Bocconi and Sciences Po Students United Against Gender-Based Violence
Students from Bocconi University and Sciences Po have come together to raise awareness around the issue of femicides around the world and the need to defend women’s rights. The initiative, called CIVICA Echoes, was born thanks to funding from CIVICA’s new Student Engagement Fund (SEF) which indeed aims to foster projects promoted by students collaborating across institutions from the alliance.
“I was discussing with other students about problems related to gender-based violence in my home country Turkey when I saw the call for proposals for CIVICA’s SEF funding and we thought it would be a great opportunity and a chance to make our voices heard on this critical issue, broadening to women’s rights in general around the world,” says Egemen Aray, member of the Mass Media & Culture student association at Bocconi. “I knew I was coming in exchange to Science Po this semester so it made sense to look for a collaboration there. We reached out to various student associations and with the student newspaper The Sundial Press we saw we could collaborate with a very active group of students and also diversify the people and perspectives on board the project.”
“Femicide is an ongoing crisis that requires urgent attention. Students from Bocconi reached out to us regards their project inspired by the resilience of women worldwide and we thought that collaborating together could be a great opportunity in our aim to elevate stories of gender-based violence around the world - to show that it is an issue that affects all of us, everyday,” says Tallulah Burr, chief editor of student newspaper The Sundial Press at Sciences Po.
The SEF is a new mini-grant funding scheme aimed at supporting student-led joint initiatives within the CIVICA alliance. It aims to foster cross-campus collaboration and exchange among students and registered student associations – involving at least 2 partner institutions in each project - in tackling the important issues facing Europe today. Joint projects/initiatives can include events, student competitions, conferences, hackathons, and more, and 13 projects were selected from the first call for proposals.
This joint project has given birth to CIVICA Echoes website, a hub dedicated to valuable resources and informative material spotlighting the daily reality of women around the world. And at the beginning of March the students organized in Bocconi the conference ‘Women’s rights and femicide awareness’. The event was introduced by Paola Profeta, Dean for Diversity, Inclusion and Sustainability at Bocconi and featured a discussion with professors from Bocconi University and Università Statale di Milano and the testimony of Carlotta Menozzi, a former victim, who is now an advocate in the fight against gender-based violence. The event also featured an art exhibition showcasing works by young artists, highlighting diverse perspectives of women’s experiences.
“The turnout was impressive, the audience empathetic, and the conversations moving. Attendees could see that these debates are not purely theoretical, that these issues have a critical impact on our lives, and the event reinforced our desire to speak up - to act,” says Tallulah. “These cross-European interactions and this moment of exchange and action inspired us all. We returned more motivated to transform that inspiration into impact through our journalism.”
“The SEF funding will push this project through to June and then we hope to continue. We are looking into possibility of organizing other events but in the meantime we continue to enrich the CIVICA Echoes hub and our social media with articles and other content,” says Egemen.