"How do women, feminists, LGBTs oppose neoliberal hegemonies, power and the war logic? Which part does the struggle against gender hierarchies and patriarchal structures take in this? Which concepts and ideas empower us? Which visions do we have for living together?" The Women Videoletters – A Second Text on War came up at a meeting of women video activists from India, Germany, Mexico and Switzerland in October 2001 in Berlin as a feminist answer to the media reporting after September 11th. The second edition of the Women Videoletters in January 2004 was extended by a critical stance towards globalization in general. The Women Videoletters were shown at political actions, festivals and other events, e.g. at the World Social Forum in Mumbai in January 2005.
They are a group of women video activists (at present three women with German, Iranian and Russian backgrounds which consider themselves as a part of the feminist movements without being affiliated to any official party or institution) coordinating the project from Berlin and currently working on the third edition of the Women Videoletters.
http://www.womenvideoletters.com/index.html
lo-fi recording interview about Women Videoletters working condition:
http://www.kurwydomowe.net/audio/woman_videoletters.mp3
I've got Cd with films from Women Videoletters Second edition from 2004 if someone is interested
“Companeras, we invite You to unite as we do and fight, for we together can build up a real autonomy, where we as women know, too, how we govern and how we govern ourself; for it will be us to decide what we do.”
(quotation of a Zapatist Companera during the first Meeting of the Zapatist Communities with the Peoples of the World in December 2006)
European Women Lesbian Gathering took place from 29th of December till 2nd of January 08 in autonomous centre KTS in Freiburg/Germany. The place has been chosen for the sake of the location in the three Countries Corner France, Germany and Switzerland. The idea of this forum came up during the second Meeting of the Zapatists Communities with Peoples of the World, where zapatist women announced that they want to invite for a meeting around this New year's 2008 Eve. The issue of this meeting was the struggles and the organisation of zapatist woman http://zeztainternazional.ezln.org.mx/
Several women from different European countries decided to meet at the same time as the meeting of the zapatista woman in a gathering in Europe. “Because here as well we are stuck in the struggles against a patriarchy and capitalistic system we refuse. Thus it is important for us to organize ourselves where we live. Because this is the only way we as women can fight together worldwide.”
The assemblage was plenty of workshops on various issues like feminist forms of resistance and women's movement in different countries, the situation and resistance of women in Mexico, and the gender construction and deconstruction ; with street art/theatre, film radio, computer (security, layout), clowns, samba playgroup. The concept of workshops was open for every women who wanted to participate or contributed with her own ideas. The goal was the exchange women's experiences in social and emancipatory struggles, discussion about possibilities and hindrances as well as the development, meaning and plurality of feminist forms of resistance, the exchange ideas of possibilities of international solidarity and support, learning and teaching creative abilities and enjoying as well as to have fun and pleasure.
In the Gathering participated around 70 women from France, Germany, Belgium, Austria, Finland, Switzerland and Rwanda. EWLG has been a self-organised meeting, were there wasn't any rules and hierarchy, only one common point – the DIY idea. Cleaning, cooking, preparing places, workshops have been voluntary shared for all of participants. Food was vegan and organic, with free price, there was any person responsible for collecting many (also in the bar where everyone could serve itself and put many into one box). The sleeping places were organized in privet houses, association's rooms or in the KTS centre. During each meeting was a simultaneous translation into English organize in a small group sitting around bilingual person, even when we've been minority – sometimes only 2 person. Not understanding/dominant language recreate hierarchy, which we are basicly against.
The meeting has been finished with big hope about keeping in touch in future, with the woman network dream.
http://www.freie-radios.net/portal/content.php?id=20365
http://www.freie-radios.net/portal/content.php?id=20366
