Selected Projects for the Membership Support Regranting Scheme 2024
Name and country of the third party funded: Women’s NGOs Cooperation Network Latvia
The title of the project: National AGORAs and mentoring programmes: new methods to engage young feminists into decision-making and leadership
The budget received from EWL: 21,300 euros
The project duration: 6 months (Regranting Contract)
Summary of the project funded:
The project targets young women feminists in member countries to be activist leaders in a changing world by giving them a space to share experience, knowledge and ideas and contribute in that way to the EWL Young women’s engagement plan and the engagement of young women in the work of national coordinations. The EWL national feminist summer schools (AGORAS) will be held and piloted in 4 national coordinations – Latvia, Lithuania, Bulgaria and Poland, training up to 60 young feminists. Research will be carried out on young female engagement, best practices of young feminist engagement and mentoring programmes in the respective countries. A diversity training will be organised online as well as two transnational training sessions on mentoring programmes and feminist schools and methodologies. An evaluation will compile the learnings from pilot sessions and propose models for use in other countries, and a draft mentoring manual will be created to spread the learnings and give insights into the best practices and methods to be used across EWL members. Participants to the trainings will gain invaluable insights into effectively leveraging these mechanisms to advocate for gender equality on different scales and participating in decision-making processes to become change-makers in their communities.
Target groups: Young girls and females aged between 15 and 30 years old interested in strengthening knowledge and skills to build bigger and better campaigns to fight for women’s rights and gender equality; Young women feminists in membership
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Name and country of the third party funded: Lobby Europeo de Mujeres en España- LEM España
The title of the project: Legal study on the European Directive on Violence against Women
The budget received from EWL: 13,000 euros
The project duration: 6 months (Regranting Contract)
Summary of the project funded:
With this proposal, LEM-España wants to update the legal analysis carried out on the proposal for a Directive on VAW incorporating a recollection of all the steps undertaken along the European legislative process and relevant political decisions. The idea behind this update is to combine a powerful legal analysis with a feminist perspective and to analyse how the text of the proposal has changed during the legislative process and what has been the role of women organisations and the feminist movement in Europe along the way, with a strong focus on missed opportunities and necessary next steps.
Target groups: Governmental institutions; public administrations; women organisations; the general public.
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Name and country of the third party funded: Bulgarian Platform European Women’s Lobby
The title of the project: Women Changing Europe: starting at the local level
The budget received from EWL: 15,000 euros
The project duration: 6 months (Regranting Contract)
Summary of the project funded:
The project’s main focus is to encourage and facilitate and improve women’s representation and participation in decision-making at the local level. This goes directly in line with the EWL Manifesto and its goals to enhance gender equality and promote women’s participation at all levels. Gender equality remains a challenge in various aspects of women’s everyday life, starting from unpaid family labour, unequal pay, online and offline violence, including also the structural obstacles for women aiming to be more politically and socially active.
The essence of the project addresses all of these on a local level by developing tools for intervention, support and empowerment, together with direct work with local branches of political parties and local government institutions. Through working with political parties’ local structures, the Bulgarian Platform aims to change attitudes and raise awareness at national level. Thus, this will support the main goal of creating gender sensitive political parties in Bulgaria
Target groups: Bulgarian MEPs; local politicians in 2 Bulgarian regions (Smolyan and Plovdiv); civic leaders; women and girl activists; the youth; journalists
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Name and country of the third party funded: Lobby Europeo de Mujeres en España- LEM España
The title of the project: How does the Directive on VAW Improve the assistance to victims: women and their children?
The budget received from EWL: 30,000 euros
The project duration: 6 months (Regranting Contract)
Summary of the project funded:
Understanding how the Directive on Violence against Women (VAW) and Domestic Violence improves the assistance to victims. Women and their children in different EU countries become of great relevance in a European context where, despite the existence of other directives and the Istanbul Convention, there are numerous differences between the protection systems guaranteed by each Member State. This is why we intend to delve into the impact of this new binding text in three countries with different situations such as Spain, Italy and Poland.
Target groups: European and national governmental institutions; public administrations; women organisations; the general public in Spain, Italy and Poland.
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Name and country of the third party funded: Ženski lobi Slovenije
The title of the project: Advancing and implementing the EWL Gender Equality priorities in Slovenia: Challenges, approaches and tools
The budget received from EWL: 30,000 euros
The project duration: 6 months (Regranting Contract)
Summary of the project funded:
Despite significant wins for women and girls’ rights in the EU and in Slovenia, the recent challenges and backlash have proven that women’s fundamental rights and that gender equality are easily threatened and revoked. Gender stereotypes, prejudice, patriarchal values, and violence are not only persisting but are again regaining ground. Despite the EU’s legal obligation to deliver equality between women and men and promote principles of gender mainstreaming, there is still a long way to go to materialise and enforce women’s and girls’ fundamental rights and gender equality in practice. Following the 2024 EU June elections, the women’s rights and equality disparities between women and men in the EU will continue to be an issue that needs to be addressed and improved to achieve a more equal, inclusive, and peaceful society. This project will have various awareness-raising and capacity-building activities targeting Slovene MEPs, their staff, MPs, CSOs, and the wider public, to promote and increase visibility of gender equality issues and advocate for the EWL proposed changes in policies regarding women’s rights and gender equality.
