INTRODUCTION
REWIND NET is the network of women's information and documentation centres from 14 countries, mostly post-communist countries from Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia. The participating countries in REWIND NET are: Albania, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Czech Republic, Croatia, Estonia, Hungary, Kosovo, Macedonia, Moldova, Poland, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovakia and Ukraine. Established at the beginning of 2001, the network has been active in carrying out significant activities, both nationally and regionally.
STRUCTURE
The network strives to develop and maintain a structure of shared responsibilities. Aside from the general coordination of the project by Zenska infoteka, there are a few centers from different countries in the network, which are responsible for specific work. For example, a group has formed to develop thesaurus in their own national language; another has organized to develop common projects and others will coordinate fundraising.
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HISTORY
Zenska infoteka, Croatia, nurtured the idea and concept of a regional network of national women's information and documentation centers which could collaborate using similar methodologies, language and standards; a network that will cooperate on the regional level by exchanging information and creating an information system which will be the foundation for further activities.
The emphasis of the network is based on common activities and projects that have regional scope and are initiated by the national information and documentation centers. The activities focus on topics that are common for most, if not all, of the countries in the network and thereby highlight the main political issues regarding women in the region. We offer the results of these particular projects to promote sensitivity to gender equality and impact policy makers, activists, the media, researchers, and scholars.
These important products are the results of our shared activities:
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The Regional Directory of Women's Groups, available in hard copy and as an on-line database. The directory contains information on 582 women's groups and organizations from 12 countries in this region. |
2. |
The common activity accomplished in 2003 was regional media monitoring covering the problem of violence against women. The project was carried out in 10 Eastern and Central European countries (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Czech Republic, Kosovo, Macedonia, Moldova, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovakia and Ukraine). The research had been conducted by the method of content analysis of printed media. Using this research we wanted to determine to what extent the media are covering the problem of violence against women and the media space that is dedicated to it; what type of violence they most frequently deal with; the geographical range of violence; who the victims are, who the perpetrators are and what their relationship is. The long-term objective was to open discussions about this underestimated problem in this region, to raise general awareness and to reduce the level of tolerance, especially towards some sorts of violence. In this way general data was gathered on the heading under which the article is found, on its noticeability and the announcement on the front page, on the kind of graphical supplement and the geographical range, but also the data on victim and the perpetrator, on the place and the type of violence and on the legal status which the article is reporting. |
Research results are published in the publication Until it stops - Violence against women across transitional Europe
SUPPORT
The project is coordinated by Ženska infoteka, Zagreb, Croatia, in cooperation with the Open Society Institute - Network Women's Program, New York, USA who has provided technical assistance and financial support.
