International Campaign

Women’s Empowerment – Live the change, change lives (WE – LCCL) is an international campaign to empower women through creative works. In particular, the campaign advocates for new creative approaches to addressing women’s empowerment. We invite international designers, artists, writers, critics, historians and filmmakers who want to work for gender equality to participate in our project, a campaign that will include a design & art award, a book publication, a short film competition, and a matchmaking workshop.

A critical aspect of promoting gender equality in all areas of societal development is empowering women, focusing on identifying and redressing power imbalances and giving women more autonomy to shape their own lives.

The recent protests in Iran have highlighted ongoing struggles by women to achieve gender equality and challenge patriarchal restrictions on their freedoms. Although progress has been made in education and artistic expression, there is still much to be done to achieve true equality and justice. Key areas for improving the role of women in Iran include education, legal reforms, and addressing workplace and legal restrictions on women’s freedoms. While national laws have been enacted to promote gender equality, further evaluation of their impact is needed. Empowering women in Iran is important for economic growth and family well-being, and ongoing efforts are necessary to ensure progress towards gender equality and justice. One strategy for strengthening women’s role in society is to consolidate relevant issues into a separate national law. Despite the enactment of numerous laws, more attention is needed in areas such as female representation in politics. To evaluate the effectiveness of laws in practice, obstacles to women’s empowerment must be identified. Gender equality and women’s empowerment means that access to opportunities and changes in life are neither dependent on nor limited by gender. To move towards the requisite gender equality in all areas of societal development, from human rights, peace and security, to economic growth, education and sustainability, women must be empowered. When women (accounting for half of the global population) are empowered, everyone benefits.

Although progress has been made since half a decade in areas such as education, economics, politics, and reproductive and sexual rights, the situation for women in Iran remains challenging.

Our goal is to address women’s empowerment with art and culture makers from different perspectives. This is to contribute to human rights, peace and security, economic growth, poverty reduction, education, climate change and sustainability. When women are empowered, everyone benefits.

We want to utilize new, empowerment- focused work of creative professionals to address the following goals and work together to find solutions:

  1. Encourage women to talk about the problems and give crime survivors the right to their evidence and federal or police reports.
  2. Stop the intimidation of affected women in society in general and by authorities in particular.
  3. Provide more cultural-level support to immigrant women.
  4. Ensure survivors receive the support and safety they desperately need.

While we are an arts organization, our campaign supports and follows the Seven Principles for Women’s Empowerment laid out by the UN Global Compact.

Principle 1: Establish high-level governance for gender equality
Principle 2: Fair treatment of all women and men in the workplace – respect for and promotion of human rights and non-discrimination
Principle 3: Ensure the health, safety and well-being of all female and male employees
Principle 4: Promote education, training and professional development for women
Principle 5: Implement business development, supply chain and marketing practices that empower women
Principle 6: Promote gender equality through community initiatives and advocacy efforts
Principle 7: Measure and publicly report progress toward achieving gender equality

Women’s Empowerment – Live the change, change lives! provides a platform to find solutions and present them in the form of exhibitions, book publication, film screenings and workshops.

During the current women’s movement in Iran, an incredible number of creative works have been produced, some of which have given great impetus for the advancement of women in Iran as well as in other countries.

The work of designers, artists, writers, filmmakers and freedom-loving citizens of the world plays an important role in influencing political and social change, as art can send messages through their work and help shape or initiate social developments. In this way, people who cannot rely on political mechanisms can get involved and actively shape future societies across borders. We can assume that the power of art and the written word will lead to self-reflection and social change.

In all parts of the WE-LCCL project, an international team of experts will evaluate the works for a series of presentations as well as book publication.

  1. Art exhibition: the social, economic and political empowerment of women in Iran.
  2. Innovative short film contest: the social, economic and political empowerment of women in Iran
  3. Book Publishing: word selection for the women’s movement
  4. Workshops and Matchmaking

1. Art exhibition: the social, economic and political empowerment of women in Iran.

1st THINKUP Editions Art & Design Awards
Women’s Empowerment – Live the change, change lives!

This is a call and campaign for the empowerment of women in Iran. We invite artists, designers, illustrators and anyone who will join us on our journey and create a sign to empower women in Iran with their contributions. In particular, we would like to address the current circumstances of women in Iran, young and old, to collaborate with women and create a sign of solidarity. The brutal attacks on women in Iran have caused massive protests within the country and around the world. In addition to the economic and social issues that put women in poverty and thus in unequal economic and social conditions, many women (including minors) have been arrested, harassed, raped, and even killed.

The number of artists and especially female artists in Iran has increased in recent years, and their work challenges traditional gender roles and societal and political expectations. They use various mediums to address social, cultural, and political issues, contributing to a broader dialogue on gender, identity, and human rights. Despite challenges such as censorship and limited exhibition and career development opportunities, the increasing visibility of female artists in Iran is a positive sign of progress towards gender equality and greater freedom of expression.

