VOJVODJANKA WOMAN'S INITIATIVE >
 
Vojvodjanka - Regional Women's Initiative was founded in 2000 in Novi Sad, Vojvodina, Serbia & Montenegro, as a non-party, non-governmental and non-profit association of citizens.

 

Vojvodjanka - Regional Women's Initiative advocates the observing of basic democratic values and human rights particularly focusing on gender equality. Through its activities "Vojvodjanka" promotes civil society in which both men and women of any age and background may take part in public and political life and develops new co-operation models and networks among political parties, non-governmental organizations and media.

Vojvodjanka - Regional Women's Initiative has participated the implementation of the following projects:

- Being one of the regional centers formed in Novi Sad, Belgrade and Nis, "Vojvodjanka" from Novi Sad coordinated the activities and distribution of promotional material of the Women's Movement - Women's Network in the women's election campaign of non-governmental organizations Go Out and Be Active in 15 towns of Vojvodina in August and September 2000.

- In December 2000, the project called "Equal" was organized to provide media support to the women's election campaign of the Women's Movement - Women's Network for the republic elections held on December 23, 2000. Vojvodjanka - Regional Women's Initiative set out three regional media centers in Novi Sad, Nis and Belgrade together with the professional female journalists who covered the activities of women in media. "Equal" media project was supported by Stability Pact Gender Task Force. Two short documentary films were also shot (in CD format) on the implementation of the campaign in Vojvodina during the election campaign - "Equal 1" and "Equal 2", in the co-operation with the independent urbaNS TV production. The Sweden government supported the project financially.

- In December 2000 and January 2001, together with the Women's Active Society we organized in Novi Sad the collection of signatures for the amendments of the Law on the Yugoslav Army - like shortening the military service and plea of conscience.

- In January 2001, The 2000 Facts was published. The publication represents the first publicly announced analysis of the men/women ratio in newly formed municipal, provincial, republic and federal assemblies and parliaments in Vojvodina and Serbia & Montenegro. 12,000 copies were printed and distributed to all political parties, assemblies and parliaments, non-governmental organizations and printed and electronic media in the country. The project has been realized with the financial support of the Fund For An Open Society - Yugoslavia.

- In 2000 and 2001, the Women's Info Center for Vojvodina was founded as one of the first projects of the Stability Pact Gender Task Force in Vojvodina. The project activities lasted for six months. We created our own web site www.vojvodjanka.org.yu, printed "Equal" bulletin, organized round tables in a number of Vojvodina towns on the current status of women. The project was implemented thanks to the financial support by the Austria Government.

- Between March and August, 2001, Vojvodjanka - Regional Women's Initiative took part as a partner organization in the
Incubator programme of the trans-border activities of the civil societies, realized by the Euroregional Center for Democracy from Timisoara. Within the programme the project Let's Work Together in Politics was carried out with the participation of Association for Promotion of Women in Romania, from Timisoara, and Vojvodjanka - Regional Women's Initiative from Novi Sad. The publication titled "Let's Work Together in Politics" was published in Serbian, Romanian and English. Two short documentaries on the project realization were also prepared in a CD format, in Serbian and English.

- In October and November, 2001, we participated the organization of the Women Can Do It of the Norway Peoples' Aid in Novi Sad.

- Between March and May 2002, we were the main organizer of the project Let's Make Women's Potentials in Non-Governmental Sector Vivid aimed at strengthening the network of women's non-governmental organizations in Novi Sad and promoting women's human rights. The project was realized thanks to the financial support of the Fund For An Open Society - Yugoslavia.

- From January to April 2002, the project Women's Business Crediting was organized, together with two round tables Together To Solution in Belgrade on 15th April and in Novi Sad on 17th April 2002, in the co-operation with the STAR Belgrade Office, Stability Pact Gender Task Force and Association of Business-Women from Novi Sad. Publication Together To Solution was published in Serbian and English. The project was financially supported by USAID Commercial Law Project, Booz Allen Hamilton.

- Since May 2002, Vojvodjanka - Regional Women's Initiative has been a member of the ASTRA network and it takes part in the preventive and educational campaign Open Your Eyes in Vojvodina. The campaign deals with the problems of human trafficking, in particular with the trafficking of women and children; its goal is to inform wider public on the women trafficking issues.