Target groups: Slovenia’s MEPs; national Members of Parliament; NGOs; women’s CSOs; the wider public
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Name and country of the third party funded: Lithuanian Women’s Lobby Organization (LWLO)
The title of the project: Equal and inclusive representation of women in decision-making for women advancement (Women4Advancment)
The budget received from EWL: 30,000 euros
The project duration: 6 months (Regranting Contract)
Summary of the project funded:
The main idea of the project is to take into account good practices and lessons learned from the EWL campaign for gender balance in the European Parliament elections, to promote gender balance in 2024 national Parliament elections in EU member states, namely, Austria (AT), Lithuania (LT), and Romania (RO). The project aims to promote equal and inclusive representation of women in political decision-making by ensuring 2024 EU elections follow-up activities for national elections.
It will consist of advocacy recommendations to Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), trainings on supporting women in politics for CSOs, national advocacy and awareness-raising campaigns on equal representation of women in decision-making prior the election to national parliaments.
The project will produce a set of good practices, policy recommendations, and communication to the newly elected Members of the European Parliament. Both good practices and policy recommendations, together with the materials produced by the EWL during the Campaign prior to the European Parliament elections, will be used for the training and for the advocacy and awareness raising campaigns. It is expected that advocacy campaigns will contribute to increased awareness and public discussions on women’s equal representation in politics, fostering support for female candidates and emphasising the need for gender balance in parliaments. It also aims to sensitise society, enhance recognition of women’s voices in politics and align with the EU principles of equality, thus encouraging voter interest in supporting women candidates during national elections.
Target group: Members of the EWL - AFR, LWLO, ROWL; Politicians; women politicians and women-leaders of partner countries; newly elected Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) in Romania - 33 MEPs, Austria - 19 MEPs, Lithuania - 11 MEPs; Civil Society Organisations; Voters (society); journalists; the media.
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Name and country of the third party funded: Czech Women’s Lobby
The title of the project: Empowering Representation of Women in Czech Politics
The budget received from EWL: 25,800 euros
The project duration: 6 months (Regranting Contract)
Summary of the project funded:
The project presents a comprehensive approach to advancing the representation of women in decision-making bodies in Czechia and the EU. It involves conducting research on the media portrayal of female candidates to counter gender stereotypes, followed by a dynamic social media campaign highlighting barriers faced by women in politics. Further, a call to action will mobilise voters in the Autumn 2024 elections to give their preferential vote to women candidates.
The advocacy efforts include open letters and roundtable discussions with women politicians and MEPs to promote gender-balanced representation and gender equality in general. Dissemination of the EWL manifesto to MEPs will serve as a foundation for building cooperation with Czech politicians at the EU level. Through workshops for women politicians, the aim is to empower them with skills to develop their political career on national and EU level. Through strategic partnerships and participation in events, the project aims to become a visible force advocating for gender parity in decision-making bodies within the EU.
Target group: general public (mainly women in the age between 20 - 40); newly elected regional women politicians (who could be potential candidates in EP elections 2029); Members of the European Parliament; female politicians; feminist NGOs
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Name and country of the third party funded: Nederlandse Vrouwenraad
The title of the project: Women stand up to end VAWG
The budget received from EWL: 24,100 euros
The project duration: 5 months (Regranting Contract)
Summary of the project funded:
There are many developments in legislation and policies to end VAWG (the Directive), and together with our Dutch Cedaw Network we will train women and bring grassroot organisations together in action to lobby for women’s rights. We need to educate women in general, empower them to let their voices be heard and together raise awareness. Women are invited to create their own video statements which we will launch at our Award Ceremony and stand up for ending VAWG by sharing their statements online.
Target group: We focus on women in general who might not yet be aware of the changes in policies/legislation on VAWG, and women who are connected to one of the 50 women’s organisations on our network.
