Feminist Networking with ERASMUS+ and the Ariadne Thread

Ariadne – the women- and gender-specific knowledge portal

Feminist Networking with ERASMUS+ and the Ariadne Thread

Exchanging knowledge, making contacts, forging alliances – with this aim in mind, colleagues from feminist heritage institutions across Germany packed their bags in October 2024 and set off to visit sister institutions across Europe. One of their destinations: Ariadne, the women and gender specific information and documentation center at the Austrian National Library.

The Austrian National Library hosted the start of the one-week networking program, where staff from Ariadne and Frauen*solidarität welcomed colleagues from DENKtRÄUME Hamburg and MONAliesA Leipzig.

This initiative is part of the Digital German Women’s Archive (DDF), bringing together feminist archives and libraries from 15 countries – from Portugal to Estonia, from Iceland to Cyprus. The network, called META-EU #UnitedWeSearch, aims to share their knowledge resources in a unified database in the future.

To facilitate exchange not only digitally but also personally, the DDF and the i.d.a. umbrella organization launched the large-scale European educational project TOGETHER WE PRESERVE OUR FUTURE, funded by the EU program ERASMUS+.

Within this framework, Ariadne, together with Frauen*solidarität, a feminist and development-focused organization also based in Vienna, hosted three committed colleagues from Hamburg’s Women’s Education Center DENKtRÄUME and MONAliesA, a feminist library and archive in Leipzig.

During their visit to Vienna, the travellers enjoyed an extensive program, with a focus on exchanging experiences and strengthening international networks to jointly explore new perspectives and cooperation opportunities.

The diverse feminist library and archive scene in Austria, organized within the network "frida," was also presented. The week began with a day at the Austrian National Library, including an introduction to Ariadne. The program continued with visits to the Valie Export Center in Linz, Frauen*solidarität, the Gender Research Office at the University of Vienna, Sammlung Frauennachlässe at the University of Vienna, STICHWORT in Vienna, and the Zines Archive – Elke Zobl Collection at the University of Salzburg – all members of the frida network.

GEMEINSAM BEWAHREN WIR ZUKUNFT / TOGETHER WE PRESERVE OUR FUTURE is a project of the i.d.a. umbrella organization in cooperation with the DDF and the META-EU initiative, funded by the European Erasmus+ program.