The IFT-I-IN project will empower ethnic women in Europe, promote their health and thereby prevent FGM. Through changes in lifestyle reduce lifestyle-related diseases and promote women's knowledge, attitudes and actions to make radical changes of their life-conditions.
By means of using new empowerment methods such as Appreciative Inquiry and Forum-Theatre the project will focus on specific  changes with regard to health & especially FGM. The project is  bottom-up, as the beneficiaries themselves are the project-holders.
The audiences attending performances, being informed about the efforts through the media, and public health workers will also gain knowledge of ethnic women’s health and strategies of change.
The project is a co-operation between the following women’s associations in Amsterdam (Holland), Islington (London/Great Britain):

Federation of Somali Associations in Netherlands. FSAN is a non-profit, non-political organization founded in the Netherlands in May 1994. It's purpose is to help, support and give advice to local Somali refugee organizations and to combat FGM.  www.ITN.org.uk

Islington Training Network (ITN) is a membership organisation open to voluntary sector organisations and local institutions. ITN offers its members a range of services such as capacity building, project management and awareness raising for all disadvantaged groups. www.FSAN.nl

The health of ethnic children, young girls and women is significantly worse than the average of the population in the european countries. Many health problems are related to FGM and other reproductive diseases. It is therefore very important to raise awareness of this fact among the public targetgroups such as health- and socialworkers, but also to raise awareness among the beneficiaries in order for them to promote healthy lifestyles and fight against FGM of their children.The beneficiaries are further characterized by lack of participation in the local community, isolation and conflicts between the generations in the families due to cultural and religious traditions. Many ethnic women are separated from their husbands and being a single-mother creates huge problems eg. criminality amongst the youth. Experiences show that health- and illness problems are closely connected to the general lifeconditions. Unemployed ethnic women & children living under poor conditions and with a low level of education, a poor network etc. are threathed by FGM & diseases. Inexpedient handling of health and diseases and great difficulties in changing of lifestyle results in in-equality in health. The need for local rolemodels, changeagents, is essential.

Fairly new empowerment tools such as Forum-theatre, drama, music and comics will be used in order to reach the beneficiaries and the public in new ways. Appreciative Inquiry will ne used as a method for empowering the women. This implies that the participants interview each other in order to identify their personal succes-stories. These stories will be discussed in small working groups. With help from professionel artists, small small theatre plays/dialouge-theatre and other cultural performings will be developed.

The succes stories on preventing FGM and reproductive health identified in each country will be shared and discussed between the participants in order to inspire to change oflifeconditions. The succes'es will be slightly different from country to country and from one African population to another, - and thus a pool of different experiences AND solutions will be created.
The cooperation between 3 european partner organisations each having different experiences within the field will also develop added european value.

The County of Aarhus - participting in the local steering committee - co-financing
Boligforeningen Præstehaven - participting in the local steering committee - co-financing
The Municipality of Aarhus - participting in the local steering committee - co-financing
Somali Women Organisation In Denmark (SWOD)