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From community empowerment to an empowered society: regular activities for the trans community in Spektra’s premises

As part of the program for working with the community, Association Spektra actively works through three regular activities with support of the SMART Balkans CORE grant.

TRANS 101 is an activity in the form of self-support groups intended for the TIGV community, with the aim of empowering it by providing relevant information on legal, health, social, or any other issues concerning the trans community. These groups are led by an assistant in the community work program, Iskra Đurišić. Considering the frequent stigma and many inconveniences that trans people can be exposed to because of their gender identity, one of the main focuses of these activities is to preserve a pleasant and safe atmosphere.

In addition to self-support groups, Spektra also offers individual peer consultations as part of this program. They provide additional privacy, attention and dedication, as well as a form of continuous support from the assistant in the program.

Through the activity of Movie nights, a repertoire presented on Spektra’s film screen deals with TIGV topics, and watching the film is accompanied by discussion, sharing personal experiences, and thoughts.

In order for these spaces to communicate warmth, hospitality, and a wealth of knowledge and different experiences, Iskra managed to refresh the work room with new colours, and create a pleasant and safe space for further work and community empowerment.

Since Spektra’s premises are a centre of knowledge resources, through these activities, trans people can get acquainted with interactive workshops on the topic of activism, labour rights, and other information with the aim of empowering trans people in further action within society, and to play a key role in progressive change.

“From my experience working with the community so far, I can say that self-support groups are of great importance. The community has the opportunity to socialize, discuss different topics, exchange experiences and empower each other. Given that I am part of the community myself, self-support groups are empowering for me too, they motivate me to work with people and get to know the problems and obstacles that the community faces better, especially those I may not have and do not experience. Being in the company of people who understand and respect you is inspiring and encouraging. Individual peer consultations have proven to be the most effective tool in empowering the community and providing assistance in accessing the process of gender affirmation, but also in helping to solve various types of problems that the TIGV community faces on a daily basis. Since I’ve been working at Spektra, I can say that the community itself is much more visible and empowered, especially trans women. I think that the fact that I myself am a publicly out and visible trans woman has a great impact on them, and that it contributes to the expansion of the community and keeping it together,” adds Iskra.