A warm conversation about gender equality with Laura Albu, President of Community Safety and Mediation Center Foundation and Executive President of Romanian Women’s Lobby and Jorgen Lorenzen, Director of the Norwegian Association Foreningen Hedda
GLORIA
feminismul și abordarea strategică a egalității de gen
I have been dreaming of this project for a long time. Gloria Steinem’s voice as a feminist icon follows me at every step! (Hence the inspiration for the title of the project). I had the chance to meet her few years ago in Brussels and my dreams became clearer after a discussion with her.
We wrote this project because we wanted to create a constant and strong movement to support structural changes in the lives of girls and women in Romania through the member organizations of the Romanian Women's Lobby.
We wanted to "steal" good practices and expertise from the inspirational people we met at European level and in neighbouring countries. I am thinking of our project partners Malgorzata Tarasiewicz from Poland, Iliana Balabanova from Bulgaria, Reka Safrany and Borbala Juhacz from Hungary, Jorgen Lorentzen from Norway. Also, within this project we want to address some of the issues inside our umbrella organization such as the lack of resources for the member organisations, the lack of resources for a professional secretariat for Romanian Women's Lobby (as the one of the European Women's Lobby in Brussels). The lack of a common approach in the feminist movement and the fear of this concept.
The name Hedda is inspired from the famous Norwegian author Henrik Ibsen’s strong feminist drama called Hedda Gabler from 1890.
We wanted to bring Hedda alive in our time as a part of our work with gender equality and democracy issues. HEDDA is at the same time an acronym for Human rights, Equality, Democracy, Development and Art, which are broadly our work areas. We established the organization to focus on international work, consequently Hedda is not involved in any domestic projects. We have had several cooperation’s with countries like Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania, and our experiences of working with people and organizations from these countries has been inspiring and fruitful. Since the project „Gloria-feminism and strategic approach of gender equality” in Romania has a clear feminist perspective it was imperative for us to participate.
GLORIA
feminismul și abordarea strategică a egalității de gen
I think it is crucial to work closely with political processes and political parties. The feminist movement in Norway early aligned themselves with politics, and that is one reason why we got the very important gender equality law in Norway in 1978. It has been an important tool to fight for and establish gender equality across varied sectors within the country. I will also mention the Law on Crisis Center from 2010, which makes it obligatory for local municipalities to provide shelters for victims of intimate violence. This has significantly contributed to a decrease in violence in intimate relationships in Norway. It is of course important for me to mention the work we have done on men and masculinities and involving men in the perspectives on gender equality. I firmly believe that without having men as partners in the fight for gender equality, it will be difficult to achieve it.
What is the meaning of a project without impact? I have never taken part in any project that does not have a clear focus on impact and results.
The „Gloria-feminism and strategic approach of gender equality” project is run by organizations that want to see changes in Romania and are putting all their energy into creating these changes into a more democratic country where women are contributing on all levels. That is why it is so important to raise public awareness, getting women involved, give them adequate training, focus on gender budgeting, and of course learn from best practices from other countries. This is a very important project and part of a larger egalitarian movement that can produce changes to the best for the country – for both men and women.
A project that changes self-perception and creates solidarity, collaboration and a safe space for sharing common problems and solutions. I think our project is one with #Impact, because it generates "oxygen" bubbles for small or large organizations, members of the Romanian Women's Lobby.
GLORIA
feminismul și abordarea strategică a egalității de gen
At the end of the project I would like to see stronger organizations that have better organizational capacity and a clearer image in terms of their long-term vision and mission. Also, I would like to see them wearing „feminist” glasses on their noses while working courageously on issues related to gender equality. I want the organizations to know exactly where they can find help when they need mentoring in terms of gender equality. Finally, for the Romanian Women's Lobby – my wish is to be structurally present in key policies concerning the lives of girls and women in Romania in order to improve their lives.
The most beautiful moment was the feminist "marathon” we overtook for 4 consecutive days, starting from Iași, passing through Neamț, Braşov, and Săcele. It allowed us to meet with most of the member organizations of the Romanian Women's Lobby with whom we discussed about their expectations, needs and future plans, having with us new experts from Romania, Norway, Poland, Bulgaria.
The most difficult moment was the one when we had to cancel a feminist event because of procurement procedures we had not been aware of in the initial planning. We had to announce 50 girls and women who had registered the event that it will be rescheduled for 2022, which was a big disappointment for us and them.
So far, the best moment in the project has been the feminist road trip that we had through Romania, from the north to the south, visiting several places and women organizations. This experience tells me that there is a lot to be done! Talking about the difficult moment in the project, I think Covid-19 pandemic has made it difficult to fully engage with all the partners and organisations involved within the project. Barring that, I haven’t thus far encountered any other difficulties within the project.
Plenty of events and wonderful activities will follow. We are happy that we still have ahead us one year and a half from the implementation period and hopefully, the pandemic will not block us as much as it did until now. Feminist events, activities planned to take place in the countryside, trainings on various topics, a movie about women who change the world, and many other things will take place in the coming period.
Any activity can have an impact and meaning if the models we use in projects are the proper ones, inspirational and strengthen organisations and people. Even if the impact might seem small-scale at the beginning, we will be those who will create a small wave as we step into the sea to (a huge) one that rises and reaches other shores which we would never have imagined.
We would like to encourage ACF audience to find partners in Norway because even if looks difficult sometimes to implement certain things in your own country, sharing ideas and solutions with other people is always helpful, because it takes you out of your comfort zone and helps you build new paths.