This year, on the occasion of November 25, 2019, International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, the Diotima Center is holding its main event in Thessaloniki.
The event titled “Crossing Borders: Gender Violence & Empowerment. The experience of the refugee”, organized by the Center’s branch in Thessaloniki will take place: Tuesday 26/11/2019, 17.00-20.00 pm, in the “Speech and Art” room, at the Tower of the Faculty of Education, AUTH (10th floor).
Through the event, we seek to open a lively dialogue on the issues of gender-based violence and refugeeism, a dialogue that will be addressed to the wider public, and in particular: the university/student community, civil society organizations, and also the feminist collectives of the city.
Driven by our many years of experience in providing support services (psychosocial, legal aid) and running empowerment groups for refugee – women, and men who have experienced multiple forms of gender-based violence, we seek to create a crack in the common ground and dominant assumptions, which often treat these groups unequivocally as victims, as people who only have problems and needs, if not with an eye of exoticism.
After all, the instability of their legal and social position and their institutional “vulnerability” as refugees cannot hide the totality of these women’s existence, the multiplicity of their roles, and the other aspects of their subjectivity. It is through such an approach that we interact with them and share pain, suffering, loss, joy, vitality, plans, and hope.
With these thoughts in mind, we invite you to join the event to share more eccentric looks at these topics.
Speakers:
- Fotini Tsibiridou, Professor of Social Anthropology, Chair of the Department of Balkan, Slavic and Oriental Studies, University of Macedonia, Director of the Laboratory for the Study of Culture, Borders, and Gender
“Males on Female Bodies: The Instrumentalization of Gendered Violence Between Patriarchy, the Precariat, and Sexism”
- Vily Hatzigianni, lawyer, local coordinator – Diotima Center of Thessaloniki
- Melina Georgiadou, psychologist, manager of empowerment groups – Diotima Center Thessaloniki
“We the Others: thoughts and co-feelings from our meeting”
- Raha, women’s rights activist, refugee
“The story of my freedom” (Simultaneous interpretation)
***Coordination: Dimitra Kogidou, Professor, Pedagogical Department of Elementary Education, AUTH
