European Feminist Forum publishes ‘A Herstory’
Over the past several years, feminist women and men throughout Europe came together to meet as part of the European Feminist Forum. In the European Feminist Forum, they exchanged ideas about issues that face women in Europe today, with the goal of creating a new European feminist agenda. The discussions are now collected in the publication “A Herstory (2004-2008)”.
The monography
Aletta has published 'A Herstory (2004-2008)', a monography of information gathered through the European Feminist Forum. The publication is a compilation of articles on the most important issues facing feminists in the new Europe, including: migration, employment, new organizing and fundraising strategies, the dialogue between different generations of women, and the politics surrounding sexuality and women’s bodily integrity. The monography is also available online.Order a copy of 'A Herstory (2004-2008)
Download 'A Herstory (2004-2008)' (PDF)
The new Europe
Women in Europe still often do not enjoy the same opportunities as men. And the newly expanded Europe brings with it entirely new challenges – a new dynamic in the area of economic migration, for example, and also an increase in the trafficking of women from Eastern Europe.Time for a new feminist agenda
In 2004, a group of large European women’s organizations, including Aletta, decided that it was time for a new European feminist agenda. Aletta took a leading role in organizing the European Feminist Forum and also functioned as its Secretariat.Website
From 2006 to 2008, women from all over Europe met on the website European Feminist Forum to exchange ideas in discussion groups and forums. They shared reports, inspiring articles, videos, podcasts and photographs and, from time to time, took part in live online meetings.www.europeanfeministforum.org
Project partners
WIDE (Women In Development Europe)ASTRA (The Central and Eastern European Women’s Network for Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights)
Babaylan (The Philippine Women’s Network in Europe)
Bayanihan (Philippine Women’s Center in the Netherlands)
WPP (The Women Peacemakers Program of IFOR)
Karat Coalition (a network of Women’s NGOs from Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS))
NEWW (The Network of East-West Women)
The Joint Roma Women’s Initiatives
Federa (The Polish Federation for Women and Family Planning)
Kitchen Table Seminars 2012
Aletta organises monthly Kitchen Table Seminars during which researchers in the fields of women’s and gender studies give a peek into the work they are doing and share their knowledge, personal motivation and dilemmas with us ... Read on
Premiere of The Women and the Generals at the International Filmfestival Assen
Maj Wechselmann’s film ‘The Women and the Generals’ premieres on 10 March at the International Filmfestival Assen, a festival dedicated to films by and about women ... Read on
Aletta Jacobs’ urn monument restored and unveiled
On her birthday, Thursday, 9 February, the restored urn monument dedicated to Aletta Jacobs and her husband, Carel Gerritsen, will be unveiled during an official ceremony ... Read on
Aletta announces the Year of Women and Work
Work is a topic that affects everyone’s lives especially in economically difficult times. In 2012, Aletta will be focusing on the topic ‘Women and Work’ and will be presenting material on the subjects from her collections ... Read on
International conference on Women/Gender Information in Finland 2012
As far as Aletta is concerned, access to information is absolutely essential for women to be empowered and to secure their rights. Preserving women’s cultural heritage is a requirement to ensure this. Read on
Johanna Naber Award
The Johanna Naber Award is a prize given for a Dutch thesis in the area of women’s and/or gender history. You can find the application en information for the award on our Dutch Pages. The closing date is: 31 december 2011.further info (in dutch) Read on
Aletta and E-Quality
Aletta, Institute for Women’s History and E-Quality are currently in the process of finalising the way in which the organisations will work together. Read on
Archival news/ news from the archival department
Because of the preparations for moving to our new premises last September, we have been a bit reluctant towards new acquisitions. All summer we spend most of our time packing the not yet processed archival material in acid free archival boxes ... Read on
The Plus membership of the Aletta library
For remote access to the three new digital collections the Gerritsen Collection, the Women's Studies International, and Women and Social Movements, you need a so-called plus-membership of the library. Please send an email for information.info@aletta.nu Read on
Report on Women Loving Women
Saskia Wieringa edited the final report on a research project on the lives of women-loving-women in 8 countries (Bangladesh, Botswana, India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, South Africa, the Philippines and the Central Asian region). Read on
Year of Sexuality: Sexual violence
In October and November, Aletta draws attention to the dark side of sexuality. In preparation for the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on 25 November, Aletta combed through her collection in search of engaging stories and statistics related to this subject. Read on
Aletta’s Library is open at a new location
On 4 October, Aletta’s new library and archive opened to the public in the heart of Amsterdam. The first visitor was welcomed with a bouquet of flowers. Read on
Aletta has moved!
