Sessions on feminist economics and life sustainability with women from the Roma community

Last November, Hegoa’s Education for Social Transformation team participated in two sessions organised by the Intercultural Association for the Promotion and Empowerment of Roma Women in the Basque Country (AMUGE). These skill development sessions were held at AMUGE’s headquarters in the Otxarkoaga district of Bilbao.

During these sessions, workshops rooted in popular education exercises were delivered to more than 30 AMUGE-affiliated females. The first session was aimed at adult women, while the second involved teenagers.

The aim of this collaboration was two-fold: to strengthen bonds through intersectional feminisms and critical pedagogies and to create spaces for dialogue and synergy between the University of the Basque Country (EHU) and transformative social movements.

During these sessions, various issues were addressed through a collective reflection process. These included the impact of feminist economics on the notions of care and collective wellbeing and the concept of gendered division of labour, as well as critiques of the hegemonic capitalist system from feminist perspectives.

Tools such as the iceberg exercise made it possible to collectively name and recognise all those ‘invisible’ activities that enable the reproduction and sustainability of life, which have historically been associated with women's unpaid labour

Founded in 2003, AMUGE seeks to defend and promote the rights and development of the Roma community, with a particular focus on improving the autonomy and empowerment of Roma women in the Basque Country. While doing this, it also aims to preserve what makes this collective so ethnically and culturally unique. This activity is framed within a project implemented by AMUGE with support from the Diputacion Foral de Bizkaia (DFB).

The Hegoa Institute frames this collaboration within its ongoing work to promote critical thinking that challenges the logic of Capital and prioritises the sustainability of life. Hegoa has worked with activists from Roma organisations on several previous occasions, including at the conference on “Diversity of subjects, territories and struggles in educational action: building links for social transformation” held in Bilbao in 2023.

This link-building work will continue through the creation of spaces that allow for collective reflection on the alternatives offered by proposals such as feminist economics in shaping ideas of autonomy and the horizon of Good Living (Buen Vivir).