The Women’s Empowerment – Live the change, change lives! campaign promotes the women’s movement through art and culture professionals from the international community and supports it through public relations in European countries, but also in countries outside Europe. Thus, the serious situation in Iran is presented as a situation confronting the global women’s community and the women’s movement in Iran is supported with the power of art; through art, this untenable situation can be presented critically.

A series of exhibitions in Germany, the Netherlands and other European countries with works of art is being planned. The location and exhibition dates will follow.

The Women’s Empowerment – Live the change, change lives art competition will award a prize to young and established artists in 2023. The competition is open to all artists, designers, illustrators groups from anywhere in the world.

Artists are invited to participate in the campaign with their artworks and send illustrations, designs, motion designs, etc. via email and the artworks to the email address below.

The artists with physical artwork or installation should send us an image of the artwork first via email. After selection, they can send us the artwork to the physical address below in our signature.

Here is a summary of the further information:

  • Submission deadline: March 31st, 2023 > Extended June 30th, 2023
  • Submission email address for design/illustration/motion design: design@thinkup-editions.com
  • Submission email address for art/Sculpture/installation/ photography/digital art: art@thinkup-editions.com
  • Jury decision: December 2023
  • Exhibition date: There will be various exhibitions between April 2023 to June 2024

For more information and updates, please visit us at

https://www.facebook.com/ThinkupEditions.
https://www.instagram.com/thinkup_editions/

Further information on the Art & Design Awards is presented separately.

2. Innovative short film contest: the social, economic and political empowerment of women in Iran

1st Innovative short film Awards
Women’s Empowerment – Live the change, change lives!

As part of the project, we invite filmmakers from around the world to participate in our campaign by sending their innovative short film or documentary about the women’s movement in general and/or in relation to the current situation in Iran.

The Women’s Empowerment – Live the change, change lives! innovative short film competition will award a prize to young and established filmmakers in 2023. The competition is open to all film crews, young filmmakers, video groups and film groups from anywhere in the world.

Please make submissions of films to the email address below. (viewing link, dropbox, wetransfer, etc.) or by physical address/mailing address below..

For more information, please see the Short Film rules.

  • Open call: January 30th, 2023
  • Deadline for submission: June 30th, 2023
  • Notification of the official selection: March 31st, 2024
  • Public screening: April to June 2024 or later
  • Submission email address: kurzfilm@thinkup-editions.com
  • The screening copy of an accepted film must be sent no later than April 10th, 2024 online at the address kurzfilm@thinkup-editions.com or to the following physical address: THINKUP Editions, Athener Weg 1, D-44269 Dortmund, Germany

Further information on the short film Awards is presented separately.

3. Book Publishing: word selection for the women’s movement

Short fiction stories or poetic works on women’s empowerment are wanted for the book project. Let your creativity run wild. Bring historical or imaginary women to life with your narrative. Put yourself in the shoes of women, give these women a voice through your narrative.

To this end, we ask that you propose a story/route for the women to continue to empower themselves that you indicate in your text. The text should be 1-3 pages in length. You can tell us a real or imaginary story, locate a story, find a poem, find a solution, send a message, create a proposal, narrate a problem, give instructions to others to follow in your footsteps. You can even match voices, connect two distant solutions strangely linked, merge two strangers, travel through space and time, explore the past and unravel a mystery, document a performance or your own sensations as you accompany the women without a task in mind and without a precise destination, alone or accompanied shoulder to shoulder. We offer you the freedom of expression. You are free to accompany the women with your power of words. You have absolute freedom. The only condition is that you feel yourself in the role of women and then write about it. We want to find a new roadmap for hope – for the women who, out of anger and despair, cut their hair and fearlessly take to the streets.

We want to publish the book with the power of collective writing to gather the most important messages, solutions, and proposals to empower women.

We want you to submit your proposal by December 31st, 2023. The writing will be evaluated by an international Jury team and prepared for the book project. We intend to enhance the collective character of the exhibition and the book through various workshops, thus developing the submitted ideas and documenting them in an exemplary way for women from other cultural backgrounds facing the same problems.

We would be delighted if we could count on you. We look forward to hearing from you. Please do not hesitate to contact us via email writing@thinkup-editions.com with any questions.

In 2023, The Women’s Empowerment – Live the change, change lives art competition will award a prize to young and established writers. The competition is open to all writers, critics and reviewers from anywhere in the world.

4. Workshops and Matchmaking

Over half of the population on earth are women. The role of women always accounts for the actions of ½ of every population, and it follows that any decision making, whether on a personal, family, social or public level, should be mindful. Women must be included in decision making. Women’s political, social and economic rights are inseparable from their human rights. Democracy is an inclusive process, and therefore, in a functioning democracy, the viewpoints of various stakeholders must be taken into account in the formulation of any decision.

Through a series of matchmaking workshops with successful women from business, media and industry, the issues of women’s empowerment and the place of women in business, society and politics are elaborated and discussed. Approaches to solutions will be sought. More information about the workshop series will be announced via our social media and reproduced here.

https://www.facebook.com/ThinkupEditions.
https://www.instagram.com/thinkup_editions/