Thank You Community, with love from the #FemFestNL Committee!

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Dearest community,

Thank you! #FemFestNL 2.0 was an incredible three-day feminist festival in St. John’s in August 2017 that brought together hundreds of people across our city and province to celebrate feminist art, discussion, music, learning, and community. And we couldn’t have done it without you!

Through a collaboration of feminist organizations, students and activists, including the St. John’s Status of Women Council/Women’s Centre, Safe Harbour Outreach Project (SHOP) and others, we highlighted the experiences of all women, including trans*, two-spirited, intersex and cis, all folks who experience gendered oppression, including non-binary and gender non-conforming people, and all those who identify as women for the purpose of political organizing.

This year, we made a RACKET with St. John’s Womxn in Music and a force of local musicians and poets. We listened to the lived experiences of sex workers, Young feminists took space and shared their experiences with feminism, and we learned how pet ownership can heal. We discussed accountability, allyship, and activism while chronically ill/disabled. Skills were shared, whether that was how to write to your government officials, how to build a culture of consent on our campuses or how to engage with the media as a feminist activist.

The incredible warrior Beatrice Hunter blew us all away with her powerful and passionate keynote speech. We are eternally grateful for her.

We aimed to make this a low-barrier, accessible and safer space, which we couldn’t have done without InclusionNL. We discussed feminism across our generations, diverse lived experiences, and people came! Again and again over the three days, we heard how meaningful this feminist space was to our community. It was deeply meaningful to us.

Thank you to all of our incredible panelists and presenters, to the musicians and performers, to The Space for hosting us, and a very special thank you to our countless volunteers. Thank you for your time and your energy, for your compassion and patience, for sharing your stories and your vulnerability, and giving so much back into our community because it was worth it. You were magnificent, and FemFest NL would never have happened without your passion and generosity!

The Space was filled with laughter, conversation and tears, and we couldn’t have held that space without you. Thank you to our community, who attended, asked questions and engaged in FemFestNL. Without a community to bear witness to these conversations, FemFestNL would never have the impact it could beyond our own feminist communities.

As we continue to reshape, rethink and grow FemFestNL, we understand that we are constantly learning and understanding the community we engage with. We are never done learning, and we are committed to creating stronger, safer, more inclusive feminist spaces. We welcome dialogue around how we can improve and better support everyone in our feminist community. Please feel free to email us at:

nlfemfest@gmail.com or call the St. John’s Women’s Centre, one of the FemFest NL organizations involved in planning the festival at: (709) 753-0220, and let us know you have feedback around FemFest NL.

With the deepest gratitude,
The FemFest NL Committee


#FemFestNL 2.0 Accessibility Plan

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FemFest NL Accessibility Plan

To see plan with colour photos please click ->  Here 

The Space and Eastern Edge Gallery – 72 Harbour Drive

Entrances

Main entrance:  72 Harbour Drive

  • External double door is 6 ft wide
  • Concrete ramped entrance
  • No automated button for opening

Parking

Parking lot spaces and on street parking is free on weekends. There is a large public parking lot adjacent to 72 Harbour Drive; in this parking lot there are no designated Blue Zone spaces.

The Space

Upon entering the Space from Harbour Drive, please note the hallway has an uneven floor positioned approximately half way up the hallway. The floor dips by 1 inch for 6 feet, with a ramp installed throughout the doorways.

(First section of hallway into The Space)

(Second section of enterance hallway, ramp installed)

(Enterance into main space, ramps installed)

 Washrooms

Single stall gender neutral washroom located in hallway from Harbour Dr entrance.

  • Door width is 30 inches
  • Washroom is at least 6 ft x 4 ft for maneuverability

Designated Women’s Accessible single stall washroom located down long hallway.

  • Door Width is 30 inches
  • Stall is at least 6 ft x 4.5 ft for maneuverability
  • Grab bars near toilet

Designated Men’s Accessible single stall washroom located down long hallway.

  • Door Width is 30 inches
  • Washroom is at least 6 ft x 4.5 ft for maneuverability
  • Grab bars near toilet

Alternate Formats

FemFestNL schedule is available in braille, in large print, and on a prerecorded MP3 file.

Additional Conference Supports

FemFestNL will honour attendant passes. Formal American Sign Language for Saturday night Keynote Speaker. Certified service animals are welcome – water bowls available for working animals. Hearing Amplification device available on site from CHHA-NL. One on one closed captioning available on site as requested. Additional accessibility information and supports provided by inclusionNL…for Everyone. For additional questions please contact Kathy with InclusionNL toll free at 1 844 517 1376.

