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A permanent lab to explore issues of women's empowerment and gender equality

According to the Global Gender Gap Report 2022, issued annually by the World Economic Forum since 2006, it will take another 132 years to close the global gender gap. Indicators considered include economic participation and economic opportunity, educational achievement, health and survival, and political empowerment. Recent global crises are further slowing the process. For example, in Italy, of the 444,000 fewer people employed in all of 2020, 70 percent are women.

From an idea of Farm Cultural Park, with the support of PUSH and the Municipality of Favara, a path of discovery and awareness was developed that walked participants through exploring different aspects of the theme of women’s empowerment and taking active action to generate positive change in their city. The project is the winner of the public notice Creative Living Lab – 3 edition, promoted by the General Directorate of Contemporary Creativity of the Ministry of Culture.
Ultimate goal, the opening of permanent hub to meet, develop projects, study, meet experts on the areas of their interest and host cultural and recreational events.
The main activities: a series of art workshops (photography, dance, urban storytelling), creation of a poster art campaign, self-construction of the furniture of the new space, planning of the first activities.

The project has continuously involved about 20 girls from Favara and the surrounding area.
In some cases, participation has been extended to a group of refugee boys from Ukraine, students from local schools and, through an open call, to women of all ages, opening up an intercultural and intergenerational perspective.
Young residents of the Farm Cultural Park neighborhood actively participated in the self-construction workshop.
A new space has been returned to the City of Favara and in the coming years will be a reference point for girls, young women and beyond.

At the end of the project, a toolkit-storytelling was published that gives other associations, informal groups, and professionals the opportunity to replicate certain steps of the process, adapting them to particular contexts.