In 2016, the XX Element Project – Cultural Association was created with the purpose of promoting the cultural enrichment of the general population, as well as activities of a civic and social nature, with a special focus on women and the promotion of gender equality.
Active since 2017 and focused on a conscious education targeting culture and art, but which carries at its core a fight against social exclusion, this project aims to aggregate the surrounding community, encouraging its active participation, as well as increasing its training and information about their rights and duties as citizens. It aims to achieve the aforementioned either through watching films, through lectures, workshops, conferences, thus raising awareness of issues around women, such as discrimination, domestic violence, dating violence, work, and other pressing issues related to equality and human rights.
We intend for this project to encourage young people and the general population to become more involved in social causes, especially those that affect women, and to modify the current scenario of dissemination of works carried out by women, bringing their works and causes to the forefront.
Our area of expertise has been in film, where we have shown films, organized in thematic cycles and sessions which stimulate conversations about the topics we deem important. From 2017 to now, we have held over 70 sessions.
Every year, we organize the Porto Femme – International Women’s Film Festival, which is now preparing its 3rd edition, with the aim of creating a privileged space for films directed by and for women and rewarding these same works. With this, we are promoting the works of women produced all over the world.
In addition to the film sessions, debates and festival, we have also been developing other activities such as exhibitions, concerts and workshops, always centered around female artists.
In the last year, our main goal has been working on inclusion through art projects, such as the Project “Claraboia – a small fragment of cinema between walls” which involved prisoners from the Santa Cruz do Bispo Prison, Porto.
XX Element Project is currently working on the “Cinamiza-te” project aimed at school audiences.