6th Feminist Summer School (FSS) organized by Women Space with the support of Rosa Luxemburg Foundation, was organized in the beautiful ambient of the Bor Lake form 22 to 27 July, 2014. The aims were the same as in previous summer schools: develop critical thought in young women, learning about women’s movement in the region and the world, strengthening of female solidarity, and supporting the women from marginalized social groups.
Since a lot of women in the region showed great interest in summer school, this year FSS had full regional character and the participants joined from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia and Serbia. Besides 32 participants, present at the FSS were also volunteers, facilitators and women who organized the school; total of 50 women spent 6 unforgettable days talking about subjects of patriarchy in our lives and possible ways of resistance, violence through feminist approach, personal feminist questions about discrimination against women, short history of feminist movement, practical feminism and the workshops of empowerment through dance and movement and making political messages using stencil technique. We spoke about feminist critic of neoliberal capitalism and its effect on women; we talked about politics of identity and/or politics of solidarity. The discussion with the topic of veganism and feminism was of special importance this year because the policy of Women Space is the policy against every form of violence, including the violence against animals and food during FSS did not include products of animal suffering. This year, as well as in the previous years, full attention of participants was given to two important topics in feminist movement in Serbia – lesbian existence and position of Roma women.
This year workshop and discussion group hosts were longstanding activists and theoreticians of women movement in Serbia: Lepa Mlađenović, Ljerka Mezga Ćurčin, Tijana Popivoda, Milica Gudović, Adriana Zaharijević, Zorica Spasojević, Ana Panday, Dragana Garić , Vera Erac, Vera Kurtić and Ana Zorbić.
It has already become a tradition that the last day of school should be contributed to the possibility of networking among young women and their self organizing, through the topic of ‘’Achieving Freedom: young women and feminism’’ this year covered by volunteers, who were last year’s participants in the summer school: Elzana Poturak, Milica Kljajić, Mina Damnjanović and Srbijanka Demirović.
A special event during FSS was the visit to the Bor Mine and going to the café ‘’Pit’’ which is located 400m below the surface of the ground; we spent our leisure time in sport activities
As well as in the previous years, Feminist Summer School has arisen great interest and once again confirmed that this kind of activities are very much needed for strengthening of the individual woman, and also for strengthening of the feminist movement in Serbia and in the region itself.
It seemed to us that every year it is harder to say goodbye in the end, and the feeling of strength, warmth, positive comments and energy lasted for days, and for months after the school had ended.
See you next year!
