Vienna Congress
International Women's Day 2008
We are very proud to honor our Black Women Hiroes ( see below) on the Ocassion of the International Women's Day 2008 for their couragoeus, inspiring and empowering achievements over the centuries!
We salute the effords and contributions of women all over the world towards theas!
We encourage more active participation and solidarity amongst women accross all boarders!
We demand institutional and financial support of Women Initiatives the world over, especially Immigrant Women!
We believes that self-empowerment is the key to the development of every society, and that diversity is an inalienable asset for every society!
We wish all women of the world, especially Black Women a very fulfilling Day!
2007 has been declared „the European Year for Equal Opportunities for All“ by the European Union. The International Center for Black Women’s Perspectives (AFRA) took this as a challenge to initiate the 1st Black European Women’s Congress which took place, from September 27-29 2007, in Vienna, Austria.
Photo: Dieter Säckl
Under the patronage of the President of the Austrian National Assembly, Ms. Barbara Prammer, the 1st Black European Women’s Congress intended to bring together Black Women from different European countries to get to know each other, to share information and strategies, to analyse the concept of Equal Opportunities for All from their own perspectives and to come out with recommendations and strategies on how to improve the living conditions of Black Women and children in Europe.
During the two and a half days, congress participants listened to keynote speakers and took part in discussions and working groups as well as worked on individual, national and regional levels with the intention of creating new alliances, building new partnerships and combining forces and resources to table their special needs and demands to the appropriate addresses, (policy-makers, decision-makers, politicians, media, civil society etc.) both at national as well as at EU levels.
The congress and the framework, in which it has been organised - „The European Year for Equal Opportunities for All“ - turned out to become a unique opportunity for Black Women across Europe, not only to meet and share information, but also to create a Network of Black European Women (BEWNET), whose main ambition is to become a partner of the EU and it’s institutions in matters of the Black Community in general and Black Women and children particularly across Europe. BEWNET is planed to be officially launcht next year in the framework of the EU Year for Intercultural Dialog. The structure (status, election of board members, mission, criterials for an admission of new members, plan of action etc.) currently will be drafted to ensure a smooth launching of the network next year. The BEWNET wellcomes all other women who could for one reason or the other not take part in the congress.
One of the milestones of the 1st Black European Women’s Congress was the self definition of Black Women as Black European Women (meaning all Black Women living in Europe). This definition is part of the political strategy of Black European Women to position themselves in the political landmark of Europe and claim and reinforce their rights to have access to goods and services, and to take part in all sectors of European society.
Photo: Dieter Säckl
The second milestone was the creation of BEWNET – Black European Women’s Network.
The third was the adoption of The Vienna Declaration comprising a preamble and recommendations of Black European Women, focusing on the five congress themes. The Vienna Declaration has been so far translated into a number of languages and is available to download on this website. Themes of the congress were carefully selected by the team of Black Women with working experience both in practice and theory.
The topics were:
- Identity and (Self) empowerment (definition/perceptions, strategies)
- Challenges faced by the young generation of black children and youths (absence of role models, challenges, role of parents, education, environment, networking and empowerment)
- Psychosocial conflicts affecting the Black Communities (availability and access to health and psychosocial services)
- Qualification and access to the labour market (recognition of qualifications from countries of origin, strategies towards a non- discriminatory access to the European labour market for Black Women etc)
- Political participation in both, public (formal) and private (informal), sectors.
The target group of the congress were Black European Women of African heritage who are active in the area of migration and human rights in their respective EU countries, and who were interested in exchanging, networking and developing common lobby strategies on the European level.
Participation in the 1st Black European Women’s Congress was opened to
- Black Woman, members of/appointed by an organisation working with Black Women and, or Youths in one of the 27 EU Member States,
- Black Women activists, artists, writers etc.
- Black Women who were and are interested in exchange, networking and common lobby at the European level
Photo: Dieter Säckl
Participation was free of charge, however participants had to pay for their travel expenses. The 1st Black European Women’s Congress brought together about 100 Black European Women from 16 EU Member States, Switzerland and the USA.
A detail report of the 1st Black European Women’s Congress will be soon availabe on this website
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