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For many women there is growing poverty and increasing marginalisation. For others, new avenues have opened up. Gains made by women’s rights movements are under threat and many new concerns for women are emerging. The European Feminist Forum (EFF) is a space for discussions on how to re-politicize the feminist movement in Europe and to explore feminist agendas needed in today’s Europe. EFF aims to engage all interested in a broad forum on key issues for feminists across Europe, however they wish to define Europe. EFF aims to build collectively a programme for a revitalized feminism in Europe through an on-going process leading to a European-wide face-to-face meeting in Central Europe that will launch renewed feminist political engagement in all of Europe. The main vehicle to launch this initiative is affinity groups as a non hierarchical, open and participatory and innovative process to explore topics EFF participants see as key to their political vision as feminists. Some of these topics could be: • What is a feminist alternative to the economic mainstream; can we build a vision for a more just economics, • How as feminists working in different European countries and networks can we work collectively to fight the growing threats to abortion laws, • How as feminists living in Europe do we see migration in our lives, as migrants and as women supporting migrants, • What does the EU enlargement offer for women and how can feminists ensure it offers positive opportunities for women, across the different geographic national borders, etc. We are currently calling for topics and coordinators of up to 15 affinity groups. Affinity groups are invited to work in which ever medium they chose, in cyberspace, face-to-face meetings, across all European countries, within one country, in which ever language and media. The affinity groups findings set the agenda for EFF in the future. In the next months the outcomes of affinity group discussions and activities will shape the face-to-face meeting of the European Feminist Forum planned to take place in a Central European country September 2007. There is nominal financial support available for affinity groups to prepare discussions papers, videos, podcasts and other outcomes for the EFF face-to-face meeting. We invite all interested in the EFF to form a group under the topic you wish to work on and to apply as a coordinator of the affinity group for funding. Please see below the questions which we would like you to consider when applying, particularly in relation to the time line and the design of the affinity group process. Affinity group coordinators will also be invited to participate in shaping the EFF programme process. If you are interested in coordinating an affinity group, please send to the EFF organising Group (EFF@iiav.nl) the following information: 1. Topic of the group, short description of issue and name of contact person (coordinator) 2. Persons to be involved/represented (age group, interest, national location(s), gender etc.) 3. How does your affinity group plan to include new individuals who are interested in the topic of your group (if at all) 4. The proposed process for organising the affinity group 5. Language of the affinity group and outcome to be produced 6. How the discussions will be presented at the EFF (theatre, video, paper, workshop etc.) 7. Time line of the affinity group 8. Do you have access to broadband internet yes/no 9. Do you have (access to) a webcam yes/no 10. Which conferences or meetings (regional/international) are you planning to visit before September 2007, where you could give information about the EFF Please contact us for any further information on affinity groups or any aspect of the EFF process. EFF Organising Group EFF@iiav.nl | |||||
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