Book presentation: Feminism on the Peripheries of Europe

This collection of essays is a product of almost a year of research, reflection and writing on feminist possibilities and transformations that followed a two-day event Feminism on the Peripheries of Europe, coordinated by Centre Maurits Coppieters, EFAy and Plaid Cymru Ifanc, with the aim of educating and engaging young people of Wales and beyond on intersectional feminist issues.

This book is an attempt to inspire solidarity and provide a basis for feminist cross-cultural work. The authors of this book use a feminist lens to discuss inequality, unrecognized identities, peripheral locality and uneven power structures as factors of oppression that Europe’s minorities and minoritised nations continue to struggle against.

Intersectionality shows that different experiences and identities intersect and affect one another, and create a whole that is different from the component identities. Identities that can intersect can include gender, race, religion, class, ethnicity, language and sexual orientation. As sexism and gender based oppression affects over half of the world’s population, it is not unexpected that the battle for equality will include individuals who have also suffered from racism, homophobia, transphobia, classism, xenophobia and other forms of oppression.

Although women have a lot in common in terms of experiencing patriarchy, by centring the voices of women from minorities or oppressed nations, we start to see the importance of intersectionality in the way that it embraces diversity of experiences, needs and interests. This book is a testament to the fact that Europe’s youth have a vision for an inclusive and intersectional feminist future that needs to be heard.

Program:

17.30 Arrival

17.40 Welcome presentation by Iva Petković and Fflur Arwel (co-editors)

17.50 Presentations by authors

• Marta Sorlí, Valencian MP in the Spanish congress
• Guðrun í Jákupsstovu, feminist activist and Comparative Literature student from the Faroe Islands
• Angharad Lewis, political researcher at the National Assembly of Wales
• Lena Kolter, president of Aktion kritischer Schüler_innen Kärnten Koroška in Carinthia
• Karolina Rzepezka, sociologist and Silesian autonomy activist

18.40 Conclusions

Practicalities:

When: Friday 9^th June 2017, from 17:00 to 19:30
Where: Brussels Media Centre, 3rd Floor, Boomkwekerijstraat 1, 1000 Brussel

Light snacks and drinks will be served.

Registration:

Do you plan to attend? Please RSVP at info@ideasforeurope.eu. No registration fees.

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Join and share your views about the event on our Facebook event page.

Press:

Media inquiries can be addressed to info@ideasforeurope.eu or via Twitter @IdeasForEurope

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This reception is a joint initiative of EFAY, Plaid Cymru Ifanc and Centre Maurits Coppieters.

This conference is financially supported by the European Parliament. The European Parliament is not liable for the content of the conference nor the opinions of the speakers.