ZAMBOANGA CITY Mayor Beng Climaco was featured from among over a dozen selected mayors and practitioners from all over the world and spoke at the Strong Cities Network's “Strong Cities, Strong Female Leadership,” in celebration of International Women's Day.
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| Mayor Beng Climaco |
Strong Cities Network is the first ever global network of mayors, policymakers and practitioners united in building social cohesion and resilience to counter violent extremism in all its forms.
In its recent publication, it said that while overall global numbers of female participation in politics are rising, there is a lot of work to be done. And also cited a recent study by the World Economic Forum that said just 38% of all nations have had a female head of government or state for at least a year in the past 50 years.
It added that the United Nations Development Programme’s newly published Gender and Social Norms Index reveals that around 50% of the world feels that men make better political leaders.
And because of that and to help change this perception, “we chose to celebrate International Women’s Day (on March 8), by asking leading female mayors, policy leaders, directors and practitioners from a broad spectrum across our global network to give their views. This is what they said.”
The first in the list to answer was Climaco and these were the answers she had given to a set of questions from the organizer.
Why is female leadership important to building community resilience? “Women by nature are nurturing, caring and can multitask across the workplace, at home and with their families. When rebels attacked our city, my priority was our people – 120,000 were displaced and many living in fear. Being a family counsellor, I made sure hostages got psychological first aid. By night, I would be in communities reassuring their safety. This built trust since people knew the Lady Mayor was present with them.”
What advice would you give to girls and women aspiring to get involved in local government? “Follow your heart. Make your voice heard. You are a leader with the heart.”
How can we as a global society support increased female leadership on local issues? “Hone women from childhood. My mom told me to speak out for my rights as a girl and teenager. We must continue to educate women of our rights and our significant roles in contributing to our community.”
Among in the list or mayors and professionals were the following: Mayor Anna König Jerlmyr, Stockholm, Sweden; Mayor Valérie Plante, Montreal, Canada; Vice-Mayor Rina Mariann Hansen, Oslo, Norway; Rubina Abu Zeinab, National Coordinator for Preventing Violent Extremism, Lebanon; Gulmina Bilal, Director for Individualland in Nowshera, Pakistan; Munira Hamisi, Director for CVE and Community Engagement in Mombasa, Kenya; Malin Martelius, Safety and Security Coordinator in Malmö, Sweden;
Julie McKercher, MERIT Specialist from Ottawa, Canada; Marijeta Mojasevic, Youth Advisor in the Municipality of Berane, Montenegro; Johanne Nilsen, Crime Prevention Coordinator in Kristiansand, Norway; Rehema Zaid Obuyi - Integrated Initiatives for Community Empowerment in Nairobi, Kenya; Joumana Silyan-Saba, from Los Angeles in the U.S.A.; Desanka Stoshevska, Secretary of the Municipality of Kumanovo in North Macedonia.
“Our sincerest thanks to all the mayors and practitioners who contributed to the making of the article. We’re proud to share the diversity of voices across our network and would love to hear yours,” said Strong Cities Network.
In January this year, the Strong Cities Network also invited Climaco to join a group of selected global mayors for an audience with His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
Climaco said she was impressed by the wisdom of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, who talked about the Covid-19 pandemic and appreciating medical scientists and health workers for their sacrifices, learning and listening to experts, and telling everyone to be cautious.
The January 27 webcast was held from the residence of His Holiness in Dharamsala in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh and broadcast live in Zamboanga City in the Philippines, India, Los Angeles and Washington DC in the United States, London in the United Kingdom, Beirut in Lebanon, Nairobi in Kenya, Surabaya in Indonesia and Melbourne in Australia.
The 14th Dalai Lama is the current Dalai Lama, the highest spiritual leader of Tibet, and considered a living Bodhisattva, an emanation of Avalokiteśvara. The Dalai Lamas are also leaders of the Gelug School, which is the newest school of Tibetan Buddhism and was formally headed by the Ganden Tripas. (Zamboanga Post)
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