Advisory Committee of Emakunde
The Advisory Committee is the space for liaison between the women's associations in the Autonomous Community and Emakunde.
• Created in 1998, through Decree 103/1998, dated 9 June, it has amassed a track record of more than 25 years.
• It participates in the design, monitoring and evaluation of the standards, plans and programmes driven by Emakunde to progress towards real and effective gender equality in the Basque Country.
• Its work processes integrate the knowledge provided by the women's associations into the Basque Government's gender equality policy.
• The Advisory Committee's work experience has enabled it to evolve in time and to define and practice its feminist model of sociopolitical relations.
• Throughout the Advisory Committee's history, numerous representatives of women's associations in the Basque Country have participated, reflecting the diversity of this movement. They have all dedicated their time, knowledge, efforts and enthusiasm to a shared project, which has contributed to their individual and collective empowerment.
• The Advisory Committee has been part of Emakunde's Board of Directors since 2005.
In conjunction with Emakunde, the Advisory Committee is made up of representatives of women's associations from Araba, Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa. The association representatives are proposed and ratified in the Associations' meetings held periodically in each region.
Any women's association in the Basque Country can take part in the Advisory Committee if it works towards gender equality and decides to commit to the training and work process required by its gender-focused model of sociopolitical relations.
Communications from the Advisory Committee are issued through different, interdependent spaces.
• Associations' Meetings: these are the driving force and the basis that nurtures and feeds the Advisory Committee. All the women's associations in the Basque Country can participate in them.
• Advisory Subcommittees: these are the Advisory Committee's operational workspace in each Historic Territory.
• Interterritorial Committee: this is the space where joint decisions between the association representatives of the three Historic Territories are made.
• Advisory Committee Plenary: this is the maximum decision-making body of the Advisory Committee. It comprises Emakunde and 12 association representatives (4 per Historic Territory). The chair is the Director of Emakunde.
• The Advisory Committee also participates in the following institutional spaces: The Board of Directors of Emakunde, the Begira Committee, the Judging Panel for the Emakunde Equality Awards and the Basque Board of Social Services.
Working system
For communication to be effective, all liaison work by the Advisory Committee follows guidelines and systems. In addition, every year, the Advisory Committee decides its priorities, schedules its actions and draws up an annual report which sets out its activity.
Training processes
One of the prerequisites for the Advisory Committee to be able to participate effectively is its continuous training in feminism and gender equality policies. All the association representatives take part in training processes through which they acquire the knowledge, skills and tools necessary for their liasing to be effective.
In 2023, with the slogan "Building feminist leadership through the associative movement of women", the Advisory Committee commemorated its 25th Anniversary. To do so, different initiatives were launched, with the following goals:
• Highlight and encourage visibility these 25 years of work.
• Create social memory of a process built collectively.
• Leave a legacy for the future and raise awareness of its history and evolution over time.
• Share the project, highlighting training and achievements.
• Identify the most immediate challenges that it has as a liaison space for equality.
• Motivate other associations to participate in the Advisory Committee and manage handovers effectively.
• Share the process and celebrate it with women's associations, entities and society in the Basque Country.
• Recognise the work of all the representatives of associations that have participated in the process.
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