Four organizations from Spain take part in the POWER project’s exchange visit in Athens

The organizations, funded through the POWER call, presented their projects and learned about initiatives in Greece and Italy

Federación Salud Mental Castilla y León, Asociación Clara Campoamor, Asocolgi and Lobby Europeo de Mujeres de España participated in an exchange visit as part of the POWER project in Greece. During the first week of November, they were able to share the initiatives funded through the project that they have implemented in Spain and learn about other projects being carried out in Greece and Italy.

Federación Salud Mental Castilla y León presented Rompeolas, a program implemented in Valladolid that creates safe, violence-free spaces for women who have experienced gender-based violence in rural areas. Meanwhile, Clara Campoamor explained its work to raise awareness and prevent gender-based violence in both formal and informal educational settings, with the goal of preventing gender-based violence among young people and adolescents. Asocolgi presented Veus de Dones per la Igualtat, which aims to raise awareness among young migrant women about gender-based violence; and the European Women’s Lobby in Spain outlined its work on Strengthening the Prevention of Gender-Based Cyberviolence: Participatory Workshops for Youth, through which it seeks to raise awareness among adolescents about gender-based violence via participatory workshops.

Ten organizations participated on behalf of Italy, and four more participated on behalf of projects from Greece.

Visits to Local Initiatives

During the three-day exchange, the participants had the opportunity to learn about local initiatives such as the School of No Bias project by the Greek organization WHEN, which focuses on promoting media literacy and inclusive language among young people. They also visited the ActionAid Community Center and the organization Reading to Others, where they learned about the Raise Her Voice campaign, which aims to raise awareness about gender-based violence through an accessible digital campaign that highlights the experiences of women with disabilities.

In addition, the organizations learned about the ecosystem of organizations in Greece and the Greek system for preventing and combating gender-based violence, including public policies, available services, and existing collaborative networks.

Impact and networking

The final day focused on the impact of the funded projects and the opportunities created by networking.

POWER’s external evaluator, from the University of Milano-Bicocca, led a session to reflect on the project’s impact at the organizational, national, regional, and transnational levels. The organizations noted that, thanks to the project, they had strengthened their capacities, gained visibility and funding, and deepened their relationships with beneficiaries. In addition, some projects were replicated, institutions requested training from CSOs, and transnational exchange led to new collaborations and advocacy opportunities at the European level. They also suggested more informal time and more in-person meetings to promote exchange and networking.

The day concluded with a shared sense that POWER has created a valuable space for learning and exchange, and with the desire to build on this experience in future projects.