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Women’s organisations from all over the world can apply to filia for a fast grant from the Opportunity fund.
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Success Stories 2007
Selected project examples / Central- and Eastern Europe
Women into Politics!
Czech Republic / Forum 50%, PragueWomen are represented insufficiently at all levels of Czechpolitics: neither in the leadership bodies of the parties, norin local government, nor at the national governmental levelis their presence adequate. It is a violation of human rightsto not be able to be elected – that is the position of thewomen of Forum 50%, who founded their NGO in thesummer of 2004. Forum 50% collects data on women inpolitics, publishes concrete suggestions as to how thenumber of female representatives can be increased, anddoes its best to create networks of politicians.
There is place for us all!
Serbia / Labris, BelgradeIn 2001, lesbians and gay men organized their first parade in Belgrade under the motto: "There is room for us all!" They were beaten up by extremists on a big square - as the police looked on. In light of this, we can better assess thecourage and the progress which they have been able to achieve since then:With the Information and Resource Center for Lesbians and Bisexual Women in Belgrade, the women of Labris have created a protected space for lesbian, bisexual and transgender women. Here, women can get information about activities in the lesbian scene, take part in seminars and lectures, or borrow media from the media library, something which exists nowhere else in Serbia.
Not against my Will
Azerbaijan / The Khatun Social Union / Assistance for Women´s Social Problems, SumgaitIn some rural regions of Azerbaijan, the tradition of taking very young girls out of school and marrying them off is being practiced increasingly once again. These girls of thirteen or fourteen have not reached legal marriageable age yet, so that these marriages have no legal status, and these very young women and their children are without rights.The women of the organization Khatun are moving against this violation of human rights strategically, and working at various levels.
Life Together after the War
Bosnia / Veliko Srce, GradacacIn 1997, in Tarevci, a neighborhood in the district town of Gradacac in northeastern Bosnia, about twenty women fromall sections of the population - Muslims, Roman Catholics,Serbians, Bosnians - founded the women´s group "Volja zazivotom" ("desire for life"). From this sprang the women´s network "Veliko Srce" ("big heart"). Through 2007, thisnetwork connected many women´s groups with over four thousand members with each other. The name expresses the fact that women of all denominations and ethnic groups are welcome, and are working together here.
Selected project examples / Germany
Why are Girls so Terrific?
Hamburg / Campaign "Girl in Sight"The women of the Hamburg State Working Group on Girls´ Policy organized the campaign "Girl in Sight" for InternationalWomen´s Day on March 8, 2008. They wanted to counterpose a different picture to the one-sided presentation of girls in the media: Young women should get the possibility of presenting themselves in public in the way that they see themselves, and would like to be seen. Initially, the only clear idea was that the strengths and skills of girls should be central to the campaign. Politicians and businesses should be encouraged to be aware of girls in terms of their possibilities, and to support them in their professional journeys through life more strongly. So an open-ended process was initiated.
It´s your Life - You Decide...
Berlin / LesMigraSThe project LesMigraS works with a group of people who are discriminated against even among the discriminated; it is carried out by the Berlin Lesbian Counseling Center.Central to it are lesbian immigrants and black lesbians. Nowhere have they felt completely accepted: in the community of German lesbians, they are marginal due to their cultural backgrounds. In immigrant groups, they can often let themselves be seen with their sexual orientation only with great difficulty.Lesbian immigrants and their families can get counseling at LesMigraS.
Selected project examples / Global South and International Networks
Is education a human right for girls, too?
India / Vikasini Girl Child Education Trust, SecunderabadEvery girl has the right to an education, even the poorest of the poor. This conviction motivated women of the women´s group Jyothi Mahila Mandali in the slum of Addagutta in Secunderabad to found a school for girls of the lowest caste.Their vision was to develop the potentials of their daughters and neighborhood girls by education, so that they could grow as independent individuals and participate consciously in social change.
Europe has Plenty of Colors
International networksFirst Black European Women´s Congress, ViennaThe lives of most black women in Europe are strongly characterized by their isolation. Open or concealed racismand actively nursed clichés from colonial times make their admission and participation in social life more difficult forthem and their children.At the initiative of the AFRA International Center for Black Women´s Perspectives in Vienna and of TIYE Internationalof Amsterdam, more than one hundred black women from sixteen European countries gathered from Sept. 27 through29, 2007, for the First Black European Women´s Congress in Vienna. At this Congress, they created the space to discuss their issues.
Sisterly Cooperation
Support of the International Network of Women´s Funds (INWF)At filia, those women´s foundations which, like filia itself,are members of the International Network of Women´sFunds, are called "sister foundations." At regular conferences, the network primarily provides space for exchange ofexperience and learning from one another. Twenty-six foundations from Africa, Asia, North and South America and Europe are organized here. filia supports the construction of the network by helping to fund the annual conferences (see too "Philanthropy and Networking").