The Europe Challenge

The Local Challenge

Tirana is a city with an evolving socio-cultural landscape. Although it has experienced a burgeoning wave of activism, it still faces deeply entrenched patriarchal views and concerning rates of violence towards women. The Feminist Collective community, a vital yet unofficial group in Tirana, is working with the Berk Centre to raise awareness of socio-cultural themes and improve access to coordinated feminist discourse and resources. 

 The Initiative  

This collaboration has two strands: firstly, providing new knowledge to the general public, by sharing access to relevant feminist titles in Albanian and English; and second, creating a safe space for meeting, talks, discussions between community activists, members and the broader public. This socially engaged model is in keeping with a local library’s role in the community,  encouraging face-to-face participation and reaching out to the community by partnering with local entities like the media, bookshops and museums, to increase visibility and reach. 

What’s Next?

After establishing the Women’s Library and building a knowledge centre of feminist and gender rights titles to serve as a repository for a broad selection of resources related to women’s rights, they are also launching a programme of talks from community activists and organisations focusing on the migration of women, ecofeminism and new perspectives on gender. The group plans to review future activities as the project develops, mindful of their ambition to be recognised for their importance as an international space. 

Contact theeuropechallenge@culturalfoundation.eu if you have any questions or want to be connected with the team behind the project.