Club of Madrid and Gender Equality
The Club of Madrid is an independent organization dedicated to strengthening democratic values and leadership around 
the world by drawing on the unique experience and resources of its Members –more than 70 democratic former Heads of State and Government from 50 countries who contribute their time, experience and knowledge to this mission. The Club of Madrid’s membership constitutes the world’s largest forum of ex-Presidents and ex-Prime Ministers.
Background
The Club of Madrid was launched following the Conference on Democratic Transition and Consolidation (CDTC), held in Madrid, Spain , in October 2001. At that unprecedented gathering, 35 heads of state and government from Europe, the Americas, Asia and Africa met with more than 100 of the world’s most respected scholars and policy experts to discuss the problems of building democracy from both a theoretical and practical point of view. The CDTC looked at eight core issues, including constitutional design, the legislature and its relations with the executive, the judiciary and its relations with the executive, anti-corruption measures, the role of armed forces and security forces, reform of the state bureaucracy, strengthening of political and social pluralism and of political parties, and economic and social conditions.
The Club of Madrid’s primary asset is its membership, which includes more than 70 distinguished former heads of state and government of democratic nations. The Club of Madrid seeks to leverage the first-hand experience of its members to assist countries with critical elements of their democratic transition or consolidation. A distinguished group of scholars, former policy makers and political leaders provides additional advice and assistance on a wide range of issues. The Club of Madrid is supported institutionally by the Fundación para las Relaciones Internacionales y el Diálogo Exterior (FRIDE) and the Gorbachev Foundation of North America (GFNA), the original sponsors of the 2001 conference.
African Women Leaders Project
The African Women Leaders Project (AWLP) is an 18-month initiative led by the Club of Madrid and funded by the European Commission and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and Gender Equality , which aims to provide support to high-level women leaders in Nigeria Sierra Leone and Uganda . The project will contribute to the strengthening of female political leadership and, in the long-term, to greater public confidence in women political leaders and increased women’s political participation.
Specific objectives
- Provide women political leaders with new resources and skills to strengthen political leadership
- Identify and share best practices from the region and internationally for increasing women’s political participation, including gender quotas and other affirmative action policies;
- Facilitate the sharing of experiences and dialogue between national women parliamentarians and outstanding women political leaders in Africa and throughout the world;
- Establish high-level, specialized networks among reform-minded leaders in the region and internationally, to enable the sharing of knowledge and resources;
- Promote greater gender awareness of the obstacles to women’s political participation and the centrality of equal political participation to a functioning democracy;
- Increase women’s political participation in target countries through devising relevant advocacy strategies and identifying feasible policy options.