28/06/2010 President
“We are witnessing a revolution of sorts – in Europe and the world – in which women are rising in large numbers to claim leadership roles in our societies," said PACE President Mevlüt Çavusoglu, encouraging young female leaders in his opening address today to the fifth annual Strasbourg Summer University for Democracy. "Much remains to be done, and the Council of Europe and its Parliamentary Assembly are in the midst of this struggle which I consider vital for the good management of the world of the future,“ he added.
Speaking on the theme ‘Crisis of Leadership’, the President recalled the adoption last week of a PACE Resolution on "democracy in Europe: crisis and perspectives", which called for the setting up of a Strasbourg Democracy Forum, as an umbrella structure providing an international reference in the field of democracy and a laboratory for new ideas and proposals. “All the major institutions of the Council would participate and a Delegate for Democracy could be appointed to lead and inspire this new Forum and provide continuous reactivity on democracy-related issues. This could give greater prominence and visibility to the Council of Europe’s message on democracy. I submit this idea to you, which in my view, merits serious consideration on our part,” he said.
He added that leadership, although necessary in all parts of society, always had to start with political leadership, be it in government or in parliament. “At the present time, governments can no longer spend much additional money, because little is left and a country’s credit rating might be in danger of downgrading if they do. So here it takes real leadership on the part of many of our governments and parliaments, to explain to the people why budget deficits and the national debt must come down, and to suggest ways in which the burden can be shared equitably among different groups in society. In addition, much leadership will have to be displayed in co-ordinating action with other European countries on how to do this, so that the actions of one do not compromise those of the others,” the PACE President explained.
He concluded by announcing that the Akdeniz University in his home town of Antalya, Turkey, would be very happy to play an active role in relation to the Summer University and the Schools of Political Studies.