ReIncluGen Press Release

ReIncluGen concludes with the launch of the photobook „Whispering Truths in Many Ways and Places“ and a public event on 18 December 2025

Vienna — 15.12.2025

After three years of in-depth research across five European countries, the ReIncluGen project Rethinking Inclusion and Gender Empowerment is concluding with the presentation of a new photobook created together with migrant women and a public community event in Vienna. The closing event will take place on 18 December from 13:00 to 19:00 at the premises of The Orient Express learning centre Schönngasse 15-17, 1020, Vien and will bring together migrant women, civil society organisations, practitioners, and community members to share the project’s results and celebrate its collaborative outcomes.

A Photobook Giving Space to Women’s Voices

A central outcome of the project is the photobook Whispering Truths in Many Ways and Places. A Photobook by Migrantised Women Across Europe, edited by Kris Aerts, Amal Miri and Lore Van Praag,  Owl Press, https://www.borgerhoff-lamberigts.be/en/shop/boeken/whispering-truths-in-many-ways-places?variant=240096

Developed through participatory visual and narrative methods, the photobook brings together photographs and stories created by women who took part in ReIncluGen’s research in Austria, Belgium, Italy, Poland, and Spain. It captures everyday moments of strength, care, uncertainty, creativity, and belonging, focusing on how empowerment is lived and felt rather than formally defined.

The book highlights spaces where women feel safe, relationships that sustain them, and activities that support confidence and self-determination. By doing so, it offers perspectives that are often missing from public debates and policy discussions. The photobook stands as a key result of the project, translating research findings into an accessible, human-centred format for a wider audience.

About the ReIncluGen Project

ReIncluGen is a three-year European research project that brought together partners across five countries to better understand how migrant women experience empowerment, navigate institutions, and access support services. The research combined in-depth interviews with migrant women, close collaboration with civil society organisations (CSOs), and comparative media analysis to build a multi-layered understanding of what inclusion can mean in everyday life.

The project shows that empowerment is not a single or uniform process. Women’s experiences are shaped by legal status, language, care responsibilities, personal histories, trauma, and access to rights and services. While national gender equality and integration frameworks provide important reference points, many women benefit most from support that is long-term, flexible, and closely connected to their lived realities. Moreover, every woman defines her individual understanding of what empowerment means for her.

Across all research phases, CSOs emerged as essential actors. They provide first-language counselling, legal advice, childcare, psychosocial and trauma-informed support, safe social spaces, and opportunities for community building. Their work creates trusted environments where women can regain confidence, make informed decisions, and explore education or employment pathways at their own pace.

Insights from the Austrian Research

The Austrian case study combined interviews with migrant women, participatory research with CSOs, and analysis of media debates related to gender empowerment and inclusion. Together, these strands offer a detailed picture of how empowerment is supported, enabled, and sometimes constrained in practice.

Key insights:

• Empowerment goes beyond employment and language acquisition.
  Women described empowerment as closely linked to safety, legal certainty, stable housing, emotional well-being, and the ability to participate socially and culturally.
• CSOs play a central role in everyday inclusion.
  They often act as first points of contact, offering trusted and accessible support in women’s first languages. Their work is particularly important for women experiencing violence, isolation, or legal uncertainty.
• Continuity and stability matter.
  Short-term and project-based funding models can limit long-term planning and staff stability, affecting programmes that rely on trust-building and gradual engagement.
• Access to services remains uneven.
  Legal status, documentation requirements, and language barriers can delay access to childcare, counselling, education, or mental health support, increasing vulnerability at critical moments.
• Community-based and creative approaches are highly valued.
  Peer groups, storytelling, arts-based activities, and first-language literacy support were repeatedly highlighted as effective in building confidence and supporting participation, even when their outcomes are not easily measured.
• Public debates often overlook women’s everyday realities.
  Media coverage tends to focus on ‘integration’ challenges, which are defined in a problematic way, or on political framing, while women’s lived experiences, aspirations, and contributions remain largely invisible.

The findings point to a clear opportunity: empowerment is strongest when policies, institutions, and community actors work together, and when services are stable, inclusive, and able to respond to women’s diverse realities. ReIncluGen encourages building on the strengths already present in Austria’s support landscape while reinforcing the long-term structures that make empowerment possible

Closing Event

The ReIncluGen closing event will take place on 18 December from 13h on at The Orient Express learning centre in Schönngasse 15-17, 1020, Vienna. The programme will feature the presentation of the photobook Whispering Truths in Many Ways and Places. A Photobook by Migrantised Women Across Europe, reflections from migrant women who participated in the project, and insights from the Austrian research team. The event will also offer space for dialogue and informal exchange among community members, practitioners, and researchers. Multi-media approaches will highlight various women‘s stories and experiences, and the presentations will be accompanied by a small buffet It marks the conclusion of the ReIncluGen project and provides an opportunity to reflect on its findings, celebrate the women’s contributions, and discuss future pathways for inclusive and sustainable support.

All materials, analysis, reports and deliverables from the project can be found here: https://www.uantwerpen.be/en/projects/reinclugen/