Aletta, Institute voor Women’s History (previously the IIAV) has moved! From October 4th, the library and archive will be open in the heart of Amsterdam. Drop by with all your questions about women’s history and emancipation. Or search our collections online. Read on
Library Acquisitions in August
Aletta’s collection comprises over 97,000 books, brochures and reports. Each month new acquisitions are added. Below, our librarian provides a glimpse of the most interesting, moving or important items. This year, we shine a special light on books dealing with sexuality. Read on
Scholarly Newsletter June is out
Read the Scholarly Newsletter June 2011Scholarly NewsletterSpecial newsletter in English for and from acadamics.Register Read on
News from the archival department
Since February of this year, Aletta received 14 (parts of) archives and collections. One of those was the archive of the Josine de Bruyn Kops Foundation (Stichting Josine de Bruyn Kops) dedicated to improving the position of female artists ... Read on
New Acquisitions for the Library
Aletta’s library acquires around fifty new books monthly. As usual, the academic ones represent a wide scope of branches and perspectives. Aletta wishes you good readings. Read on
Aletta launches the Year of Sexuality
Sex is a part of everyone’s life. Aletta, Institute for Women’s History, has chosen 2011 as the year to shine a spotlight on sexuality – drawing from the Aletta collections, of course. Read on
The launch of the FRAGEN database
The launch of the FRAGEN database was a reunion of familiar faces and a chance to meet a new generation. The guests of honour were Anja Meulenbelt and Naima el Bezaz, authors of the books 'The Shame is Over' and 'Vinexvrouwen' (‘Vinex’ Women) ... Read on
Annual report 2010
2010 was a beautiful year for Aletta. It was the year of our 75th anniversary, the year the collection development in the library and archive continued, and the year in which Aletta became more active in social media ... Read on
Adjusted opening hours due to holidays
Due to the upcoming holidays the opening hours of the library are adjusted. Read on
New affiliated researcher: Dr. Edy Seriese
Aletta wants to promote and be a resource for academic study and research in the area of women’s and gender studies. Therefor, Aletta has a number of affiliated researchers. Dr ... Read on
Renovation Aletta's new location begins
A life-size image of Aletta Jacobs hangs prominently on the 'De Vijzel' building in the centre of Amsterdam. Why? Aletta, Institute for Women's History, has begun renovating her future home at Vijzelstraat 20 ... Read on
News from the archival department
Since last April, Aletta received 34 (parts of) archives and collections, among which archival material from the IFRWH and the International Contraception, Abortion and Sterilisation Campaign. Read on
English Newsletter February is out
Read in our latest English Newsletter on the Fragen database of historically important feminist texts, the Today's Aletta's of 2010 and on the 7500 letters of the new project Lines to the Future. Read on
Access to important fulltext databases
Aletta has a rich international oriented collection. Now Aletta also offers remote access to a large fulltext online database: Women and Social Movements International. Aletta will offer access to more digital collections in the future. Read on
Core European feminist texts online
For the first time, core feminist texts from the second wave of feminism in Europe have been made available to researchers in an easily accessible online database ... Read on
Lines to the Future
During the celebration of her 75th anniversary, on 2 December 2011, Aletta launched the Lines to the Future project. Together with Fatusch Productions, Aletta will collect 7500 letters from 11-year-old girls and boys about their dreams for the future. Read on
Announcing Today's Aletta’s for 2010!
On Thursday, 2 December 2010, Aletta awarded the first ever 'Aletta’s van Nu' (Today’s Aletta’s) prize. The prize, which honors young women who by their courage and charisma are role models in their communities, was awarded to Laamia Elyounoussi and Yesim Candan ... Read on
Aletta 75 years!
In 2010 Aletta, Institute for Women’s History existed 75 years! The memorandum of association of Aletta’s predecessor, the International Archive of the Women’s Movement, was signed on the 3rd of December 1935. Read on
New Scholarly Newsletter
The second Scholarly Newsletter is out. Read on
European Women’s Thesaurus online in new layout
Looking for information on Amazons, Anorexia nervosa, Black feminism, Child abuse, Feminist media or Images of women? These are just a few terms from the European Women’s Thesaurus, a tool for indexing and retrieving women’s information in databases, on internet and in the collections of libraries ... Read on
Aletta Annual report 2009
Are you interested in the projects and activities of Aletta in the past year? Read the annual report 2009. Read on
Newsletter June
The Newsletter June is out. Read on
Historian Davis wins prestigious price
Natalie Zemon Davis, Professor at University of Toronto, is awarded Holberg International Memorial Prize 2010. Read on
Update Fragen project
The Fragen project is in full swing. Project coordinator Tilly Vriend gives an update on the European project. Read on
Alice Salomon Archiv celebrates 10th anniversary
On the occasion of their 10th anniversary, the Archive and Documentation Centre for Women’s Social and Pedagogical Work of the Alice Salomon University organized a colloquium on 7th May in Berlin. The focus of the event was: 'How can the learning of social values be fostered?' Read on
Directors blog: 'Italian women's Library in Bologna'
Aletta director Saskia Wieringa visited the Italian women's library in Bologna. Read her blog and learn about the history, the fresco's and the atmosphere of the library. Read on
