Iftiin ProjectProject Objectives:

To empower ethnic women in order to prevent FGM and lifestyle-related diseases and to promote the women's knowledge, attitudes and capability to make radical changes in their life-conditions thereby promoting "equality in health"

Background

• The health of ethnic children, young girls and women is significantly worse than the average of the population in the European countries.

• Many health problems are related to FGM and other reproductive diseases. Experiences show that health- and illness problems are closely connected to the general life conditions

Continue

• Unemployed ethnic women & children living under poor conditions and with a low level of education, a poor network etc. are threathed by FGM & diseases.

• Inexpedient handling of health and diseases and great difficulties in changing of lifestyle results in in-equality in health.

• The need for local role models / agents of change, is essential.

Project idea:

By means of using new empowerment methods such as Appreciative Inquiry and Forum-Theatre the project will focus on specific changes with regard to health & especially FGM. The project is bottom-up, as the beneficiaries themselves are the project-holders.

The audiences attending performances, being informed about the efforts through the media, and public health workers will also gain knowledge of ethnic women’s health and strategies of change.

Activities taken place

• Sub-contract for project consultant

• Selection of Steering Group

• Selection of 20 trainees

• 9 meetings in the steering committee

• Establishment of office/materials

• Two open meetings for all ethnic women groups

Continue

• Establishment of project working group• Conference on project presentation• Meeting with project trainer• Meeting with project partners• Partner Contracts signed• Contact with Immigrants media group• Project presentation through local media,

BAZAR-TV + Newsletters to women associations

Continue

• Monitoring visit from EU 29. Sept. –05

• Project Report approved by the Commission

• Economical balance made by the end of 2005 and 2006 by Ernst & Young

• Updated the info-material from our project on the Daphne web-site: www.daphne-toolkit.org

Performances in DK

• 17. June 2006: Performance at Gellerup Scenen, Aarhus

• 1. July 2006: Performance at a large Sports Festival in Haderslev with ex. 26.000 participants

• 20. July 2006: Trade and Aid Festival, Bornholm. (Cancelled due to illness in Maryams family)20.000 audiences expected. PITY!

• August 06: Vollsmose, Odense• All in all app. 900 audiences

Ongoing activities in DK

• 21 young girls and women meet every Sunday to train to the performance and to discuss their experiences

• Members of SWOD help to create costumes and to sew them, to make food for different arrangements etc.

Continue

• Education of Agents of Change: 8 meetings with 4 agents. New group will start february 07.

• White-book for the educational content planned to be published June 2007.

• Idea: To use these ”Agents of Change” to arrange meetings & seminars in a ”follow-up” project.

Continue

• Further development of project website: www.somaliwomen.dk

• Text and drawings to the comic strip (English, Danish, Somali) Exp. Spring 2007

• Production of DVD/CD – we allready have quite much

Planned Activities

• Performance in Copenhagen in co-operation with an Danida Agency called ”Projektrådgivningen”. Planned to take place in spring 07.

Transnational activities

• 12-14. Maj 2006: Transnational seminar in Amsterdam. Nice performance and highclass speakers from the Dutch Ministry of Integration (Audience: App. 450)

• 17-19. November 2006: Transnational Seminar in Manchester. Wonderful performance. Speaker from the Municipality. Audience: App.: 300

• Closing Conference in Århus: Friday the I. of June till Sunday the 3. Of June 2007

Information strategy..• Partnership with BAZAR-TV decided April –06.• Radio programme in Somali/Danish/Iran each

Thirsday from 11-13 o’clock with relevant things from the project and other issues of relevance for women. Host: Ambara

• The programme will be taped and can be downloaded from our website

• 20 min.’s Television each week will be sent from the project. This can also be downloaded from our website

• A long 2 hours TV-programme documenting the project will be made spring 2007

Lessons Learned

• Different religion/language of the project beneficiaries create some problems…

• Great interest for our multi ethnic women empowerment project in the public…

• Some difficulties in recruiting the women have show up…

• Men become interested in being included in the project. Why men excluded?

• Partnerproblems in UK…

Questions to be discussed

• Evaluation of the project – expectations from the Commission ?

• Participation from the EU in our Final Conference – Speaker ?

• The economical situation of the project

Thank you