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Milena Adamczewska-Stachura, a human rights lawyer, and Małgorzata Żurowska a graduate of the American Studies Center met during the 2018 Humanity in Action Warsaw Fellowship/Academy of Human Rights. With strong interest in gender equality they knew right away they wanted their project to empower women and girls. To get through to young people, they decided to set up a Power Zone within the 2019 Wisłoujście Festival, a summer festival of electronic music in the seaside fortress in Poland.
They’ve started with an open mind and millions of ideas for what they would like to happen in their festival tent, from a sculpture exhibit to a series of empowering workshops. Unfortunately life got in the way (lack of free time and necessary funds) and they had to scale down their grand plans. However, the most important idea remained intact – raising money for the FemFund organization, which supports other feminist initiatives in Poland by mobilizing flexible resources for girls’ activism. For that they created a lottery based on a barter system with small items donated by friends and other organizations.
In the spirit of a music festival, they made feminist tattoos, but also handed out FemFund fliers and pins, creating an educational space that’s also fun. They got people to come into their beautifully decorated tent by engaging them through games like yenga.
Oftentimes the final product does not match the initial idea, yet that doesn’t make it any less. It is important to remember that what people see is the end result. “No matter the obstacles and challenges you face, have fun with your project and don’t get fixed on one particular idea, stay flexible!” say Milena and Małgorzata.
