Once again this year, Equipop had a stand at the Solidays music festival in Paris, organized by the Solidarité Sida association on June 23, 24, and 25. Equipop and its group of young Parisian volunteers, Equipe Hope, made a notable appearance at the Solidarity Village with an innovative, engaging, and interactive booth, providing an opportunity to raise awareness among more than 1,000 young people and recruit 130 new volunteers. Over the course of these three days, festival-goers were tasked with "hacking the patriarchy" by participating in various activities that allowed them to discover Equipop's messages, actions, and values.
Equipop and its volunteers created activities and a universe to present an inspiring and fun booth, which they ran during the three days of the festival. International feminist solidarity was at the heart of the booth, with activities that explored the concepts of backlash, comprehensive sexuality education, HIV and feminism, and gender stereotypes and sexual orientations.
The Equipop booth: "Mission possible: hacking the patriarchy"
Upon arrival, festival-goers were immersed in the world of special agents. The large world map illustrating the setbacks in women's and LGBTQIA+ rights, the fake clocks displaying the times in Dakar, Ouagadougou, and Paris, and the team's special agent uniforms highlighted the international issues of feminism and Equipop's roots in France and West Africa.
In front of the stand, a large wheel invited festival-goers to participate in various games. Each section of this wheel of fortune corresponded to a quiz, a challenge, a mission, or a prize related to themes such as LGBTQIA+ rights, sex education, abortion, or the links between HIV and feminism.
The world map hanging on the wall also intrigued and attracted many festival-goers. Highlighting the setbacks in women's and LGBTQIA+ rights around the globe, it raised awareness of the concept of Backlash, about which Equipop recently wrote a report. Festival-goers were given cards depicting a backlash situation and had to identify the country in which it had taken place. Equipop also wanted to raise awareness of the feminist movements fighting for women's and LGBTQIA+ rights at the national level in these countries by proposing to associate an association with a country. A board game was offered to festival-goers: "James Bond isn't stylish, he's just privileged," also known as "the privilege race." This game, based on a snakes and ladders board, helped participants understand the concept of privilege and raised awareness of different forms of discrimination. Participants moved around the board according to statements about the profile of the "special agent" they had been given, highlighting inequalities in access to rights based on social status, gender identity, sexual orientation, HIV status, etc. Festival-goers also greatly appreciated our "compoudrier" activity, which allowed them to have their faces painted with glitter while discussing gender stereotypes and comprehensive sexuality education. The aim was to deconstruct these stereotypes and ask participants about the sexuality education they had received, focusing in particular on the concepts of consent and sexual diversity.
Team Hope mobilizes for young people
The 2023 edition of Solidays was the most popular yet, giving even greater visibility to the Solidarity Village. We were able to raise awareness of our issues among more than 1,000 young people. While the Hope Team helped create and run the activities presented at Solidays, it also attracted many festival-goers. In fact, nearly 130 young people wanted to sign up to become volunteers with the Hope Team. Young people are key players in gender equality. That is why the Hope Team, a group of young volunteers from Equipop in Paris. Leading activities at Solidays was one of the many activities offered to volunteers, who were also able to attend training sessions, meet West African activists, raise awareness about STIs, run a digital campaign against backlash, and more. For Equipop, Solidays is an important opportunity to inform younger generations about their rights, the role they have to play in defending them, and the means they have at their disposal to change attitudes. It's a "mission accomplished," with 130 new "equality agents" who will be able to join Team Hope to mobilize for international feminist solidarity.
A big thank you to An-Lan, Chloé, Clara, Emma, Jade, Kassandra, Maëlle, Marie, Marion, Mathilde, Pauline C, Pauline G, Philippine, Sadio, and Sophia.
