The first part of the project took place in Diyarbakir (Turkey) 2-10. October 2022, second part in Vienna (Austria) 2-9. March 2023.
Topics:
Definition of Gender
Gender roles and stereotypes
Gender in different cultures, countries and religions
Gender and sexism in media (advertisement, movies, newspapers).
Gender Vs. Sex, biology, sociology, feminism and ideologies
LGBTQ+, feminism, Jineology
Eva (About project in DIY)
“What is the gender? Why is it still such a topic? These questions came to my mind when I applied for a project about Gender and Media. The training course in Diyarbakir opened my eyes, and I was shocked how much the gender topic manifests in our daily life without us even knowing it! We learned about the media and social manipulation, about the ways how to be gender sensitive and tolerant. We discussed the gender problems with examples from our daily life and came up with solutions and preventive behavior for us as youth workers.
We met people very involved in the gender topic such as feminists, youth female journalist and we got the opportunity to discuss the topics from all sides. For me as a biologist was amazing to share my point of view and understand others. This training course encouraged me in my own feminist activities which I am performing in my local community, and provide me with very useful contacts for later cooperation.
Štěpán (About project in DIY)
Personally, I liked the project in Diyarbakir very much. I was a bit worried at the beginning that I wouldn’t fit into this training course because I don’t have much background. But the opposite was true. There was a very heterogeneous group of people who had many different opinions and thanks to the experienced trainers, there was often a very interesting discussion on the course.
What I enjoyed the most was the many levels on which the course was conducted, from issues of gender in biology to the very interesting lectures on Jineology, which to be honest I had no idea what it was before.
Above all, this course made me interested in things I hadn’t been interested in before. The experiences I have taken away are not just theoretical but mostly practical and I think that if everyone went through a course like this the world would be a more beautiful place.
Jára (About project in DIY)
I applied for this project because of the topic it was supposed to touch. Gender and Media are the two things that somehow surround us all day, every day. Both are in a way problematic and controversial to some people. That is why I wanted to get into a deeper understanding of what do these two words represent. I must say that a week spent in Diyarbakir did really help me to get a better picture.
I have to say that the project was amazing in many things, but one that is definite for me is the fact the group worked together. Even though at least on the topic of gender people have various opinions, nobody felt under pressure when presenting their own view. People from all over Europe, from a different cultures, background, talking about a very specific topic, discussing it to the deepest nuances. And of course, doing a lots of other activities other than just talking.
This kind of project I would recommend to anyone. I felt so inspired, motivated and understood at the same time. This is what Erasmus+ projects should be about. About connecting, discussing and working together. And I felt it in Diyarbakir.
Markéta (About both parts – DIY and VIE)
I participated in both parts of the project and it was a really interesting experience.
The first part in Diyarbakir was more about gender and feminism. I am interested in this topic, but I learned so much!
We worked in groups and discussed gender problems in our countries, talked about feminism and also we met many inspiring people.
Second part in Vienna was a combination of a few topics. We discussed gender problems too, but also about human rights or intersectionality. And we learned how to make social media content, it was the best thing for me. I tried to make an instagram reel and also an instagram post in canva. It is such a useful skill nowadays.
I would recommend both parts to anyone, the atmosphere was so friendly and I think we created a safe space for everyone. Thank you trainers!
Sara (About project in Vienna)
When I heard about this topic of the project, it caught my attention. Not only because Media is my field of study but simply because we no longer live with media – we are living in the media. The activities and titles were also about other things than just media, but you could see that everything is connected with each other.
New terms for me were intersectionality and jineology. I was amazed by other people’s having so much to say about that. Each new concept was the subject of some activity – sometimes just discussion in groups and comparing different cultural points of view, other times creative things like producing info sheets, videos, presentations, reels, and working with social media platforms. In these projects where we are working with sensitive and for some people, new topics, it is very important that everyone understand the theme discussed and then agree together on its meaning. Here is an example of an activity for the term “CONSENT”, which can mean something different to everyone. Based on the discussion, we created these Instagram stories.
If I have one thing to point out, it is the power of inspiring people who raise themes that are not so popular or misunderstood in the place where I live in. This project expanded my knowledge about feminism, LGBTQ+, jineology, gender, and meeting new open-minded people.
