Collectif des Femmes, Nonprofit

Our Mission

Created in 1979, the Collectif des Femmes is a non-profit organization whose mission is to promote the emancipation of women and men, particularly women from immigration and/or precarious women. We are work mainly in Belgium, but we have extended collaborations with women's organizations in the Developing countries in order to share experience in the field of Equality between women and men and to promote inclusive development. The association aims to empower its target audience and reinforce their autonomy of thought and action. The involvement of women and men at all levels of the association creates an upward dynamic that promotes their ability to take their destiny into their own hands, and free themselves from their multiple shackles. The social purpose of the association is therefore the social and professional integration of women migrants in Belgium (although some of our target beneficiaries are unemployed men in search of work). The association's vision is to promote equal opportunities, fight against discrimination, combat gender inequalities and promote access to employment for women and men, migrants and of foreign origin. Article 3 of the Statute of the "Collective des Femmes" stipulates that the purpose of the Association is: - Training and supervision of migrant, refugees and asylum seekers, and immigrant women, with a view to better socio-professional (re)integration,... - Facilitate the adaptation of foreign women and that of their families in Belgium, particularly in the field of the practice of the French language, health, food, the education of children and their personal autonomy. - Reflection on the role and status of women, in relation to development issues; - Etc. The Association is approved by the Wallonia-Brussels Federation to fight against Intimate partners and all forms of Gender-Based (Violence against women and girls). The achievements of this first period are the foundation of professional relations between migrants and respond to the concern to give back to women the power over their own history. It was also in those years that the fruitful encounter between these women from elsewhere took place, some progressives in search of professional prospects and new conceptual tools to improve their status. Although we began in 1979, the 1990s constitute an important period in the life of Collectif des Femmes as it laid "the first stones" with regard to structured professional integration, psychomedico-social support for an allochthonous or indigenous public, the strengthening of the capacities of women in the countries of the South... Hence, in 1997 the Collectif des Femmes obtained its official agreement in the Wallon Region and the Wallonia-Brussels Federation. Alongside the desire to promote the development of our center, our objectives are to promote the evolution of factors influencing the wellbeing of this precarious population and participation in any action aimed at favorably modifying these factors. And finally, in the longer term, we participate in the development of an equal opportunities policy based on our experiences and in the promotion of gender mainstreaming. It is since that time that we have been subsidized in a more structural way and that we have been approved for a certain number of our missions; a real public-private partnership. Our growing center demonstrates the relevance of all our goals even more today than in the past. The paths to success in terms of emancipation, socio-professional integration, lifelong education are a demonstration of this that is both relevant and convincing. Today, in the position that the Women Collective occupies, everyone benefits from this mixing of ideas which leads each of us towards the path of individual progress. Over the past 40 years, the thinking of the Collective has deepened and broadened in several directions. First of all, it was necessary to understand and take into account the profound changes in society. We have developed over time a more complex and more complete vision of the situation of migrants, of front-line proximity work, of poverty, of emancipatory pedagogy, of work in popular education, of socio-professional integration. The question of gender equality, civic and permanent education is the common thread of our various approaches. Another opening given to our horizon, we have sought and built bridges between the fields of integration, training, education, social action and we have given the issue of empowerment a transversal dimension. In terms of pedagogy, we have promoted pedagogy by project, our toolbox is currently more extensive, we have produced several publications, including a cultural imagery tool. It is a real militant journey, a social commitment of each one, of each one which has enabled various political questions during our international conferences: whether in the field of plural violence, female entrepreneurship, poverty, situation of women in the labour market, in relation to new information technologies, in relation to HIV/AIDS, in the face of radicalization always by crossing gazes South/North North/South South/South. Since 1979, several thousand adults have passed through the Centre. This means that every year since 1979, more than 22,000 people have knocked on our door and started training or requested intervention, psychosocial support, or even participated in our focus groups. As a result, several thousands agents of change scattered here in Belgium or in the countries of the South are in non-profit or international organizations in the sectors of continuing education, education, health, social work or community. Over the past 3 years, evaluation work has been carried out, which combines several interests. First, an interest in more refined knowledge of our public, its origins, its trajectories, its motivations, its commitments, the effects of the intervention of the Collective, whether in terms of social or professional integration. A second interest was to compare the aims, objectives and values of the Centre. Confrontation which, managed with a view to constructive criticism of work, has made it possible to strengthen our dynamism. Let us cite for example the professional integration rate of more than 90%. A relevant analysis of the pedagogical procedures, of the observations and evaluations of the people... has made it possible to identify practices and objectives that must be modified or pursued in another way. This has stimulated collective work in several essential directions for an organization like ours, namely the development of the culture of evaluation and constructive criticism. A rigorous analysis, still in progress, of our corporate culture, was also essential for the dynamics of our center and the pleasure of working in the field of people empowerment. This approach allowed a lucid look at our organization; while showing the shortcomings and the limits, it has valued the quality and induces a search for an increased quality which makes it possible to develop a self-reflective and formative work on our own practices and our organizational pedagogical processes. These are quickly outlined the various philosophical and political challenges of our center.