RECLAIM: Together We Rise – From Female Competition to a European Community

Berlin

Cerv

Europa

Feminismus

Medien

How can women in Europe work together across national borders, support each other and form a strong European community together? Our exchange format ‘Together we Rise’ is dedicated to these questions, focussing on European cooperation and the political participation of women.

„There is no such thing as a single-issue struggle because we do not live single-issue lives“
Audre Lorde

We should address intersecting struggles, making clear that equality for one is impossible without equality for all.

Europe thrives on diversity and cooperation – but women are still underrepresented in political decision-making processes and transnational networks. In many European countries, significant gender-specific inequalities persist in areas such as political participation, economic independence and the labour market. This is also shown by the UNDP’s Gender Equality Index, which at the same time reveals significant differences within Europe. Nevertheless, women in all European countries face similar barriers.

This is where the project wants to start: The different local manifestations of structural barriers provide space for reflecting on differences and similarities in women’s experiences in different European contexts in order to create a deeper understanding of transnational cooperation and collective learning. Instead of competing with each other, we want to build bridges and create spaces in which women can learn from each other across national borders, strengthen each other and exert influence together.

Using digital and analogue formats as well as country-specific best-case examples, the skills of the participants are sharpened through skills training (e.g. argumentation, dealing with hate speech and disinformation). A central element of the project is also raising awareness of intersectionality in relation to various dimensions of discrimination. European diversity and the interaction of different identities are consciously taken into account here.