Safe Crew onsite and identifiable at all times. 
Inclusion Crew onsite and identifiable with Guided Sight Training completed from CNIB. A designated “Quiet space” area available for individuals requiring a short term space. A Cultural Support person will be onsite and identifiable throughout the weekend.

All FemFest NL events are breastfeeding friendly. There will be nut-free snacks, water, tea, and coffee at all conference events.

There will be alcohol served on site during set times.

FemFestNL 2.0 Safer Space Policy

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FemFestNL 2.0 Safer Space Policy

FemFest NL has made an explicit decision to prioritize voices of people who experience oppression, to challenge oppressive culture, and emphasize the empowerment of marginalized individuals. FemFest NL events, and all affiliated programming is a designated safer space. FemFest NL is dedicated to making all of our events a safer space for all women and anyone who has experienced gender oppression; particularly Indigenous women, women of colour, LGBTQI2S+ folks, non-binary and gender non-conforming people.

According to the Safe Space Network, a Safe Space is a place where anyone can relax and be able to fully express themselves, without fear of being made to feel uncomfortable, unwelcome, or unsafe on account of biological sex, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, cultural background, religious affiliation or spiritual belief, age, physical or mental ability, family status, source of income, real of perceived socioeconomic status, or lived experience. FemFest NL asks us all to be aware of language, behavior, and to consider if it might be offensive or presumptuous towards others. This is not a space for violence, for touching without consent, for intolerance of religious or spiritual beliefs or lack-thereof. If you experience language or behaviour that perpetuates discrimination, please notify a designated Safe Person or member of the FemFest NL committee. These incidences will be addressed by FemFest NL, and people may be asked to leave.

FemFest NL encourages the expression of different opinions, choices and tactics. This means as a community we must work hard not to silence each other; and also that some voices must be given more of a platform than others. We are asking that we work through these possible conflicts or disconnects as a group in this space of learning. When we disagree, let us do it in a way where we can hear each other, and communicate with care while respecting and considering context. This means also engaging with people outside of academia, non-profit sectors and relating in honest, non-discriminatory, and compassionate ways. As a community, we can work to develop safer spaces for us all.

Things we can all do to create a safer space:

  • Respect people’s physical, emotional, and spiritual boundaries.
  • Respect pronouns and ask before assuming pronouns
  • Be aware that raising your voice or other aggressive body language may be understood as abusive behavior by others.
  • Respect people’s differing opinions, beliefs, and view points.
  • Be responsible for your own actions. Be aware that your actions do have an effect on others despite what your intentions may be.
  • Identify what makes a space safer for you.
  • Be mindful and acknowledge that cultural differences exist, while working to embrace them
  • Honor that safety looks different for everyone.

Adapted from Black Futures Now Toronto: Safer Spaces Policy

Safe Space Network: http://safespacenetwork.tumblr.com/Safespace

FemFestNL 2.0 Call for Submissions

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FemFestNL 2.0 CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

FemFestNL is a festival of all things feminist, including concerts, film screenings, readings – to be held in downtown St. John’s. We are asking you to help shape the conference through a call for submissions!

When: August 11th to 13th, 2017

Where: The Space, Harbour Drive, St. John’s

Who we are: A committee of feminist organizations, students and activists who are organizing FemFest NL – a feminist conference to take place in St. John’s. It will be carried out from August 11th-13th, 2017 with a two-day forum (August 12th and 13th) with panel discussions and lectures, to happen at The Space.

FemFestNL prioritizes the voice and experience of women in our community. We welcome submissions from all women (trans, intersex, cis, 2S) and all those who experience gendered oppression (including non-binary and gender non-conforming people) and all those who identify as women for the purpose of political organizing.

FemFestNL events are open to everyone.

For this conference, will be accepting proposals for panel discussions, workshops, and interactive sessions based around feminist organizing, community activism and political action in Newfoundland and Labrador. We want to know how our community does direct political action, how they work to create community solidarity and how we can share these skills with each other.

What we would like from you: Your name and organization (if affiliated) with short two sentence bios, proposed topic, session type (panel, TED Talk, workshop, roundtable, etc.), and length of session, how many presenters (and their names and short bios if already planned).

We are prioritizing submissions focused on Feminist activism:

Direct action

Political action

Community solidarity 

Allyship

Submissions open from June 24th to July 15th, 2017 (12 pm NL standard time)
Please submit to: nlfemfest@gmail.com