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Name and country of the third party funded: Lithuanian women’s lobby organisation (LWLO)
The title of the project: EmpowerLWLO: Building Capacity and Advocating for Change
The budget received from EWL: 24,800 euros
The project duration: 6 months (Regranting Contract)
Summary of the project funded:
This project aims to enhance support for survivors of sexual violence in Lithuania by advocating for a comprehensive national legislation aligned with the EU Directive on violence against women and domestic violence, as well as the Istanbul Convention. It is relevant to the European Women’s Lobby (EWL) Strategic framework 2022-2026 and aligns with the objectives outlined in the 2024 Work Programme. The specific objectives include expediting the establishment of national legislation, advocating for the ratification of the Istanbul Convention, providing education through trainings, organising a conference in the Lithuanian Parliament, and launching a communication campaign. Planned activities also include conducting research and an analysis to assess existing legislation and services, developing recommendations for legislative and policy changes, engaging in advocacy efforts for the transposition of the EU Directive, and conducting a capacity-building visit to the Netherlands. These activities aim to create a more supportive and protective environment for survivors of sexual violence in Lithuania, in line with international standards and conventions on gender equality and women’s rights. Through collaboration with stakeholders, capacity-building initiatives, and awareness-raising efforts, the project seeks to foster positive change in addressing sexual and cyber violence.
Target group: Professionals and policymakers who work on the topic of sexual abuse; representatives of law enforcement and law and order agencies, health, education and social services institutions; Specialised Complex Assistance Centres; Helpdesks; NGOs working on sexual violence issues; Decision makers (Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Social Security and Labour, Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Education, Science and Sport, Police Department); LWLO members; The general public; survivors of sexual violence who will benefit from the improved policies and legislation
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Name and country of the third party funded: Portuguese Platform for Women’s Rights (PPDM)
The title of the project: Women in power at the EU
The budget received from EWL: 30,000 euros
The project duration: 6 months (Regranting Contract)
Summary of the project funded:
Tailor-made capacity-building initiative on the EU’s structure and policy-making processes, that includes skills-sharing activities and advocacy work designed to be sustainable in the long term. By increasing and multiplying the know-how of participating organisations, it contributes to the broader objectives of the EWL and the advancement of women’s rights at both national and EU levels.
Target group: Direct beneficiaries - women’s Rights NGO: Women from our member’s organisations, in particular migrant, young and survivors of male violence; Indirect beneficiaries - Women and girls less represented at a EU level such as migrants, afro-descendants and young women.
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Name and country of the third party funded: The Women’s Council Denmark
The title of the project: The Feminist Festival Talk Town – a platform for the protection of Women’s Rights within the EU
The budget received from EWL: 23,000 euros
The project duration: 4 months (Regranting Contract)
Summary of the project funded:
This project follows up on the EU election campaign executed by the Women’s Council Denmark with the aim of increasing awareness of the EU as key to strengthening and protecting equality for all genders and the fundamental rights for all people in the EU. The project’s main activity is to engage young people in the EU in the making and development of this year’s Talk Town festival – an annual feminist festival for grassroots movements, civil society, and everyone who wishes to engage and participate.
With Talk Town, the aim is to strengthen the capacity to protect and promote EU values and to create and develop a supportive environment for CSOs, grassroots movements and young people who want to engage but are hesitant to raise their voices. By that, we also wish to increase citizen awareness of EU rights and values and strengthen the regional cooperation within civil society focusing mainly on young people across Denmark and the EU.
Target group: young Danish-based people from 18-30 years old; EU-wide speakers, performers, and participants; EU politicians
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Name and country of the third party funded: Romanian Women’s Lobby (RoWL)
The title of the project: Impact assessment of Istanbul Convention on Romania
The budget received from EWL: 24,500 euros
The project duration: 6 months (Regranting Contract)
Summary of the project funded:
Development of 3 national collection of good practices and critical steps available in Romanian and English, on the impact of the Istanbul Convention on the prevention of male violence and the PROSECUTION of perpetrators, on supporting and PROTECTING all women and girls, taking into account their diversity in Romania and on PROVIDING services to victims/survivors.
Building capacity of the 25 Women NGO members of the ROWL, on the impact of Istanbul Convention on Romania through a national training for NGOs entitled “How to use good practices for raising awareness and demand more resources for addressing violence against women” and organising a national networking seminar to promote the three publications with the participation of various stakeholders as well as of universities of sociology, social studies in Iasi and Bucharest, governmental representatives, independent experts and other relevant stakeholders.
Capacity strengthening of EWL with ROWL through a study visit to Brussels and/or Strasbourg to enable tailored skills and knowledge sharing sessions on the impact of the Istanbul Convention on Romania as a future possible model to be used by other members of the EWL, Observatory on Violence of EWL and GREVIO experts, and introducing the topics to the newly elected members of European Parliament, particularly from Romania.
