International Connections
I learned that personal connections on an international scale can be an antidote to structural racism and European culture of dominance
Partnership Meetings in Botswana and Namibia
July/August 2024 Finally, a direct exchange was possible again between the partnership grous of FliP (Essen) with BQDX - Black Queer DocX in Botswana und Düsseldorf mit WLC – Women’s Leadership Centre und Y-FEM – Young Feminist Movement Namibia. We learned a lot about the increasing threat from homophobic groups in politics and churches, but also about creative resistance. The first lesbian movie was produced in Namibia, and alliances of civil society groups are being strengthened in both countries.
Feminist development policy – critical assessment and concrete opportunities
March 2024 Political salon in the theater Essen: The example of the partnership between the Black Queer DocX Botswana and the Essen group FLiP - Frauenliebe im Pott was used to concretely illustrate how feminist collaboration is practiced. This was confronted with the reality of the German federal government's feminist foreign policy and development cooperation. Contributors: Marieke Fröhlich – VENRO, Monika Dülge – Eine Welt Netz NRW, Matlhogonolo Samsam – Black Queer DocX, Botswana, Cornelia Sperling – FLiP Frauenliebe im Pott, Azizè Flittner (Translation), Dodo Schulz – Exile (Moderation)
LIFT – Lesbian Identities Festival in Budapest
October 2023Workshop on international partnerships at the “Lesbian Identities Festival” in Budapest. The organization Labrisz (active since 1999) organized this 14th festival. In 2020, Labrisz published “Fairyland for Everyone” for children, which was torn up and banned by homophobic Hungarian government members. An international solidarity campaign resulted in translation into 11 languages, with every purchase leading to a donation for queer activities in Hungary.
Contact with Lesbian Activists in Uganda
July 2023 Since 2017 I have been active in the association FLiP – Frauenliebe im Pott e.V. in the partnership project between lesbian/queer grassroots groups in North Rhine-Westphalia and Southern Africa. After the terrible anti-LGBTI law was passed in Uganda, we wanted to know how our friends from FARUG (lesbian organization in Uganda since 2003) are doing and what solidarity can look like. With the support of the Hirschfeld-Eddy Foundation, we were able to speak to Gloria and Biggie from FARUG. Tash from Zimbabwe summarized our discussion. Since then, we have been supporting FARUG through personal contacts and donations.
Partnership Week Zimbabwe – Dortmund
Oktober 2022 Three activists from Zimbabwe visited LEBEDO - the counseling center for LSBTIQ*, the youth club Sunrise for young queers, the magazine Africa Positive and the coordination center LSBTIQ* of the city of Dortmund. The exchange of experiences was also conducted in the feminist archive ausZeiten in Bochum and with the network for self-employed women Schöne Aussichten in Essen.
European Lesbian* Conference in Budapest
September 2022 At the 3rd conference of the European-Central Asian Lesbian Network EL*C in Budapest I was involved in two workshops: „Building Meaningful Cooperation between Regions“ and „Older Lesbians against Ageism“. The exchange between 300 lesbian activists from all over Europe and Central Asia was inspiring and continues.
Masakhane: Social movement building
April 2022 Meeting in Johannesburg with Women Human Rights Defenders of Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe and the Coalition of African Lesbians evaluating the Masakhane-Project „Promoting Human Rights in Southern Africa by strengthening NGO activists – with the focus on women’s rights and LGBTI rights“ and discussing the partnerships between lesbian* groups.
Feminist Voices from Africa
Online, September 2021 Moderation of the Webtalk „Women Human Rights Defenders: How Intersectionality is put into Practice in Southern Africa” with Activists from Botswana, Eswatini and Mozambique. Documentation and links:
Documentation of the Partnership project Africa – NRW
Essen, November 2020 Documentation of the partnership project 2018-2020, workshop in Johannesburg 2018, partnership weeks in Düsseldorf, Cologne and Essen 2019, discussions in Namibia, Zambia and Botswana 2020, Book project in Corona times. Funding: Foundation for Environment and Development North Rhine-Westphalia, Engagement Global NRW. Promoter: FLiP e.V.
