SODEPAU is a non-profit organisation with almost 30 years of history forging relationships and building bridges between both shores of the Mediterranean, with a clear calling for social transformation.

SODEPAU focuses practically all its activity on efforts on the organisation of the Arab and Mediterranean Film Festival of Cataloniaand the spread of Arab and Mediterranean film to the Catalan-speaking countries.

—The Arab and Mediterranean Film Festival of Catalonia is a film event that was created with the support of Beirut DC, a group of Lebanese filmmakers united by the desire to make films and spread them beyond their borders.

—The Festival aims to open a window towards Arab film in Catalonia, an unknown cinematographic tradition scarcely visible on the silver screen in Spain.

—It was also created with the intention of breaking stereotypes about what we call the “Arab World”, a Western view of the East that hides and simplifies richer, more diverse and complex realities than we think, and without much consideration.

—The Festival also aims to serve as a sounding board for the desires, concerns, contradictions and conflicts faced by the peoples of the Mediterranean.

Escola de Cultura de Pau (ECP) is an academic peacebuilding research institution attached to the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB). It was created in 1999 with the aim of promoting a culture of peace through research activities, parallel diplomacy, training and awareness.

Escola de Cultura de Pau’s main fields of activity are:

—Research. ECP’s areas of research include armed conflicts and socio-political crises, peace processes, human rights and transitional justice, the gender dimension and peace education.

— Parallel diplomacy. ECP promotes dialogue and conflict transformation through parallel diplomacy initiatives, with different actors and in various fields.

—Consulting services. >. ECP provides consulting services for local and international institutions.

—Education and training . ECP’s research staff teaches undergraduate and postgraduate courses at Catalan universities, including the postgraduate degree in Culture of Peace, which ECB offers at the UAB.

—Awareness-raising . ECP’s awareness-raising initiatives include activities aimed at Catalan and Spanish society, including collaboration with the media.

Women’s Studies Centre (WSC) is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) that was created in 1989 in Jerusalem (Palestine). It describes itself as a secular and independent feminist organisation dedicated to advancing gender equality and supporting women’s rights as an integral part of human rights. The WSC accompanies women in their empowerment processes, helping to build their capacities so they become defenders of their own rights.

As a member of the General Union of Palestinian Women and in coordination with the Palestinian feminist movement, WSC focuses its efforts on the following objectives:

–The empowerment of women in all aspects of life, , and very especially financial empowerment, which is understood as a basic and indispensable requirement for the full achievement of their rights. WSC also focuses on the political and psychosocial empowerment of women, especially those who are survivors of sexist violence against women and/or have lost family members due to the political violence of the Israeli occupation of Palestine.

–The promotion of a life free of violence for women. WSC is actively involved in promoting a development strategy within Palestinian society that inherently embraces the basic principle of gender equality.

–The promotion of feminist discourse within Palestinian society. WSC works to develop, promote and spread a progressive feminist discourse based on social justice and egalitarian values. It also helps to build and mobilise the community and supports social movements that take a feminist view.

Family Defense Society (FDS) is a Palestinian non-governmental organisation (NGO) created in 1994 in the city of Nablus (Palestine). Its ultimate objective is to protect women survivors of gender-based violence and their sons and daughters, as well as to raise awareness in the local community of women’s rights, thereby contributing to the eradication of sexist violence against women in Palestinian society.

The FDS’ main tasks include:

–To provide temporary shelter and immediate assistance to women affected by sexist violence against women. Since 2004, the FDS has managed the first shelter for women survivors of sexist violence against women established in Palestine and the Mashreq. The shelter houses women and their children in a safe home where their basic needs are met and they are offered extensive psychological and social support so that they can rebuild their lives and get out of a vulnerable situation. In 2021, the FDS shelter house was one of two available in the West Bank for medium or long-term stays.

–To manage a specialised psychosocial hotline for women survivors of sexist violence against women.The hotline guarantees the users’ confidentiality and facilitates access from any region of Palestine. The FDS team of professionals refers women to the corresponding services in case of need and links them to feminist organisations close to them to establish bonds of union and support.

–To offer professional training to women in situations of sexist violence against women. In 2021, the FDS offered video and photography courses, mobile phone repair and hairdressing, the latter with an official diploma recognised by the Ministry of Labour. The FDS provides specialised advice to graduates of the courses to help them to find jobs in the local job market.