This collaboration is foreseen to be organic with together and co-designing and co- creating projects, including a set of interviews and workshops with women within the Kaarvan Crafts Foundation community. EWPSCC are incredibly excited to collaborate with Kaarvan Crafts Foundation. Co-designing projects and initiatives together based on the incredible work that Kaarvan Crafts Foundation has been building since 2004, with crafting livelihoods. Empowering communities of women throughout Pakistan’s rural areas and cities can only further enrich our deep commitment to bring further awareness to the challenges faced by diverse, intersectional women and girls around the world. With our collaborations, highlighting the real issues around Climate change and the complexities surrounding the challenges around public spaces faced by women and girls. Together via our collaboration and small steps, we hope to create positive impact for all.

Rozina Spinnoy, Director BIDs Belgium

“Kaarvan Crafts Foundation is truly delighted to collaborate with BIDs Belgium to further push the boundaries of social innovation and unpack the idea of women empowerment through the lens of public space and climate change. The idea is to inspire a movement towards sustainable change, which keeps women at the heart of development by creating a space of experimentation that shapeshifts in subversive yet expansive ways. Offering opportunities through life skills to craft a living as right to development, right to peace and right to healthful environment.”

Danish Jabbar Khan, Chief Executive Officer  

The topics of Empowering women, Public Space, and Climate Change are strongly linked. When women have equal access to public spaces, they can participate in decision-making processes that shape the built environment and ensure that public spaces are more safe, equitable and inclusive. Empowering women and promoting gender equality also positively impacts climate change by enabling them to adapt and mitigate its impacts and play a critical role in shaping and implementing effective climate change policies and solutions. Overall, gender equality is crucial for building a more sustainable and equitable future, and it is closely linked to issues of public space and climate change.

Kaarvan fully embodies its Persian name, which means the pursuit of people.

Kaarvan strives to create a world of cooperation and collaboration where men and women stand side by side as equal participants. More interrogation of our societies, our relationships, our lives and imagine / create a new way of being and living. (Kaarvan Crafts Foundation website – www.kaarvan.com.pk) ____________________________________________

We continue sharing, exchanging and highlighting the aspect of women in public space in the regional contexts. We continue with our global research with sharing, exchanging and co-designing initiatives, highlighting the challenges and solutions from the global extended network. We discuss the challenges and potential positive impacts with projects and research on the ground. Emphasizing the strong link between these topics and the need for a more systemic and integrated approach relating to; empowering women, public space and climate change in communities across the world from rural areas to the cities.

In this second session of South Asia Talks, we interview Artisan Entrepreneur, In this session together in partnership with Kaarvan Crafts Foundation, Rozina Spinnoy, Director BIDs Belgium and Mashal Khan, Head of Strategic Communications, Learning Sharing Innovation Department, Kaarvan Crafts Foundation are in conversation with Sobia Amir, Artisan Entrepreneur.  

SOBIA AMIR

Artisanal Entrepreneur

Sobia is a resident of Sheikh Colony, Multan. She is a mother to four children as well as an industrious artisan. With a graduate degree and 15 years of work experience of hand embroidery in various ‘tankas’ the local term for stitch techniques, fabric painting, dough work and jewellery making. With intent to share her knowledge with her community she has opened a little training institute and boutique in her home. Sobia constantly looks out for collaborative opportunities where she can get funds to teach and share her skills. In 2019 she hosted two exhibitions for her community artisans. A strong advocate for collective action Sobia continuously works to craft opportunities for women in her neighbourhood. Working alongside 20 artisans Sobia is expanding herself and entering the digital domain

MASHAL KHAN

Head of Strategic Communications, Learning Sharing Innovation Kaarvan Crafts Foundation

Designer/ Visual Ethnographer, Researcher stretching the boundaries to build relational view of caring for humans, animals, ecosystems and the artifice. It is only by understanding and caring for these perspectives that we can gain a richer insight into the mechanics of this world’s system that in turn can aid us in predicting and preventing global catastrophic risks from occurring. Seeing the world through a sense of wonder, humility and respect – designing new ideas and action agendas.

ROZINA SPINNOY

Director BIDs Belgium

Rozina Spinnoy is a Design Strategist and Social Entrepreneur, Owner/Founder of her NGO BIDs Belgium and Design SME’s based in Brussels and working internationally. A community partner of the New European Bauhaus, with her NGO BIDs Belgium. She is also the Founder of the international/community initiative of Empowering Women, Public Space and Climate Change. Recently appointed as the Associate Direct of the Public Space Academy, an initiave of City Space Architecture, with the Ove Arup Foundation. An active member and Leader of the Placemaking Europe Network. Rozina is also an Academician for the Academy of Urbanism and also sitting on a variety of Advisory Councils. Rozina champions a variety of causes, projects and philanthropic activities, ranging from gender equality, urban place-making, inclusion and diversity. A keen advocate for more mental health awareness, inclusive communities and co-designing processes in her wide range of diverse projects. You will find Rozina often sharing her views and passion on the value of Design, Creativity and Foresight for positive impact across our society.