Ten years of empowering liberal women.
In an era of growing threats to women’s rights, the Alliance Of Her 10th Anniversary Summit in Brussels stood as a powerful reminder that equality and democracy go hand in hand.
On 23 October 2025, over 150 alumnae and allies of the Alliance of Her, ALDE Party’s flagship women’s empowerment programme, gathered for a 10th Anniversary Summit in Brussels.
The European Liberal Forum opened the Summit with a panel examining how media narratives influence gender equality. Elena Sánchez, Editor of EU Observer, highlighted how subjective headlines shape public perceptions of female politicians, while Eva De Bleeker of Open VLD discussed the ethics of gender quotas in politics and harmful stereotypes that are reinforced by media framing.
Moderator Georgia Brooke kicked the event off, alongside ALDE President Svenja Hahn who affirmed:
“Female empowerment is crucial to a liberal society. It is the core of liberalism. With the times we are in, we cannot take anything for granted. Misogyny is a political strategy used to make us feel small and to eradicate our positions of power.”
European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos gave an inspiring speech to the crowd about the importance of preserving women’s rights and pushing for liberal values:
“Autocrats fear strong women. Women rights are always among the first to go when societies take a turn. Women’s empowerment always leads to better, stronger and fairer societies. When half of the population is missing from the decision-making processes the whole society loses.”
Oana Țoiu, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Romania, spoke about the effects of generational turnover in producing new opportunities that previous women would not have had.
The afternoon continued with a deep dive into one of the core themes of the Summit: “Her Power, Our Freedom”. Trailblazing Hungarian politician and activist Katalin Cseh led a provocative conversation on how to channel outrage into action and impact:
“Millions of women around Europe are demanding change, it is not a niche cause. This must be our strength. Anger is how we begin but solidarity is where we win. Change is not only possible, it is inevitable.”
The panel discussion featured some discussions on female resilience, online hate speech towards female politicians and disinformation campaigns:
Lena Borislavova, member of national assembly of Bulgaria pointed out that women are “27 times more likely” to be attacked online based on personality as opposed to men in similar positions of power.
Next, there was inspiring insight from Zuzana Čaputová, Former President of Slovakia, on democratic backsliding:
“Now is the crisis of democracy. Only functioning democracies can resist autocrats who threaten peace. Only stable democracies can ensure geopolitical stability. That is why the far-right and populist parties are gaining strength is so many countries."
The Summit concluded with a Gala Dinner, hosted by Renew Europe, including a panel with Alliance of Her Alumnae and current Members of the European Parliament: Svenja Hahn, Sigrid Friis Frederiksen, Raquel García Hermida-van der Walle and Anna Stürgkh.
Before the announcement of the Alliance Of Her Women in Politics Champion of the Year Award, two alumnae and current ministers, Diana Buzoianu, Romania’s Minister of Environment, and Romina Pourmokhtari, Sweden’s Minister of Climate and Environment, shared insights. The award was then presented to Marie Bjerre in recognition of her initiative during the Danish Council Presidency. She said:
“The rule-based order is bursting before our eyes. Autocracies are on the rise. In our time there has never more need for liberal values than now.’