Due to the Russian aggression against Ukraine Lviv is filled to the brim with internally displaced persons who are eager to visit cultural events and exciting gatherings. That’s why starting in April Feminist Workshop resumed its educational events.

Regarding accessibility, our events may be divided into open events that can be visited by everyone interested and closed events that you can only visit after registration. We organize our events for the permanent residents of Lviv, people currently residing in Lviv, and members of the feminist community that was formed around our organization.

Open educational events on feminism

Every week we organize open lectures on feminism. Since April we held such events:

• discussions “Alternatives to school education”, “Sexism in literature”, “(Ukrainian) women in (Russian) cinema”;
• trainings and workshops “Witness intervention” and “Psychological self-help”;
• lectures “Fashion week: made by Ukrainian women”, “Ecofeminism: what’s common between caring about environment and women’s* rights”, “What will happen to our cities: the right to housing during and after the war”; “Body positivity: how to love yourself in a world where everyone but you is perfect”,  “The Matilda effect: systematic erasure of women scientists from the pages of history”, “How authority became feminine: Ukrainian experience”, “I need it yesterday: women painters, who are (not) commemorated in the names of the streets”.

These events were visited by 162 people in total.

We write summaries of certain events so that you can read some information from the lecture in the text format. We publish all our texts on our website, in the section “Blog”.

New regular format – speaking club

Over this time we launched renovated regular format – English speaking club focusing on feminism led by the professional teacher Theo Koroner. We already held speaking clubs about feminism, but this time we decided to add more opportunities to practice and improve spoken English.

It currently works in test mode. We already organized an offline event in Lviv, as well as online meetings on Zoom. These latter were visited by people from Warsaw, Ternopil, Kyiv, Odesa, and Lviv. Not only does our club present a wonderful opportunity to improve your English, but you also have a chance to meet new people that share your feminist values.

Closed events: psychological help, community support, and a consciousness-raising group

“Worshipping Lilith”

We continue our good tradition and keep organizing regular meetings of the closed consciousness-raising group “Worshipping Lilith”. This format allows you to speak up about your personal experiences: sex, body, and personal worries. The group is active for two years, and the full-scale invasion didn’t strip it of its relevance.

On the contrary, we believe that regarding the surge of sexualized violence caused by the russian war against Ukraine, it is important to discuss your fears and relevant coping strategies.

Closed events for the feminist community

It’s important for us to be a united activist community, maintain close friendly relationships, and create a space for the discussion of important feminist issues. This is why every month we hold closed events for the feminist community of the residents of Lviv that was formed around our organization. Our formats differ from the movie nights to the tabletop games sessions.

Our community includes many people that keep engaging in activism and volunteering. These events present an opportunity to relax, rejuvenate, meet like-minded people, and receive much-needed support.

Online psychological support group

We also hold meetings of the online psychological group on a weekly basis. Starting from June the group changed its status to closed, and you can’t join it anymore. The group is moderated by Olena Diveyeva, head of the center of the evidence-based therapy InnerSurfing, and Natalya Dyakiv, a practical psychologist. The participants still meet on Mondays to discuss their worries.

We keep organizing lectures, workshops, and discussions, bringing up important issues related to human rights and gender equality in the present day. Follow us to get the announcements of upcoming events!

Text: Kseniia Termasina, Anastasiia Yurchenko
Translation: Kira Leonova