a delegation of four Mallorcan mayors linked to the Les Elegides programme, promoted by the Fons Mallorquí de Cooperació. The delegation also includes the Island Director of Families from the Consell de Mallorca and the technical team of the Fons.
The event, organised with the support of PLATFORMA and the European Union, is part of a project aimed at strengthening municipal capacities in water management from a gender perspective. Over two days of joint work, participants share local and international experiences, reflect collectively on inequalities in access to water resources, and agree on commitments to advance towards more equitable, sustainable and participatory water governance.
The Mallorcan delegation reflects the political diversity of the island and the Fons Mallorquí’s commitment to consensus. Participating mayors are Margalida Fullana (Algaida), Leonor Bosch (Banyalbufar), Marian Serralta (Bunyola), and Paula Amengual (Montuïri). Each of them contributes her perspective on female leadership and transformative public policies at different discussion tables.
The sessions address key topics such as rights-based water governance, women's leadership in local politics, integration of water management into public policy, active citizen and civil society participation in climate change adaptation, and the need to promote multi-actor and multilevel cooperation to build joint and sustainable responses. The Island Director of Families will also share her experience from an island-based perspective.
According to Catalina Socies, manager of the Fons Mallorquí, this experience reinforces the commitment of Mallorcan municipalism to transformative and feminist cooperation, connecting local challenges with international solidarity.
This event is part of the Fons Mallorquí’s Mediterranean strategy. Since 2016, the Fons has maintained a professional collaboration with the city of Kairouan and the Local Democracy Agency. This alliance supports initiatives in local democracy, citizen participation, women’s rights and sustainability, with a focus on strengthening local capacities and respecting the specific dynamics of the territory. For this reason, the Fons’s technical team also takes an active part in the sessions.
Joint work has led to several participatory diagnoses related to water and gender, resulting in concrete action plans, the creation of North-South connections, and the positioning of Kairouan as a regional reference in the local implementation of the 2030 Agenda. This new cycle of workshops continues along that path and offers a renewed opportunity to exchange knowledge, build alliances and progress towards more inclusive and resilient local governance.