End of the European project to train activists promoting the abandonment of female genital mutilation
On Tuesday 18 June, the Chat Plus - Changing Attitude Plus programme presented the final result of all the work conducted under the framework of this project that has been carried out throughout this academic year to promote the abandonment of the practice of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) thanks to the participation of young people.
The CHAT Plus Changing Attitude Plus project is a European initiative which here in Catalonia has been co-organised by the UAB's Solidarity Foundation and the Wassu Foundation. The initiative has gotten young people involved with the aim of carrying out actions, communication, awareness and prevention campaigns to promote the abandonment of FGM at both local and European level.
The exhibition hall was the venue for the closing ceremony. The event was presented by Uma Alcaide who gave way to a round table discussion, which was moderated by Nogay Ndiaye and in which activists who have been involved in the project participated. During their interventions, they shared the lessons learned throughout the project and spoke of the importance of raising awareness and denouncing this practice. The debate served to highlight the lack of information on the subject and the difficulties encountered when talking about it, depending on the context. Therefore, the participants concluded that there is still much work to be done, to inform, to make known the impact that the practice has on so many people around the world and the importance that each individual can contribute their grain of sand to change this situation.
Following the round table, the project exhibition was presented, which includes images of the activities that were developed and also the illustrations of the comic book that the young activists have created with the accompaniment and illustrations of the team from the Associació La Incòmoda. The exhibition of photographs reflects the action of the project in recent months: training for young people, street actions, film forums, training in secondary school classrooms, at the university and the communication campaign.
The comic, through the story of Maria and Binta, illustrates, gives voice to and reflects the experiences of thousands of women and girls around the world, as well as capturing the reflections and lessons learned by young activists on FGM. This comic is thus a call for awareness and action, in the hope of contributing to a future free of violence and discrimination for all women and girls.
The exhibition can be visited until Wednesday 10 July at the Exhibition Hall of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) (Agora building, Plaça Cívica).
With this event, the project's planned actions for this academic year have concluded, with the commitment to continue working to promote activism and awareness of the issue of female genital mutilation.