The Gender Equality Festival, 2015
The Gender Equality Festival is not just one of many festivals: it is unique, educational, non-formal and promotes social change for women, men, children and most of all youth. Come and find out what would take for Sibiu to become a more “gender-friendly” city! Here are five events which highly recommend our Festival.
Newspaper Theatre: Debate and Role-play starting from newspapers
This summer, many of us have followed the rape case in Vaslui, as presented by mass-media. But how can we build our own opinion? And what happens there in the local community after the camera is turned off and the last journalist leaves? This workshop aims at encouraging the participants’ critical thinking, as well as their empathy, starting from the articles published by mass-media. The participants will have the occasion to join the debate and analyse things from the perspective of the journalists, as well as from that of the people involved in the case. Thursday, October 1st, 18:00, Habitus Bookshop
The Vagina Monologues, after Eve Ensler
Eve Ensler’s original text is based on interviews with over 120 women who talked about the violence they went through, but also about what made them stronger and what helped to heal their feelings of shame. The Vagina Monologues is an attempt to shake off of the perception that women’s bodies are dirty and shameful. It generated one of the largest global movements aiming at combating violence against women: V-Day, followed by 1 Billion Rising. Performances based on this text are staged in over 140 countries. Some of the actresses that have played the part are Jane Fonda, Whoopi Goldberg, Glenn Close și Susan Sarandon. The play in our festival is played by three actresses known by the audience in Sibiu from the “Radu Stanca” National Theatre performances: Serenela Mureșan, Cristina Ragos and Codruța Vasiu. Thursday, October 1st, 20:00, Atrium Café, Birstro& Art, Sibiu
Forum Theatre
Forum theatre is a form of educative theatre conceived by Augusto Boal with the aim to promote societal change. This year’s performance presents the sad destiny of a teenage girl in a world full of misconceptions and fixed forms. Her story can be the story of any young person that is vulnerable to social stigmatization. Forum theatre gives spectators the opportunity to repair stereotypical mistakes and, why not, to become actors. It is a challenge for the courageous, but also for those who love the unconventional. Friday, October 2nd, 14:00, Geea Caffee Sibiu
Educative Activities for Children and Parents: The Pink-Blue World
Many of us pass on stereotypes and fears to our children. We don’t want boys to be too weak, so we buy them guns and cars. We don’t want girls to tomboys, so we buy them princesses and cooking sets. Girl’s and boy’s games become gradually segregated and often endow them with diverging skills and attitudes. Do childhood games have anything to do with the battle of the sexes? Could we introduce gender equality in our children’s lives by paying attention to their games or their toys? This workshop will provide parents and children with an opportunity to play and analyse why they make certain choices and what the consequences of these choices are in the long run. Saturday, October 3rd, 11:00, Erasmus Buechercafe.
Film Projection: Brave Miss World
The film presents the drama of Miss World Israel 1998. Declared the most beautiful woman in the world, Linor Abargil went through a traumatizing experience no less than two months before she was crowned Miss World. She was kidnapped and raped in Milano, Italy by her agent. Ten years later, she is ready to talk about what happened and encourages other people to tell their stories. As a representative of sexual violence victims, Linor encourages the fight against sexual violence, urging us to break the silence and take attitude in such situations. Saturday, October 3rd, 18:00, Habitus Bookshop