Partnership Weeks Africa – NRW
Düsseldorf, Cologne, Essen May–September 2019 Project management of the Düsseldorf – Namibia, Cologne – Zambia and Essen – Botswana partnership weeks between lesbian civil society groups. Events for the city society and visits to women’s projects. Funding: Foundation for Environment and Development of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia. Promoter: FLiP e.V.
Partnership Workshop NRW – Africa
Johannesburg, South Africa October 10–15 2018 Idea and concept of the opening workshop for the formation of long-term partnerships between civil society groups in NRW – Düsseldorf, Dortmund, Essen, Cologne – and countries in southern Africa: Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe. Funding: Engagement Global NRW. Promoter: FLiP e.V.
Partner for Human Rights project in southern Africa
2017–2022 Preparation and support for the project „Promoting Human Rights in Southern Africa by strengthening NGO activists – with the focus on women’s rights and LGBTI rights.“ Involved Countries: Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe. Funding: BMZ – Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. Promoter: Coalition of African Lesbians, filia. The Women’s Foundation, LSVD.
Alexandria 8th Businesswomen Conference, Egypt
Alexandria November 2016 Consultation for the partners in Alexandria for the 8th Businesswomen conference: “Partnership & Networking: Pillars of Development – Together we are Strong“. Presentation of the MENA networking project of Women Entrepreneur Associations during the conference. Public Relation Workshop for the Associations. Client: BMZ, GPP
Workshop to plan the MENA-Project 2016 – 2018 with six Women Entrepreneur Associations
Berlin March 14-18, 2016 Facilitation of the planning workshop for the MENA-project to empower Women Business Associations through networking. The presidents of the associations from Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon and Tunesia decided about multilateral and bilateral meetings to exchange experiences and transfer good practice. Client: BMZ – Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, GPP - Global Project Partners.
Meeting the Women Entrepreneurs Association of Uganda UWEAL
January 2016 – Kampala Encounter with UWEAL, the Uganda Women Entrepreneurs Association Limited. UWEAL was founded in 1987 and is active in 16 regions. Our report about the work of the German Businesswomen Association VdU was appreciated, there was special interest in the Mentoring Project and the activities bringing more women in leadership positions and on boards. There are lots of differences regarding the social and economic situation in Germany and Uganda – but our exchange made clear that we aren’t far away with our tasks and themes to empower women entrepreneurs.
MENA-Region: Preparing a Networking-Project for Women Entrepreneur Associations in Egypt, Algeria, Lebanon und Tunisia
August 3-13, 2015 As a representative of the German Women Entrepreneur Association (VdU) Cornelia Sperling was part of a mission to the MENA-Region in order to prepare a Networking-Project 2016-2018. Discussing with the Women Entrepreneur Associations in Egypt, Lebanon, Tunisia and Algeria the concept for a long-term exchange of experiences in order to strengthen the associations and the businesswomen was developed, in cooperation with VdU. Client: BMZ- Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, sequa gGmbH, GPP- Global Project Partners
Peer-learning Journey for the pan-African Network New Faces New Voices – NFNV
Oktober 6-10, 2014 In the context of „Making Finance Work for Africa“ GIZ supports the pan-african network NEW FACES NEW VOICES – NFNV. „Women transforming the financial sector“ was the theme of the Peer-learning Journey, where I initiated meetings with German activists and strategic thinkers in Berlin. Client: GIZ – Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit mbH.
International Conference on Women Entrepreneurship in South Caucasus
Georgia September 2014 Women entrepreneurs from Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia met in the framework of a cooperation project of BWMV (Bildungswerk der Wirtschaft Mecklenburg-Vorpommern) and employers organisations of South Caucasus (RUEA, ASK, GEA) together with ILO (International Labour Organisation). Cornelia Sperling presented the activities of the German Association of Women Entrepreneurs VdU and moderated a workshop about networking. Client: BWMV