Feminism

IUSY Feminist Working Group Meeting 2021

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OVERVIEW

What: Feminist Working Group Meeting 2021

When: 15-16 April

Where: Zoom online platform

Age: 18-35 years                                                                                                               

Registration Deadline:  12 April, 12:00PM CET

Concept 

Every year, IUSY Feminist Working Group brings together young activists of IUSY member organisations to engage in a dialogue on common struggles and obstacles, and work together to come up with strategies to enact political and social change within our organisations and beyond. 

This year, Feminist working group meeting will take place on the 15th and 16th of April under the topic “That’s enough! Let’s build feminist organisations”.

Young feminist activists continue organising across movements in an intersectional way, locally, nationally, regionally and globally even in these difficult times of pandemic. Regardless of the work and continuous fight by many feminist organisations and networks, we continue facing discrimination in our organisational structures, lack of support in political and economic empowerment and in participatory decision making processes. 

In this year’s working group meeting, we want to get down to the essence of how we walk the walk and not just talk the talk in our quest to build an international socialist/social-democratic organisations that are feminist. By deconstructing old narratives, being critical, sharing good practices and highlighting topics such as intersectionality and gender discrimination within organsations, this meeting will give participants the tools and skills:

  • to acknowledge, define and share the main problems among our organisations 
  • to have the space to acknowledge and share best practices for continuous work
  • to build a network of feminist activists and a chance to be a part of the feminist working group

Thus, the main goals of this meeting are: 

  • to acknowledge, define and share the main problems among organisations;
  • to acknowledge and share best practices and achievements for continuous work;
  • to continue building a network of feminist activists;
  • to give tools and raise awareness about gender discrimination within organisations;
  • to engage young feminist activists within the working group, across the different regions. 

What can you expect? 

We will get together for 2 days (about 2.5 hours per day) in an informal and formal settings. This means we will have a space to talk, to share, to support and to act. 

The meeting will start either at 1PM CET or 2PM CET. The time will be confirmed as soon as it is possible taking into account the different time zones.

More details on the programme will come soon and all registered participants will be informed of the technicalities and the content of the meeting. 

The meeting will be held online on the Zoom platform. It will be in English and without any participation fee. 

It is important to remember that our events are safe spaces and that we are mindful and respectful towards each other.

Who can apply

This activity is aimed towards the activists of IUSY member organisations. Please note that it is required that the participants stay for the whole duration of the activity and also to contribute to the working group after the meeting.

Participants should:

  • Belong to IUSY member organisation
  • Be aged 18-35
  • Have been active/working/studying in the field of feminism/feminist movement 
  • Be willing to continue to work and be active in the field of gender and feminism 
  • Availability to contribute to IUSY activities in future

How to apply

To apply you must complete the following this form or copy/pasting the following link https://forms.gle/ZMhZ8BGpj4vwRtNe6 by 12 April, 12:00PM CET.

Contact information

Should you have any further queries, please do not hesitate to contact the coordinator of the project at the IUSY Secretariat:

Gohar Ghandilyan 

IUSY Project Manager

EMAIL: gohar.ghandilyan@iusy.org

Phone: +43 699 135 32 960

Virtual Discussion: Women* & Leadership

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Dear friends, 

IUSY Feminist Working Group has the pleasure to invite you to a virtual discussion on Women* & Leadership, which will take place on the 5th of November at 2PM CET/14:00 CET. 

WHAT: Virtual discussion Women* & Leadership

WHEN: 5th November at 2PM CET / 14:00 CET

WHERE: Zoom / Live on IUSY Facebook page 

Context 

Following the discussion about the women*’s participation in social matters, the IUSY Feminist Working Group launches its second online event, a panel discussion entitled “Women* & Leadership”.

Due to their unique experiences, based on a history of the struggle for political, economic, social and identity rights, women* are powerful agents for change. Women* play a fundamental role, not only in social movements, but also in leadership positions, in establishing and fighting for a progressive agenda, improving gender equality, but also political, economic and social advances for the whole community. 

