Creation of the Maison Citoyenne

• In 2009 Mamer Local Council signed the European Charter for Equality of Women and Men in Local Life.
• In 2015, the Commission for Equal Opportunities drew up an ambitious action plan aimed at mobilising local players, socio-educational partners and local associations to meet the challenges of equality, as set out in the Charter.
• Two years later, in 2017, the Department for Equal Opportunities and Social Inclusion was created to implement the action plan defined by the advisory commission.
• A major achievement is the opening of the Maison Citoyenne in the municipality of Mamer in 2020.

The Department for Equal Opportunities has launched a number of initiatives, such as encouraging women to register on electoral lists to ensure balanced representation by facilitating meetings between committed female politicians and residents of the municipality. A living library was organised in November 2016 to enable this meeting and thus motivate women to take the step towards greater political participation.

With the Maison Citoyenne, the local authority is now in a position to offer the following services:

• Setting up a first-line consultation service to inform residents of their rights and direct them to the relevant social services;
• Raising the profile of social services and associations at local and national level, with the aim of promoting equal opportunities and social inclusion;
• Training and facilitating public writers from all linguistic communities so that they can support Luxembourg and non-Luxembourg residents, particularly in understanding administrative correspondence and writing letters, in order to access their rights (from 2021);
• Organising consultation forums to encourage residents to participate in equal opportunities issues at local level and to step up the fight against discrimination;
• Offering activities to inform the public and raise awareness of the issues surrounding gender equality and the importance of combating discrimination;
• Hosting and planning activities in the Maison Citoyenne, organised by local players or residents and aimed at stimulating social cohesion;
• Hosting meetings of consultative committees at the Maison Citoyenne and supporting them in their reflections on the organisation of activities aimed at ensuring gender mainstreaming and strengthening democratic functioning (representation, consultation, accountability and inclusive monitoring).