European Feminist Forum (EFF)
With great enthousiasm and vigour Babaylan joins the European Feminist Forum (EFF). Since March 2006 Babaylan, represented by Malu Padilla, Babaylan chairperson 1994-1998 and current member of the interim executive committee, has been an active member of the EFF Steering Committee. Through the EFF, Babaylan hopes to develop a Migrant Feminist Agenda from the perspective of migrant women together with our European feminist sisters. Joining the EFF is an opportunity for Babaylan to meet women of diverse background and to have our voices heard on issues and concerns affecting black, refugee and migrant women in Europe.
As a member of the Steering Committee, Malu takes part in the monthly telephone conference meetings and has attended two face-to-face meetings in Warsaw. Last September, Lina Gschwend, another member of Babaylan interim executive committee, joined Malu for the EFF SC meeting in Warsaw to discuss the content of the EFF culminating activity in June 2008 in Warsaw.
The vision for the EFF relies on three primary objectives: 1) dialogue, 2) knowledge creation and mapping, and 3) setting a new European Feminist Agenda.
EFF SC Meeting
The EFF is a space for discussions on how to re-politicize the feminist movement in Europe and to explore feminist agendas needed in today’s Europe. The structure of the EFF is twofold: a period of intense discussion online and through Affinity Groups, and a face to face meeting in Poland from 13-15 June 2008. The Forum will be unique in approach and outcome. Forget about sitting and listening! EFF will use webcasts, video-conferencing, podcasts, and large video screens with running chats and comments. All participants will engage in creating the new European Feminist agendas.
EFF was developed by major European feminist networks, to build a new European feminist agenda. The 8 initiating networks are: 1. Karat Coalition, a network of women’s NGOs from Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) 2. Women Peacemakers Program of IFOR (WPP) 3. Babaylan: the Philippine Women’s Network in Europe 4. Women in Development Europe (WIDE) 5. The International Information Centre and Archives for the Women’s Movement (IIAV), 6. Joint Roma Women’s Initiatives (JRWI) 7. ASTRA – Central and Eastern European Women’s Network for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights, together with the Polish Federation for Women and Family Planning 8. the Network of East-West Women .
Affinity Groups
EFF Affinity Groups were formed in 2007 and are non-hierarchical, open, participatory and innovative spaces for individual feminists and groups to organize around a specific topic and host debates across Europe. The Affinity Groups are fundamental to the EFF process as they provide the foundation for the debates within the EFF. The Affinity Groups model is experimental and it has raised interest from funders and the women’s movement internationally.
Currently there are 21 groups. Affinity Groups demonstrate their progress and contributions to the EFF through additions to the website in the form of discussion papers, videos, podcasts and other media. The Affinity Groups will continue their work until June 2008 and are expected to make a final product that is in line with their theme.
EFF Programming Meeting 2007
Babaylan and the Migrant Feminist Agenda Affinity Group
Women migration is one of the major topics within EFF. Women from Eastern Europe are very interested to share experiences with other women migrants. With Babaylan’s experience and objectives, it spearheaded the creation of the Migrant Feminist Agenda Affinity Group.
Through the EFF Affinity group, Babaylan will initiate a discussion among its members on what we see is the impact of globalisation on the feminisation of migration. How does it impede on our rights as women migrants in our search for jobs, better life and in our social and political participation in our host countries? What have we achieved so far and what obstacles still lie on the way to empowerment? As activists and feminists, together with our European sisters, we would like to define a feminist agenda from women migrants perspective. Through this affinity group Babaylan would like to contribute to the discussion of a European feminist agenda.
On June 1-3, Babaylan women meet for its first EFF activity in Kholhol, Germany. Sixteen members of Babaylan representing 6 European countries met for 3 days in the midst of the beautiful forest of Oldenwald in south Germany. It was an intensive, productive but full of fun weekend. Defining the Migrant Feminist Agenda from the migrant women’s perspective has begun. The next activity is during the Babaylan 15th Anniversary Conference/Congress in Cologne on 26-28 October. Malu and Lina will lead a worskhop on Developing a Filipina Migrant Agenda in Europe – Our issues and concerns.
For more information, visit www.europeanfeministforum.org.
