[NextGenderation]
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Dear friends,
This message is send to you by the Lesbian Group of
Athens in Greece.
The purpose of this letter is to invite you in Greece
during the
European Social Forum that will take place in May
(4th-7th) in the city of
Athens. In the context of the ESF workings we would
like to organise a
seminar (or a workshop) to discuss and exchange
experiences on lesbian
politics in relation to lesbian grassroots
organisations and collectives.
A few things about us:
The lesbian group of Athens was founded in November of
2000. Our group
is a grassroots collective. We work mainly as a
support group where,
through our weekly Tuesday meetings, we try to share
our experience as
lesbians by analysing homophobia in our every day
lives and the
heteronormative conditions of our society which render
us so often invisible. At
the same time we are trying to express ourselves by
posing questions on
a variety of issues such as gender, sexuality, sexual
desire, lesbian
identity, family, work, friendship, love
relationships. Our aim is to
empower ourselves through this process of collective
sharing of
experiences and to develop practical and emotional
strategies that will help us
confront homophobic violence.
Our group has also been actively involved within the
Greek lgbtqi
movement. We organise cultural events such as film
screenings, women-only
parties and public discussions. We also participate in
a social center of
Athens, creating twice a month an non-commercial space
for the lesbian,
and general lgbt community. The social centre is
co-operated by various
groups working on the issue of political and social
rights. Furthermore
we have developed relationships and alliances with the
radical social,
anti-globalisation, anti-war and feminist movement in
Greece. Members
of our collective have participated at the previous
ESFâs.
A few things about the seminar:
We would like the seminar to focus on the theory and
praxis of lesbian
politics, on the one hand, and on the realities of
lesbian identities
today, on the other. Our intention is to explore the
ways through which
we understand politics and/or political action and to
discuss on
possible understandings and definitions of the
"lesbian" we all are. We would
like to exchange our experiences from the different
groups or
organisations we participate, either lesbian-only or
mixed lgbtqi groups and the
specific problems that arise within the context of our
particular
national and cultural environments. Our goal is to
create a space where we
can discuss on different visibility strategies and
ideas of organising
our demands in order to be more efficient in our
pursue for equality and
respect for lesbians and lgbtqi people in general.
Further Information:
This is our basic idea about the seminar
theme, still we are open and
looking to other ideas that could enrich the
discussion.
We please you to respond, either positive or negative,
until the 10th
of April.
We finally want to note that we can provide
accommodation to those of
you coming, and also there are chances of economical
support for people
that canât afford the trip. For people coming from
the Balkans ESF
can help with the visa required. For anything else let
us now.
E-mail: lesbiangroup@???
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