DAPHNE III Neskak Gora
Since December 2009 Aletta is participating in the Integrated Initiative for Preventing Violence, Abuse and Discrimination against Migrant Adolescent Girls and Young Women in Europe. Read on
Saskia Wieringa at Queer Film Festival
John Badalu, director of the Indonesian Q! Film Festival was being interviewed by Professor and Indonesia expert Saskia Wieringa about the current trends in LGBT rights and movements in Indonesia, at the Cinema Asia Film Festival in Amsterdam. Read on
New: Aletta Scholarly Newsletter
The Scholarly Newsletter, which will appear three times a year, is intended to enhance the communication with researchers who are interested in Aletta's collections. Read on
The African Gender and Development Index (AGDI)
In 2002 Saskia Wieringa, director of Aletta, was asked to reflect on a new gender index, by members of the Economic Commission of Africa, which is a commission of the United Nations that resides in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia ... Read on
Doing Gender Lecture Series Utrecht University
In the Spring of 2010 the Graduate Gender Programme - GGeP - at Utrecht University organises a sixth round of the series of lectures entitled DOING GENDER. Read on
Live webcast Beijing+15 Forum
The NGO Committee on the Status of Women/New York announced that select events of the Global Forum for Women–Beijing Plus 15 will be webcast live on February 27 and 28 from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm (Eastern Standard Time-US). Read on
European Feminist Forum publishes ‘A Herstory’
Over the past several years, feminist women and men throughout Europe came together to meet as part of the European Feminist Forum. In the European Feminist Forum, they exchanged ideas about issues that face women in Europe today, with the goal of creating a new European feminist agenda ... Read on
Interview with Wendy Harcourt
Wendy Harcourt is Senior Director and Editor of the journal Development at the Society for International Development. She is a member and immediate past Chair of Women in Development Europe ... Read on
Project 'Back in a Bite' wins pitch
On September 8, 2009 Aletta won a DOEN Clinic at Mediamatic with the project 'Back in a Bite', pitched by Evelyn de Roos. Read on
Report Fragen training at Aletta
From the 19th till the 21th November 33 women from 29 countries attended the Fragen training. Tilly Vriend, Project manager of the Fragen project, welcomed the participants at Aletta, Institute for Women’s History. Read on
Human Rights Defenders Tulip for Shadi Sadr
The 9th of November, the Iranian human rights lawyer Shadi Sadr won the 2009 Human Rights Defenders Tulip for her courage in championing the human rights of her fellow citizens. The price was handed over to her by the Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs Verhagen. Read on
Book review Traveling Heritages
This summer, the magazine Feminist Collections, Quarterly of Women Studies (Women's Studies Librarian, Univeristy of Wisconsin) published a favourable book review of 'Traveling Heritages: New Perspectives on collecting, preserving and sharing women's history'. Read on
WLIC symposium in Istanbul
Tilly Vriend, information specialist and coordinator of databases at Aletta, was keynote speaker at the Women’s Library and Information Center (WLIC) symposium in Istanbul. She quoted Gloria Wekker, professor Gender & Ethnicty at Utrecht University (The Netherlands) and associated with Aletta ... Read on
No EU funding for ATHENA 3
The year of dissemination for ATHENA3, an initiative of the Athena Network, will not receive funding from the EU. However, Athena will be able to continue its work within ATGENDER. Read on
Annual report 2008
Are you interested in the activities of the IIAV in 2008? Read the annual report. Read on
IIAV becomes Aletta
The 11th of August, precisely one day after the 80th anniversary of the death of Aletta Jacobs, the International Information Center and Archives for the Women’s Movement (IIAV) has adopted a new name, ‘Aletta, Institute for Women’s History’. At the same time, Aletta launches her revamped www.aletta ... Read on
Mieke Aerts appointed to the Wilhelmina Drucker Chair
Dr. Mieke Aerts (1952) has been appointed professor of ‘political history of gender in the Netherlands’ in the Faculty of the Humanities at the University of Amsterdam (UvA) ... Read on
International Rosa Manus seminar
The IIAV held the first ever Rosa Manus seminar on October 23 and 24, 2008, honoring the Dutch activist for peace and women's suffrage who died in a Nazi camp during the Second Wold War ... Read on
IIAV acquires the online Gerritsen collection
The Gerritsen collection is the largest source in the world for the study of women’s history. It contains 133 magazines and more than 4,000 books in a variety of languages, dating from the 16th century through 1945 ... Read on
IIAV supports research in Victimology
In February 2008, prof. dr. Renée Römkens became holder of the new chair ‘Violence in interpersonal relationships, in particular domestic violence’ at INTERVICT (International Victimology Institute Tilburg) at the Tilburg University ... Read on
Trafficking and migration
Text: Gé MeulmeesterPhotographs: Karin LakemanThe Japanese Yu Kojima recently wrote her dissertation for the Institute of Social Studies in The Netherlands ... Read on
Saskia Wieringa Inaugurated as Professor
The IIAV is immensely proud that its director Dr. Saskia Wieringa has been appointed to hold the chair ’Gender and Women’s Same-Sex Relations Cross-culturally’ at the University of Amsterdam, Faculty of Social Sciences. Prof. Dr ... Read on
New website www.aletta.nu
Aletta launched a completely revamped website on August 11. All the information about women’s history and the position of women in society is now even easier to find. Read on