- On June 21, 2002, in the co-operation with the Provincial Secretariat for Sport and Youth, we organized the event For Future without Any Borders at the Backa Palanka Bridge. The event was a civil support to the efforts of the representatives of Serbia & Montenegro and Croatian governments in order to abolish the visa regime and promote bilateral relations between the two countries. The event was realized in the co-operation with the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Citizens' Pact for Southeast Europe, municipal authorities of Ilok and Backa Palanka, Center for Women and Association of Women from Vukovar, Association for Protection of Women and Motherhood from Ilok, Civil Association of Serbia and League of Vojvodina Social-Democrats. The event simultaneously took place on both Serbian and Croatian side of the border at the border crossing on the Backa Palanka Bridge. There is a short documentary shot on the event in a CD format in Serbian and English languages. The film was made in the co-operation with the independent urbaNS TV production. The Citizens' Pact for Southeast Europe participated the event.

- Between 10 and 20 September, 2002, in the co-operation with the Center for Political Education and MEDIAPACT, with the professional support by the psychiatrists from the "Society for Protection of Mental Help and the Victims of 1991-1999 Wars" from Novi Sad, we organized an exhibition of war photographs "Blood and Honey" by Ron Haviv. The Exhibition drew great public attention since the visitors were given the opportunity to write their own comments and attitudes down on the blank paper put beside Ron Haviv's photographs. Two public discussions were also organized as accompanying programmes - " Vietnamese Syndrome in Serbia" and "Is War a Free Choice?" as well as the screenings of four documentary films on the wars in the territory of the former Yugoslavia. The Exhibition in Novi Sad was visited by 5,000 people. The organizers of the Ron Haviv's war photographs in the towns of Serbia and Vojvodina were the Documentary Center "1991-199 Wars" and the REX Cultural Center from Belgrade. The exhibition was supported by the Freedom House with the financial support by the USAID.

- On December 3, on the occasion of the World Day of the Disabled we organized in Novi Sad the event and the exhibition, TOGETHER, NOT BESIDE YOU! under the auspices of the City Hall of Novi Sad. The exhibition TOGETHER, NOT BESIDE YOU! is a new form of the co-operation between the local authorities, non-governmental organizations and organizations which gather disabled people and people with special needs.

- Since 2000, Vojvodjanka - Regional Women's Initiative has been regularly participating the Exhibition of Non-governmental Organizations in Timisoara, Romania, which is organized each year by the Euroregional Center for Democracy.

- In 2001 and 2002, we co-ordinated the activities related to the organization of the training programme Women Can Do It, 1 & 2 in Vojvodina and Serbia. This education programme, intended for women at non-governmental organizations and parliamentary political parties, was initiated by the Stability Pact Gender Task in 12 countries of the South-Eastern Europe.

- In 2002, we took part in the implementation of the ECONOMICALLY EQUAL campaign of the women's non-governmental organizations. We co-ordinated the activities in the towns of Vojvodina such as - Sombor, Kikinda, Sremska Mitrovica, and Novi Sad. The project was implemented by the Gender Task Force in Serbia and Vojvodina. Financial support for the project was provided by the Italian government.

- In 2003, we organized the VIVISECT project with the support of the Project for Democratic Transition and Reintegration in Serbia. The project was financially supported by the Freedom House with the funds provided by the American Agency for International Development. A short Documentary and a Book of Documents titled VIVISECT represent a testimony of the way in which the "Blood and Honey" exhibition of war photographs of the American journalist Ron Haviv in Novi Sad and of the respond of numerous visitors of the exhibition. In September 10-20, 2002 the exhibition in Novi Sad was visited by over 5,000 people who had the opportunity to write down their own comments on blank paper sheets near the photographs which were exhibited for eight days without any author's subtitles. During the exhibition 500 paper sheets were collected with visitors' comments written down on everyday basis. VIVISECT is a document which bears witness of social and political situation in Serbia after the fall of Milosevic's regime and of the reasons which make the process of facing the truth about wars and war crimes during the last decade of the 20th century in the territory of the former Yugoslavia more difficult. VIVISECT was screened at the International Film festival on Human Rights in New York (USA), in Subotica (Serbia), Prizren (Kosovo), Barcelona (Spain) and Warsaw (Poland).
- Between November 2002 and February 2004, within the regional projects of the Stability Pact Gender Task Force, Vojvodjanka - Regional Women's Initiative has been implementing the EUROREGIONAL WOMEN'S POLITICAL CO-OPERATION project. In the cross-border project women from non-governmental organizations, political parties, local authorities and media from Hungary, Romania and Vojvodina took part. The Danish government provided the financial support for the project.

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