IMPACT: Intersectional Measures Promoting Advocacy, Collaboration, and Transformation

IMPACT: Intersectional Measures Promoting Advocacy, Collaboration, and Transformation is a project funded by the European Youth Foundation of the Council of Europe. It seeks to advance gender mainstreaming from a broad organisational and intersectional perspective, strengthening the capacity of OBESSU and its Member Organisations through targeted training, knowledge exchange, and resource development.

IMPACT aims to:

  • Equip OBESSU members with the tools to make their organisations more inclusive and intersectional by integrating a gender perspective into their governance structures and activities.
  • Foster peer learning among Member Organisations on women’s rights and gender equality, addressing both structural and organisational dimensions as well as advocacy and campaigning, while considering cultural and religious contexts.
  • Examine student movements and the structural barriers to women’s participation throughout OBESSU’s history.

To achieve these objectives, the project will:

  • Develop a Training of Trainers  – Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina (9-16 March 2025): A training for 12 participants from OBESSU’s Pool of Trainers, focused on creating intersectional spaces within non-formal education activities. This initiative will equip trainers with tools to embed intersectionality into their methodologies and organisational strategies.
  • Organise a study visit – Brussels, Belgium (May 2025): A visit for up to 10 staff members from OBESSU Member Organisations to exchange best practices on gender equality and feminist leadership in youth work. Participants will visit the OBESSU office and other civil society organisations in Brussels to discuss event organisation, activity development, and advocacy from a gender perspective.
  • Deliver a Training Course for International Officers  – Mollina, Spain (September 2025): A training for OBESSU’s membership to reflect on gender equality and mainstreaming within their organisations and beyond. The activity will empower participants to act as multipliers in their national organisations, advocating for women’s rights from an intersectional perspective. The training will strengthen a generation of young intersectional feminist leaders, ensuring the sustainability of feminist and female leadership within their organisations.