Focus on Strengthening Democracies

Feminist Grassroots in the Western Balkans

Not only Russia’s war of aggression on Ukraine, but also the current resurgence of conflict in the Western Balkans shows us that warlike conflicts are still part of everyday life for many people in Europe. In addition, the Russian government is deliberately trying to consolidate pro-Russian forces and strengthen anti-democratic attitudes in Southeastern Europe through disinformation and conspiracy narratives. In addition, there are challenges posed by the aftermath of the Corona pandemic, the climate crisis, and the resulting economic crisis. Women, girls and LGBTIQ+ are most affected by the negative impacts of these developments.

We know from studies that strong, independent feminist grassroots organizations are a crucial factor for social change. Feminist activists are experts on the concerns of women, girls and LGBTIQ+ and they know what it takes on the ground to improve the situation for all. In the Western Balkans, numerous feminist organizations have been formed in recent years, which work locally on solutions for a democratic and peaceful coexistence and which are committed to a change in social consciousness. At the same time, they are also coming under greater pressure because right-wing nationalist parties and anti-feminist groups are threatening their work – with bureaucratic hurdles, propaganda that stokes fears, and even violent attacks. The goal of the project “Feminist Grassroots in the Western Balkans” is to strengthen and sustain the work of these feminist groups. filia cooperates with three other women’s funds for the project: the Ecumenical Women’s Initiative (EWI) based in Croatia, the Reconstruction Women’s Fund (RWF) in Serbia and the Bulgarian Fund for Women (BFW).

The project is funded by the German Federal Foreign Office.

Feminist Landscapes – Civil society dialogue with all voices

It is not only through Prospera that filia is in constant exchange on current issues in the global women’s rights movement. Our partners in Central Eastern Europe are also representatives and speakers for the situation on local level and are able to assess which challenges girls and women are currently facing in particular. And yet we often ask ourselves: Who is actually missing when we discuss the issues of the future? Who needs to be more visible and heard in the women’s rights movement?

The project “Feminist Landscapes – Civil Society Dialogue with All Voices” aims to empower marginalized women’s groups that are not yet part of visible national networks. As a first step, a “mapping” of feminist groups and movements will reveal who is included and who is still excluded. For example, are women with disabilities being heard in the debates? Or what about the participation of Sintize and Romnja?

The mapping will show how different the perception of vulnerable groups of women is in the participating countries – Armenia, Georgia, Poland, Ukraine. Germany participates in the program in a coordinating role. Continuous exchange and networking between women’s rights NGOs within the participating countries as well as across countries enables a strengthening of alliances within women’s movements and a sustainable expansion of women’s rights networks. It also promotes awareness raising for marginalized women in civil society.

The project “Feminist Landscapes – Civil Society Dialogue with All Voices” is funded by the German Federal Foreign Office.

Feminist Resilience – Strengthening the resilience of women’s rights organizations

The goal of this cooperative project between women’s foundations in Armenia, Georgia, Ukraine and Germany is to strengthen the institutional, collective and individual resilience of feminist organizations and activists in the long term. Feminist organizations and activists are coming under increasing pressure internationally. They experience undue strain – as individuals who are often discriminated against on the basis of their gender and other characteristics, as well as collectively as groups of people who challenge existing power relations and thus make themselves targets of violence and hostility. Last but not least, feminist organizations are also institutionally strained and overburdened. They are massively underfunded, harassed by right-wing populist governments and threatened by anti-feminist groups.

In the first year, the project focuses on assessing needs: In joint discussions, the participating women’s foundations take a close look at the current situation. The respective social contexts in the countries also play an important role. With professional support, they are jointly developing a study on the resilience of women’s organizations, and women’s organizations in all four countries are invited to participate. At a kick-off meeting in Armenia, the program directors of the foundations developed the structure of a meaningful study. Building on this, the foundations offer internal team training and continue to develop their working methods.

This cooperation project is also funded by the German Federal Foreign Office.

On the right Track

“On the right Track” takes the next step and looks beyond Europe: 19 women’s funds from Europe and Latin America are running a program together in which women’s groups are called upon to develop feminist strategies against the increasing anti-feminist shift to the right. The project addresses issues that are targets of the right, such as questions of sexual self-determination, LBTIQ+ visibility, or anti-racist networking. However, direct actions against the right can also be conceived within the framework of “On the right Track”.