Target group: National working group for the elaboration of secondary legislation regarding provisions of Romanian legislation on violence against women and domestic violence -no. 174/2018 of modification of law 217/2003, coordinated by National Agency for Equal Opportunities Romania; National working group on national strategy on sexual violence; Romanian Women’s Lobby member organisations (25 women NGOs); Romanian Network of NGOs on violence against Women; Observatory on Violence of the EWL; GREVIO experts; Universities of sociology, social studies in Iasi and Bucharest; Governmental representatives; independent experts: other relevant stakeholders.
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Name and country of the third party funded: Women’s Network of Croatia
The title of the project: Violence Against Women and Girls = Crime! (VAW = Crime!)
The budget received from EWL: 6,000 euros
The project duration: 6 months (Regranting Contract)
Summary of the project funded:
The overall goal of the project is to stimulate the implementation of the relevant international legislation on violence against women at the national level, in particular the Istanbul Convention in regards to the gender-sensitive approach to violence against women and girls and effective, proportionate and dissuasive sanctions against perpetuators.
The project deals with one of the biggest problems in sanctioning violence against women in Croatia as a misdemeanour. Due to problems in treating victims of violence and punishing perpetrators mainly with fines, it ultimately leads to an escalation of violence.
The project will result in creating evidence-based tools for advocating better legal solutions regarding violence against women in line with the Istanbul Convention and presenting them to the public.
Target groups: Women organisations that provide direct help to women survivors of violence; Relevant state institutions; Government; Ministry of Justice; Ministry of Interior; Croatian Parliament; courts; national gender equality bodies and institutions; the general public.
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Name and country of the third party funded: Romanian Women’s Lobby Association
The title of the project: Women’s priorities, first!
The budget received from EWL: 24,500 euros
The project duration: 6 months (Regranting Contract)
Summary of the project funded:
"Women’s priorities, first! " aims to increase visibility and interest in the priorities of women in Romania and the European Union. The specific objectives are to create tools - 3 toolkits, collect good practices for women local councillors and mayors, European parliamentarians, and RoWL member organisations to work with women politicians. The collection will focus on examples of success or case studies that contain actions aimed at the priorities of women in local communities. Toolkits will be presented in 3 events and towards Romanian MEPs.
Target groups: Women members of local councils from rural and urban municipalities of Romania; women mayors in rural and urban municipalities of Romania; women representatives of RoWL member organisations; Romanian MEPs; Romanian parliamentarians; stakeholders supporting gender equality in Romania (public servants, social services workers, academics, etc).
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Name and country of the third party funded: The Coalition of Finnish Women’s Associations (NYTKIS)
The title of the project: Light No Violence 2024
The budget received from EWL: 21,000 euros
The project duration: 6 months (Regranting Contract)
Summary of the project funded:
The Finnish National Observatory on Violence Against Women (which includes 21 Finnish human rights and women’s rights organisations, researchers and individuals) will organise a campaign in 2024 called "Light without violence", which will run from 1 June to 30 November. It is a campaign to raise awareness, give tools and knowledge to welfare area decision-makers and to strengthen cooperation between women’s organisations over party and organisation boundaries.
Target group: Regional decision makers in welfare areas; the general public
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Name and country of the third party funded: Coordination française pour le Lobby Européen des Femmes (CLEF)
The title of the project: Olympic Paris without Prostitution: Building a Fairer Future
The budget received from EWL: 7,000 euros
The project duration: 5 months (Regranting Contract)
Summary of the project funded:
In 2023, CLEF launched a task force: an operational working group that aims to exchange ideas on a regular basis to quickly implement concrete, effective and operational actions. The taskforce gathers feminist associations with a particular activity or interest in the prostitution system. Since its first meeting in mid-March 2023, the taskforce has already carried out activities to call on the French media, the government, and the French MEPs. This project is an awareness and communication campaign that will be developed as part of the work of the task force, in close collaboration with abolitionist associations working directly on the ground with women in prostitution or seeking an exit programme, in the context of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. The campaign aims to combat the surge in sexual exploitation often associated with such events by promoting the French abolitionist model. Ultimately, the campaign leverages the international platform of the Olympics to raise awareness about the realities of prostitution and promote the French abolitionist model as a viable solution to combat sexual exploitation.
Central to the campaign is the targeting of journalists to ensure accurate coverage of prostitution-related topics and raise awareness about its violent and exploitative nature. Journalists will receive guidance and be empowered to provide nuanced and accurate reporting that challenges misconceptions and stereotypes.
While the focus is on the 2024 Olympic Games, the campaign’s positive outcomes are intended to extend beyond the event. By empowering journalists with the knowledge and skills to cover the issue accurately, the campaign aims to create lasting change in media discourse and public perception of prostitution. Strengthening CLEF’s and CLEF’s members ’ relationships with the media will also contribute to sustained advocacy efforts and policy reform initiatives, ensuring a sustainable impact well beyond the conclusion of the Olympic Games.
Target groups: The general public; journalists
