Gender-Based Approach in Community Organizing

Using various artistic means of the Theatre of the Oppressed and storytelling techniques, the participants of the workshop, reflected on their own experiences with culturally and socially defined gender roles. The participating women also shared different experiences of discrimination, violence and injustice that motivate the activists to create mutual support mechanisms and look for possibilities of transformation. Discrimination of girls in schools, sexual harassment in public spaces, selective abortion of female babies and domestic violence were the most important issues that were discussed. The gender based domestic violence was relevant issue not only for the women of the workshop but also for the women that were interviewed during the workshop on the streets of Zugdidi.

© 2018. PHOTO BY TSITSINO SHENGELIA, GEORGIA

A four-day workshop entitled Gender Approach in Community Organizing was held in Zugdidi, Georgia from 9^thto 12^thof May, 2018. The event was initiated by Tsitsino Shengelia from the Centre for Civic Activism from Zugdidi in the framework of the project “ARENA: Community Theatre and Public Art”.

“Last year I took part in the ARENA Summer School for Creative Strategizing in Austria, where we had the opportunity to develop art-based peacebuilding strategies that we will further implement in our communities.” – said Tsitsino. “The strategy of our group from Georgia was aimed at increasing women’s role in political decision-making processes, so the activities that we planned to implement are mostly directed towards women’s empowerment.”

© 2018. PHOTO BY Tsitsino Shengelia, Georgia In 2018 ARENA strives to support the network members in implementing activities derived from their strategies. This four-day workshop was one of the activities supported by the project team.

The attendees of the workshop were largely women activists from Zugdidi and surrounding villages, mostly IDPs from Abkhazia. However, the project team also involved several members of the ARENA network from Ukraine, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia and people who were delegated by the network members. Noteworthy, that the network members Elvira Meliksetyan from Armenia and Oksana Potapova from Ukraine were involved as co-facilitators of the workshop along with Mirella Galbiatti who is representing ARENA project’s German partner organization OWEN e.V.

© 2018. PHOTO BY Tsitsino Shengelia, Georgia Using various artistic means of the Theatre of the Oppressed and storytelling techniques,the participants of the workshop, reflected on their own experiences with culturally and socially defined gender roles. The participating women also shared different experiences of discrimination, violence and injustice that motivate the activists to create mutual support mechanisms and look for possibilities of transformation. Discrimination of girls in schools, sexual harassment in public spaces, selective abortion of female babies and domestic violence were the most important issues that were discussed.

The gender based domestic violence was relevant issue not only for the women of the workshop but also for the women that were interviewed during the workshop on the streets of Zugdidi.

According to Tsitsino Shengelia their organization will further continue actions aimed at empowering women in Zugdidi.

“We will try to create more women’s spaces alike and will continue working with the local women using art as a way of understanding and transforming society” – concludes Tsitsino.

The Project’s German Partner – OWEN – Mobile Akademie für Geschlechterdemokratie und Friedensförderung e.V.

The Project’s partner in Georgia – Centre for Civic Activism, Zugdidi

The project “Arena: Community Theatre and Public Art” is supported by the zivik (Civil Conflict Resolution) programme of the Institute for Foreign Cultural Relations (ifa) with means from the German Federal Foreign Office.

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