However, we still observe that women* are under-represented in decision-making politics, as well as in businesses or local communities, facing several challenges to reach leadership positions. 

Due to the multiple global crises, the world has been facing (economic, social, political, health-related, war-related), it is possible to observe the rise of strongman politics/authoritarian male leadership and the consequential struggle for women* leadership, representation, and equality at different levels.

Thus, this panel discussion has the following objectives: 

  1. To understand the main challenges women* face in leadership positions, especially in decision-making politics.
  2. To comprehend the implications of gender, ethnicity and class divides in women*’s representation and leadership.
  3. To discuss possible measures that governments, parliaments, regional and global institutions, as well as political parties and organisations can take to improve gender representation in leadership positions.

About guests 

Kesha Ram recently won the Primary Election to serve Chittenden County in the Vermont State Senate at the age of 34. With her likely election in November, she is poised to become the first woman of color and youngest woman in history to serve in the Senate. Prior to that, she served four terms in the Vermont House of Representatives on behalf of Burlington, where she was elected as the youngest legislator in the country at the time. In 2018, she graduated from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government with a Master in Public Administration. She has worked for the City of Burlington as the Civic Engagement Specialist and for Steps to End Domestic Violence as the Legal Advocacy Director. She also served on the boards of Planned Parenthood of Northern New England and the Vermont Natural Resources Council.

Benedicta Lasi is a Vice President of the International Union of Socialist Youth (IUSY). She is a Lawyer and Executive Director of the Center for African Legal Studies at the University of Professional Studies (UPSA) Ghana. 

Benedicta holds a first degree in Political Science and Sociology and a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from the University of Ghana. She holds the BL qualification from the Ghana School of Law. She additionally holds a Master’s degree in Conflict, Peace and Security from the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Center (KAIPTC) and a Master’s in Economic Policy Management from the Economics Department of the University of Ghana. She is a member of the Ghana Bar Association. 

Alícia Homs (Balearic Islands, Spain – 1993) and since May 2019, Member of the European Parliament.

Graduated in a BA in Political Sciences at the Autonomous University of Barcelona and a Masters in Diplomacy and International Public Administration by the Centre of International Studies of Barcelona. She worked as an intern in the European Parliament and as an advisor in the regional ministry for Employment, Trade and Industry in the Government of the Balearic Islands.

In August 2019, she was elected president of the Young European Socialists (YES), one of the most important juvenile political organisations in Europe. She is also member of PSOE and the Young Socialists from the Balearic Islands.

As a Member of the European Parliament (MEP), she is a full member of the EMPL Committee (Employment and Social Affairs) and substitute member in the ITRE Committee (Industry, Research and Energy). She is part of the delegation for Central America, and substitutes in the EuroLat and Magreb delegations.

Mafalda Infante (moderation) is a Master’s student in International Studies at ISCTE – University Institute of Lisbon, and has a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and International Relations at NOVA University of Lisbon. Her main interests are gender studies, democracy studies and European Union foreign policy. 

She is part of different youth projects at the European level and a member of IUSY’s Feminist Working Group.

Fill in the registration form by 5th of November midday (CET) and join the meeting. The link to join the Zoom meeting will be send only to those registered. 

To fill in the registration form, please click HERE

Global Seminar 2020: (Post)pandemic Political Education and Youth Work

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Dear friends and comrades,

We have the pleasure of inviting you to the forthcoming Global Seminar 2020.

Overview

The Global Seminar 2020 will gather together IUSY member organisationsfrom all over the world to meet and share the challenges young people and youth organisations have been facing since the beginning of the pandemic. 

Two-day Seminar will be a space for sharing our realities from different thematic perspectives. We will try to make this event as dynamic as possible with the elements of panel discussion, contribution of guest speakers and group work. 

Together we will imagine and map the recommendations for young people and youth organisations having youth work and political education in their agenda. 

As in 2019, this year we again cooperate and create our programme with the International Federation of Liberal Youth (ILFRY). This event will be a joint Global Seminar bringing both organisations and activists together. 

