Linked with GLOW – a global center for women’s politics, with France – l’Europe et la campagne présidentielle, and with Europäische Vernetzungskonferenz.
Born in 1979, FRANZISKA BRANTNER lives at present in Paris and writes her PhD thesis with Professor Wessels (University of Cologne) on the role of the USA in the process of European Union integration. She graduated in 2004 with a double diploma from the School of International & Public Affairs at Columbia University and of the Institut d’Etudes Politiques, Paris (Sciences Po), from which she graduated first of her class.
Franziska has participated at major international women’s rights conferences at the UN and in the NGO field. As a consultant for the United Nations Development Fund for Women, she has worked with young women in Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia. She also advised the Delegation of the European Commission to the UN.
She is member of the McKinsey College and fellow of the Heinrich Böll Foundation. Franziska Brantner lived and worked in Tel Aviv, Washington, D. C., Paris, New York and Berlin. (Read on Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung).
Franziska Brantner – Germany.
She moderated, together with Claire Bortfeldt, the workshop ‘Fundamentalism, Feminism, and Faith in Europe’, on 10.09.2005: « With this workshop we intend to draw attention on the fact that many fundamentalist movements only accept one understanding of family, sexual rights and social relations, denying the fact that there always exist very different concepts in societies, hereby denying fundamental human and women’s rights », she says. (full text).
Download the 8 pages pdf-text in german: Religiöser Fundamentalismus gegen Frauenrechte, auf internationaler, EU und deutscher Ebene.
Within the Heinrich Böll Foundation, gender democracy is a joint task, i.e. gender democracy is part of all our activities. There is no such thing as a textbook for gender democracy; instead it is a work-in-progress to change our organisation as well as society as a whole. Concepts for gender democracy have to be reworked and relived again and again, always depending on the concrete social and cultural environment.Within the foundation at least 50 percent of all positions in all tiers in hierarchy have to be filled with women. All employees are actively involved in the achievement of gender democracy. Thus gender democracy, far from being an abstract tenet, is integrated into the everyday working life of the foundation’s personnel. Through them, through their activities in political education and developmental co-operation, gender democracy will spread to other parts of society and to other parts of the world. (full text).
Read: L’enrichissement européen, Janvier 2006.
Young Women Organizing for Change, Roundtable Discussion … March 2005 …
The following are question/comments raised during the discussion period:
- The question was raised on how to engage with younger women outside of the feminist and/or progressive movements.
- Elizabeth noted that it is important for youth movements not to limit their discussions to only a few groups-we have to share the discourse in other spaces.
- Franziska also remarked that we should also consider whether or not to engage with others based on the goals worked for in any particular situation.
- Afamia noted that, from her experience working in Lebanon, discussions like the one at the session on leadership are not important to her. She did not view leadership to be trickling down. In her perspective, she is thinking about having to work everyday, serious poverty, and issues that most affect the women-and men-that she works with. Her conversation is a different one.
- A question was asked on whether it was practical to form coalitions based on only the fact of a similar age group. She noted that experiences within these age groups are very different based on race, class, gender, and geographical location.
- Taylor asked what mechanisms worked for younger women in terms of coalition building: In what ways can we reach out to other young women, particularly those not engaged within the feminist movement, and support each other? College and university settings were raised as one venue to engage young people, and the internet was also discussed as a networking tool, while also noting the limitations for those who do not have access. (Andrea noted that women in Eastern Europe only have limited internet access if at all.) Engaging those already working in other (« non-feminist ») grassroots and community organizations was also proposed.
- Franziska noted that what she sees as missing in the feminist movement right now is an examination of the history of the societal limitations of women and social construction of gender. She noted that these limits are still there, but that the younger generation does not often realize it because things « seem okay. »
- The point of the need to get rid of the societal idea-in all societies-that women are wives and mothers first and foremost, was brought up. The need, in the U.S., to move the feminist movement away from cities and, particularly, away from the East Coast, in order to reach more women and to address their concerns was also cited.
- Alison discussed the need for the feminist movement to think more about ways to get away from the perception that the movement is « anti-mother. »
- Franziska pointed to a recent report done by the OECD on childcare, which cites the societal benefits-not just for women-in countries with well-functioning, government-funded child-care programs.
- The point of working with men to end patriarchal oppression was also raised. It was noted that it is important to involve men, and to have men recognize that ending patriarchal constraints also works towards their benefit.
links:
UN reform and gender architecture;
Fairleigh Dickinson University;
Böll.org: Listado de las publicaciones archivadas;
Eurotaurillon, magazine eurocitoyen.