The history of women (so-called herstory) remains insufficiently recognised in social consciousness, while greater visibility of female contribution to history could well become a crucial tool of preventing gender-based discrimination. During recent years, social projects were launched in selected cities (i.a. Cracow, Gdańsk, Łódź) to research women’s history, and restore the collective memory of women’s contribution to the liberation movement. Yet such initiatives are fragmented, communication between herstorical project groups incidental – which is why results of such initiatives are only available locally.
The project purpose was to promote the history of women and local herstory-targeting community initiatives throughout Poland.
The herstory-targeting initiatives community was empowered, visibility of individual initiatives and their effects vastly improved.
A Herstory Archive knowledge database was created to the purpose of collecting information on women’s liberation in Poland and on herstory initiatives, all forming part of a herstory Network founded as a result of the project. Today, it comprises 13 initiatives in 11 venues throughout Poland, and operates against a jointly drafted strategy. The project yielded 2 innovative publications: a book of female trace-based routes (“The Female Trail. A Women’s Lib Guidebook to Poland”), and “Herstorians”, a book of interviews with Polish herstory activists showcasing their experience, approach, and work methods. Six field trips following female traces were organised, as were 6 meetings to promote “The Female Trail”. The herstory network met three times to develop a joint operational strategy and engage in a joint learning exercise.
Beneficiaries included 13 women – regular Herstory meeting participants, 225 participants of promotional meetings and excursions, and 2,280 herstory information followers of a dedicated Facebook profile.