On 02.09.2003 a Workshop and a conference was held for the Kanchipuram District Women Panchayat Presidents in Chengalpat. Mr. Dhanapal, District Senior Panchayat President, inaugurated the workshop and gave the keynote speech. Women Panchayat Presidents from different unions of Kanchipuram District took part in it. Since the number of people who took part was less than expected, after discussion with the Kanchipuram District NGOs it was decided that another Workshop and conference would be coordinated in the district.
On 16.09.2003, Conference and Workshop for the Virudhunagar District Women Panchayat Presidents was held in Virudhunagar. District Collector Mr. A. Aslam, IAS inaugurated this Workshop and gave the keynote speech. 48 women panchayat presidents from various unions in Virudhunagar district got took part and discussed about the work they have done, shared the problems they faced and in addition to these articulated their demands while they talked. At the end of the conference, Virudhunagar District Association of Women Panchayat Presidents was formed.
On 23.09.2003, Conference and Workshop for the Thanjavur District Women Panchayat Presidents was held in Thanjavur. This conference was headed and inaugurated by Mr. H.A. Suryanarayanan, District Panchayat President. 60 Women Panchayat Presidents from 13 unions in Thanjavur district took part in the conference. At the end of the conference resolutions were passed and Thanjavur District Association of Women Panchayat Presidents was formed.
On 09.10.2003, Conference and Workshop for the Erode District Women Panchayat Presidents was held. Dr. N. Markandan, Former Vice Chancellor of Gandhigram Rural University took part in the conference and gave the keynote speech. 19 Women Panchayat Presidents from 11 unions took part in the conference. At the end of the conference resolutions were passed District Association was formed.
On 30.10.2003, Conference and Workshop for the Dharmapuri District Women Panchayat Presidents was held. This conference was headed by Mr. K. Singaram, District Panchayat President and he then gave a speech. Dr. N. Markandan, Former Vice Chancellor of Gandhigram Rural University and Dr. G. Muhammed, Additional Director of Rural Development took part and gave speeches. 69 Women Panchayat Presidents from 17 unions in Dharmapuri district took part in the conference. At the end of the conference resolutions were passed and District Association of Women Panchayat Presidents was created.
On 24 August 2004, on behalf of the Federation, Dindigul District Cooperative Rural Development Society, Center of Law Service to Women, Nagapattinam; Human Rights Development and Research Organisation, Chennai; conducted the Women Panchayat Presidents’ conference. Mr. N.P.M. Nagarathinam, Dindigul District Panchayat President took part in the conference and gave the keynote speech. More than 30 women Panchayat presidents took part in the conference and shared their opinions and the problems they faced and also the ideas to overcome the problems. At the end, Dindigul District Association of Women Panchayat Presidents was also formed. Resolutions were passed on behalf of this organisation.
On Saturday, 26th February 2005 Federation of TamilnaduPanchayat Women Presidents along with Non-Governmental Organisations held the Thrivannamalai District level Government Women Leaders Co-ordination Conference. In the inauguration of this conference, Prof. Bojappan, President, District Panchayat and Planning Committee gave the Presidential address, Mrs. T. Amudha, Member of State Executive Committee, Federation of TamilnaduPanchayat Women Presidents gave the introductory speech, Mr. Vidyasagar, Planning Officer, Women Development Project, Thiruvannamalai District gave a speech on the topic and Mrs. B. Sakthi, Union Senior Leader, Thollar Panchayat Union, Mrs. Ponni Sundaram, Senior Leader, Pudhupalayam Panchayat Union and Mrs. Manjual Sankar, Union committee President, Aarani Panchayat President gave keynote speeches. 59 Women Panchayat Presidents took part in this conference. At the end District Federation of Women Panchayat Presidents was created and resolutions were also passed.
After the 2011 elections, workshop/state conferences for women panchayat presidents have been held in 11 districts including Nagapattinam, Thanjavur, Pudukottai, Kanchipuram, Villupuram, Thiruvallur, Cuddalore, Thiruvarur, Ramanathapuram, Theni and Thiruvannamalai. In these conferences around 700 women presidents took part and the federation was strengthened in each of the district.
On March 2014 the federation members met with the Director of Department of Rural Development with their demands. They also gave a petition for the 2014 Parliamentary elections. The challenges faced and the achievements of the women panchayat presidents from various districts (approximately 20) in Tamilnadu were compiled and published as a book.
In 2014 district conferences for women panchayat presidents have been held in Vellore, Tirunelveli, Coimbatore, Tirupur etc More than 200 women presidents attended the conferences. Former Assembly members, Retired Directors of Department of Rural Development, Retired regional development officers took part and shared their opinions and advice. At the end of these conferences, some demands to strengthen local government were passed as resolutions and the federation too was strengthened.
In 2016, Conferences of three zones were co-ordinated on behalf of our federation. In June 2015, zonal conference including districts such as Cuddalore, Villupuram, Kanchipuram, Thirvallur was held. Around 50 women presidents attended this. In October 45 women presidents from districts like Erode, Namakkal, Dharmapuri, Salem, Tirupur took part in it. In November, around 40 presidents from districts including Nagapattinam, Thanjavur, Ramanathapuram attended. In 2016, the aim of the zonal conferences was only to ensure the mechanism of conduct of fair and independent elections.
A Zonal level Meeting held on 30th September 2016 at Theni.