The aim of the Seminar will be to provide to the Member Organisations and to the SSU representatives a platformto discuss and come up with recommendation on how we can battle the shrinking spaces of democracy and imagine a post pandemic space for political education and youth work. 

A secondary aim is also to strengthen collaboration with IFLRY on topics that we agree on. The seminar will be an opportunity for us to learn and reflect upon new ideas and partnerships in our work for a fairer and more equal world. 

For any questions or remarks please don’t hesitate to contact the IUSY Secretariat at iusy@iusy.org.

With best regards,

Johanna Ortega                                           Ana Pirtskhalava

IUSY President                                            IUSY Secretary General 

Participation Profile & Selection Process

Each member organisation may register up to one participant for the meeting. 


The selection criteria will be based on
1. The questions listed in the application form

2. Gender Balance (both IUSY statutes and the global project require gender balance)

3. Regional Balance 

Participants must be able to attend the entire programme of the seminar.

It’s preferable that participants have an interest in workers rights, trade unions and decent working conditions. 

All participants must be aged 18-35 years old, with no exceptions. 

How to apply

Participants must apply by filling in the registration form that you can find here

 OR copy paste it to your browser: https://forms.gle/yEQcmWPrfgdnzVVa9

Deadline for registration is 1st of November 12:00pm CET.

Selected participants will receive the programme, the link to join the event and the technical information in advance.

Contact
iusy@iusy.org/ +4369913532960

Webinar: Women* and Social Movements

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Date: 28 June, 2020

Time:  13:00 CEST 

Register in advance for this webinar:

https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_gycZiOtASFK8nJPmvB8tFw

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

Agenda 

13:00Welcome and introduction by Ana Pirtskhalava, IUSY Secretary General 
13:10-14:10Panel discussion 
Giulia Daniele, researcher and guest assistant professor at the Centro de Estudos Internacionais of the Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (CEI-IUL). 

Marta Musić, co-founder of the Global Tapestry of Alternatives, one of the organizers of the World Social Forum on Transformative Economies and currently works as a consultant for FRIDA 

Moderator: Ana Pirtskhalava, IUSY Secretary General  
14:10-14:30 Q&A
 14:30 Closing 

About speakers

Giulia Daniele

Giulia Daniele is currently a researcher and guest assistant professor at the Centro de Estudos Internacionais of the Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (CEI-IUL). She completed her Ph.D. in Politics, Human Rights and Sustainability under a co-tutelle agreement between the University of Exeter (UK) and Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies (Italy) in April 2012. Since 2005 she has conducted fieldwork research in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Israel and Tunisia. She also acquired useful experience with her involvement in the International Election Observation Mission for the Palestinian elections in January 2006, in the international cooperation project called EPIC (European, Palestinian and Israeli Cities for Health and Social Partnership) sponsored by the World Health Organization in December 2006, and when she was a research intern at the Office of the Vice President of the European Parliament in Brussels in Autumn 2008.  Her main research interests broadly cover the following fields: Middle East politics (focusing on Palestine/Israel), women’s political activism in the Middle East and North Africa, social movements, gender and feminist studies, conflict resolution and ethno-national narratives. Her first book is entitled Women, Reconciliation and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: The Road Not Yet Taken (Routledge, 2014).  

Marta Musić

Marta Musić is a queer, decolonial, feminist activist-researcher from ex-Yugoslavia.  Her work as a transnational movement organizer mainly consists of building bridges between struggles, movements and initiatives and creating networks of solidarity between them through spaces of exchange, learning and collaboration. She is a co-founder of the Global Tapestry of Alternatives, one of the organizers of the World Social Forum on Transformative Economiesand currently works as a consultant for FRIDA | The Young Feminist Fund. Inspired by these processes of articulation of alternatives – she dedicates her PhD Thesis to exploring the Zapatista concept of Pluriverse (a world in which many alternative worlds fit) from a decolonial feminist perspective as a way to generate new ways of theorizing and fostering alternative economic systems that can ensure the sustainability of life whilst decolonizing knowledge and power. You can read some of Marta’s publicationsabout feminist movements against the G20 in Argentina here: 

