The Gender Equality Festival 2011

You can be a man even without dominating and you can be a woman without letting yourself dominated. We can only free ourselves from gender stereotypes if we are aware of them. This was the main message of the Gender Equality Festival organised between 21 and 23 October 2011 in Sibiu. Over 200 teenagers from Sibiu participated at this educational campaign aimed at fighting against stereotypes about men and women which fuel different forms of discrimination and violence. The campaign used non-formal education to create diverse and attractive events (see the Festivalul Programme).

For the activity entitled Choose your words programmed on Friday October 21^st between 2 and 4 p.m. on the Nicolae Balcescu pedestrian street, the passers-by had the chance to create messages about the significance of gender equality as a basic value in a democratic society. Over 40 people wrote messages with the help of our letter-volunteers; some of these messages were: “equality means respect”, “different together”, “fidelity”, “protection”, “harmony”, “friendship” “love” etc. Besides, some other 100 passers-by stopped to reflect both on the written words and on the information and questions which the ALEG volunteers addressed to them; these questions about gender equality, non-discrimination and non-violence were incorporated in a questionnaire and facilitated by the flyers which were distributed.

Gender Treasure Hunt was a prize contest organised on Saturday 22 October between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. at the ASTRA Museum from Dumbrava Sibiului (ASTRA Museum was our partner in this project and allowed the participants free access to the event). Within the contest, 11 teams made up of one boy and one girl from the Sibiu high schools had to pass through 10 practical trials which gave them the opportunity to fight against gender stereotypes and prejudices (e.g. boys are not good at doing household chores and girls don’t have any technical skills), to discover the values and significance of equality between sexes. Moreover, through the workshop held by Camelia Proca - manager of ALEG and Miruna Roman - member of ALEG, the teenagers had the chance to consolidate their gender education and to gain new social attitudes towards this aspect.

The Contest Equals on Bicycles took place on Sunday between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. in the Subarini Park. For this contest, ALEG in collaboration with the Tura in Natura Association managed to promote not only gender equality but also a healthy lifestyle by combining the practical trials (competitors had to ride their bicycles on a pre-established route) with a creative one (creating a collage through which participants should express their own vision on gender equality). 11 teams registered for this competition, all made up of one boy and one girl; the first two places received prizes financed by the Sibiu County Council through the ASTRA Library.

One of the most successful activities of the Festival was the Human Library (Sunday, 22 October between 6 p.m. and 7.30 p.m. at the Gong Theatre). During this activity around 20 participants lived the experience of an unconventional reading. This activity was nothing but an invitation to communication, tolerance and mutual understanding beyond stereotypes and prejudices with the help of Human Books – i.e. people whose stories contradict social generalisations (for a detailed description of the “books” available please browse through our Library Catalogue).

The 3 Forum Theatre shows programmed on Saturday 22 October between 10 p.m. and midnight at the Laguna Sub Cetate café in Cisnadie and on Sunday 23 October at the Gong theatre from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. and in Music Pub (8 p.m.) gathered around 140 participants. The plays played by professional actors approached topics such as domestic abuse and human trafficking or mocked sexist advertisements promoted by the media. The specificity of the forum theatre is that the public is actively involved in changing the scenario by proposing solutions to the problematic situations illustrated by the play; this encourages the emergence of new attitudes and behavioural models. At the show played at the Gong Theatre no less than 9 spectators had the courage to go up on the stage and replace the actors. The actors of the festival were: Doriana Tăut, Laurențiu Vlad, Adrian Grigoraș, Mihai Paicu and Diana Cătănescu.

Through such interactive activities, the festival has also had the role of studying teenagers’ attitudes towards gender equality and specific problems within the community. “The presence of the Festival in Cisnadie showed us that it is very important that our programmes aimed at fighting violence against women also reach areas outside Sibiu and towns where unemployment and social problems increase women’s vulnerability to different forms of discrimination and violence. Gender equality seems a utopia in such small communities where patriarchal customs are still the law.” says Camelia Proca, manager of A.L.E.G.

Throughout the whole 3 days of the Festival participants filled in around 200 questionnaires which showed that most respondents who took part in at least one of our activities believed that this event was highly useful.

Media-wise, Kiss FM made a radio advertisement which was broadcasted 6 times a day for 7 days, Zile si Nopti published the event poster on a full page and Sibiu 100% published both the poster and related articles.

A.L.E.G. has been organizing this festival since 2004 but in 2011 the young generation took over both its concept and implementation. All those involved were between 14 and 29 years old. The organization team was coordinated by the project manager Elena Brodeală and it included coordinators responsible for each action: Camelia Oană, Irina Cosma, Fabian Bădoi, Silvana Vulcan, Anamaria Florescu and Mihai David. Over 30 volunteers assisted us with the implementation of the activities. The project consultant - Roxana Marin helped the project team to reach its full potential.

In 2011 the Festival was made possible by the financing provided by the European Commission through the Programme Youth in Action and the co-financing offered by the Sibiu County Council through the ASTRA Library. Last but not least, we should also mention the contribution of the following partners: The ASTRA National Museum Complex, The Tură în Natură Association, Avon Cosmetics and our media partners: Sibiu 100%, Kiss FM and Zile şi Nopţi.

This project is financed with support from the European Commission and co-financed by the Sibiu County Council through ASTRA Library. This publication only reflects the views of its author and the Commission cannot be held accountable for the use of the information contained herein.

Biblioteca vie	Biblioteca vie	Egali pe biciclete
Gender Treasure Hunt	Reclame Gender Cafe	Atelier Egalitate de Gen
Alege-ti cuvintele	Alege-ti cuvintele	Gender Reclame
Teatru Forum Gong	Teatru Forum Gong

Autor foto Andreea Lupascu