The Diotima Centre invites executives and representatives of civil society organizations, members of feminist, women’s and LGBTQ+ associations and clubs, as well as activists from all over the country, to a two-day seminar on empowerment, awareness raising and capacity building aimed at strengthening advocacy actions in the defence of gender rights.
Systematic violations
In the last few years, international/European organisations have recorded and published numerous incidents of rights violations and gender-based violence and point out that there is an alarming increase in racist hate, sexism and homophobia in Greece. The violations of fundamental rights in the country and the feminist and LGBTQ+ resistance create the need for broader cooperation and knowledge exchange for the defence of gender rights in the fields of protection from gender-based violence, labour, political participation, education/culture, etc., in order to enhance the visibility of the social groups affected and to empower the collectivities themselves, which often face obstacles in their action.
Interdisciplinary advocacy toolkit
In this context, the Diotima Centre will implement awareness-raising and empowerment seminars for activists in order to create a collaborative framework for the exchange of experiences and know-how and to explore the possibility of setting up a nationwide advocacy network. The seminars will use the interdisciplinary advocacy and empowerment toolkit, developed by the Diotima Centre, which includes questions and needs of the associations, regarding the use of definitions, inclusivity and interdisciplinary approach, the understanding of the institutional framework for the protection of rights, the gender mainstreaming.
Goals
The seminars aim to:
a) highlight the unseen/unreported violations of the rights of women/LGBTQ+ people (including indigenous, migrant and refugee women)
b) strengthen the role of organisations at the advocacy level and empower their activists and staff in order to perform their role more effectively as points of reference, information and advocacy for local societies and communities
Participation process
The first cycle of seminars, lasting 10 hours, will take place in person in Athens on Friday 19th July (17:00-21:00) and Saturday 20th July (12:00-18:00). To participate, fill in the participation form here, until Monday 15th July 2024.
Participation in the seminars is free of charge. As part of the workshop, participants will have access to training materials and will receive a certificate of participation upon completion of the seminar. The scenarios are implemented in the framework of the FEMI-NET project.
For more information
Katerina Sergidou: sergidou.diotima@gmail.com, 6944824470, 210-3244380
Anna Vougiouka: vouyioukas.diotima@gmail.com, 210-3244380
** The project “FEMI-NET: Empowerment, networking and advocacy for the defence of gender rights” is implemented in the framework of the BUILD program, with the Diotima Centre as implementing agency. The project “Building a robust and democratic civic space” (BUILD) aims to the protection, promotion and widespread recognition of fundamental rights and values of the EU, through the support of civil society organisations (CSOs) in Greece and Cyprus and the reinforcement of their capacities and sustainability. BUILD is co-funded by the European Union, through the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) program, the Bodossaki Foundation and the NGO Support Centre Cyprus with a total grant amount of €2.9 million. BUILD is coordinated by the Bodossaki Foundation (Greece) in partnership with the NGO Support Centre (Cyprus).
With the funding of the European Union. The views and opinions expressed are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the European Union, the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) or the Bodossaki Foundation. The European Union and the EACEA cannot be held responsible for the views expressed.
