Workshops and Interviews in the Tindouf Camps to Advance the Systematisation of the Work of the Basque Network of Support for the NUSW

With the participation of Sahrawi women holding different positions and responsibilities within the National Union of Sahrawi Women (NUSW), several activities were carried out in early December in the refugee camps in Tindouf, Algeria. These activities (consisting of collective workshops and interviews with key players) continued the process of systematising the work carried out by the Basque Network of Support for the NUSW over the past 20 years.

Following the workshops held in Bilbao with Basque organisations in June and September, the work conducted in the Sahrawi camps during the first week of December focused, among other objectives, on gathering the NUSW’s perspective on the trajectory of the Basque Network, assessing the most significant contributions made over two decades, collecting participants’ expectations, and identifying priorities for the design of future strategic lines of collaboration. 

Participants in the various workshops included members of the NUSW Executive Bureau, coordinators of the Women’s Houses in the Wilayahs, and a group of users of the Smara House. This was the first Women’s House established in the camps, created two decades ago and supported since then by the Basque Network. In addition, interviews were conducted with the Secretary General of the NUSW and the Minister of Social Affairs and Women’s Promotion of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR).

The methodological work on systematisation was coordinated by Irantzu Mendia Azkue, Director of Hegoa, together with Gloria Guzmán Orellana and Tatiana Montenegro from the technical team. The process also benefited from the close collaboration of Jeanette López, from the Association of Friends of the SADR in Álava, an organisation that supports the work of the Basque Network.

 More information:

• The Basque Network of Support for the NUSW brings together equality technicians from Basauri and Ondarroa, cooperation departments from the town halls of Bilbao and Berriz, Euskal Fondoa, and Emakunde, as well as the Association of Friends of the SADR in Álava, among other organisations and institutions.

• About the National Union of Sahrawi Women (NUSW).

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