  1.  https://systemicalternatives.org/2018/10/09/neither-victims-nor-entrepreneurs-the-feminist-mobilizations-against-the-w20-in-buenos-aires/
  2.  https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/democraciaabierta/argentina-g20-and-mobilisations-against-it/

Context

The world today faces a multitude of crises. Countries are dealing with the COVID-19 global pandemic and are bracing themselves for economic repercussions, and this critical situation has made the world witness to worsened issues of state repression, racism, and inequality. Various social movements have become increasingly prominent, such as the Black Lives Matter movement and the Hong Kong Democracy protests.

The growing progressive movements present essential perspectives on grassroots empowerment and solidarity across cultures and identities. These events amplify and further push the intersectionality of struggles such as class, race, and gender into global public discourse. 

With this, as socialist feminists, we recognise the integral role of women in building and sustaining movements and society as a whole. On top of carrying multiple burdens and struggling against systems of patriarchy in everyday life, women of all classes and identities are undeniably part of these massive movements for justice and democracy.

This webinar on “Women* and Social Movements” is part of webinar series on Intersectional Feminism organized by the IUSY Feminist Working Group. 

This webinar aims to open international discussions on feminism and its relevance to social movements with the objectives to discuss the intersectionalities of movements and emphasize the significant role of women* in social movements around the world. 

IUSY Feminist Working Group 2020

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OVERVIEW

What: Feminist Working Group Meeting 2020

When: 11-13 May, 2020 (exact time to be confirmed)

Where: Zoom online platform

Age: 18-35 years

Registration Deadline:  5 May, 2020

Outline

Every year, IUSY Feminist Working Group brings together young activists of IUSY member organisations from all seven regions to engage in a dialogue on common struggles and obstacles, and work together to come up with strategies to enact political and social change.

In the past three years IUSY Feminist Working Group has had enriching experiences and opportunities to meet. We have implemented two social media campaigns on “Stories of Women*”(2017, 2018) and theWomen*Resist video campaign. In 2019, we have published the toolkit “The struggle for equality. A toolkit for the feminist fight” together with the participants of international activity supported by the European Youth Foundation.

Because our regular annual working group cannot take place at the moment due to COVID-19, we are organising our Feminist Working Group 2020 online. We want to give our participants the opportunity to share how they are doing in this situation and what is happening in their realities from the feminist perspective.

What can you expect?

We will get together for 3 days (about 2 hours per day) in an informal and formal settings. This means we will have a space to talk, to share, to support and to act.

More details on the programme will come soon and all registered participants will be informed of the technicalities and the content of the meeting.

The meeting will be held online on the Zoom platform. It will be in English and without any participation fee. Time of the meeting will be specified as soon as possible taking into account the different time zones.

It is important to remember that our events are safe spaces and that we are mindful and respectful towards each other.

With best regards,

Johanna Ortega        Ana Pirtskhalava            Caterina Cerroni

IUSY President     IUSY Secretary General           Feminist WG coordinator                                                                                                                                    

Who can apply

This activity is aimed towards the activists of IUSY member organisations. Please note that it is required that the participants stay for the whole duration of the activity and also to contribute to the working group after the meeting.

Participants should:

  • Belong to IUSY member organisation
  • Be aged 18-35
  • Have been active/working/studying in the field of feminism/feminist movement
  • Be willing to continue to work and be active in the field of gender and feminism
  • Availability to contribute to IUSY activities in future

How to apply

To apply you must complete the following form by 5 May 2020.

Contact information

Should you have any further queries, please do not hesitate to contact the coordinator of the project at the IUSY Secretariat:

Gohar Ghandilyan

IUSY Project Manager

EMAIL: gohar.ghandilyan@iusy.org

Phone: +43 699 135 32 960

We are looking forward to receiving your registration and meeting you online!