From Voice to Power

Women´s Citizen Assemblies reimagining democracy 

Wednesday, 21 October

6-8 pm

Museumsquartier Wien – Raum D

The event will be held in English.

A short video will be shown about the world’s first Women-Only Citizens’ Assemblies, organised by DemNet in Budapest last year, focusing on women’s safety in public space and access to services. Afterwards, Eva Bördös, CEO of DemNet, Zsuzsi Tatusko, participant in the Budapest Women’s Assembly, Szilvia Temesvári, Deputy Mayor of Budapest’s 6th district, Saya Ahmad, District Mayor of Vienna’s 9th District, and Cornelia Perle, a board member of Frauen*solidarität, will share their experiences and discuss the challenges and opportunities for increasing women’s participation—particularly among young and migrant women—through deliberative democracy.

Eva Bördös has worked for 20 years as a trainer and consultant in citizen participation with civil society and public institutions. As Managing Director of DemNet Hungary, she promotes participatory innovations with a focus on inclusion and women’s participation in Eastern Europe and the Balkans.

Zsuzsi Tatusko is a female resident of Terézváros, the 6th district of Budapest and has participated in the Women’s Assembly last year. She would like to see this method used more widely to improve women’s representation until there are at least as many women as men at decision-making tables.

Szilvia Temesvári is Deputy Mayor of Budapest’s 6th district, Terézváros, with responsibility for education and citizen participation. In Terézváros’s Women’s Citizens’ Assembly, she served as the municipality’s political sponsor and champion, helping create the institutional conditions for women residents to deliberate on local issues and influence district policy. Her portfolio directly connects to the Assembly’s aims, particularly citizen participation and cooperation with civil society.

Saya Ahmad is a feminist and has served as the District Mayor of Vienna’s 9th District, Alsergrund, since June 2018. Citizen participation and a strong connection with residents are central pillars of her political identity and leadership. She understands participation not merely as occasional consultation, but as ongoing cooperation with residents on climate, transport, greening and urban-development projects. Particularly important to her are accessible neighbourhood-level formats and the concrete implementation of residents’ ideas.

Cornelia Perle is a board member of Frauen*solidarität Austria and Policy Advisor at DemNet Hungary. She works since 1998 on democratisation, citizen participation, conflict transformation, and women’s rights. At the Council of Europe, she coordinated projects on election support and political participation in Eastern Europe and the Balkans.

Eine Veranstaltung im Rahmen der Demokratiewoche des Bündnis 2025