Celebrating the queer and feminist projects and community with the Bøwie incubator 2022

It was the fourth edition of the Incubator, which was brought to life in 2019. To promote and launch projects under the Bøwie sign, this program assembles projects from all over Europe to give them a voice and help them grow. The participants were accompanied from May to November, during which they followed a series of classes around different topics of entrepreneurship and were privately coached by the Bowie teams and external professionals of the various fields the projects tackle.
 
And after six intense months, the voyage ended in culmination with the awards ceremony that took place on the 3rd of December. The place to be, was at Les Salons, an old classical theater offering a magical frame to the long-awaited event. The participants arrived from multiple countries to be able to be in attendance as it was the closing chapter of their journey inside the Bowie classes.
 
Passionate discussions filled the room with warmth and kindness as the ceremony was still at its premises. The guest arrived in small heaps, all filled with excitement about what would be to come.
 
The lights finally dimmed - the head of Bowie, Sandrine Cina proceeded to give a touching speech about Bowie's aim and the challenges and pains it soothes. Then, the Head of the incubator, Deborah Abate gave some words about their goals and experiences within the Incubator. Very touching words highlighted the importance of these kinds of programs and support.
 
An interlude was offered by the Geneva gay choir " Les Genevoix", who delivered a joyous and lighthearted moment of sharing and music.
 
Finally, the various projects that stood out got awarded, and the prizes were given out in categories;
 
With the first project coming straight from Romania, #GENDER3. Founded by Vlad, Sandra, and Denise; aiming to raise awareness and offer a learning program for young people in Romania interested in working in NGOs focused on gender+ dimensions.
 
The second project that out was one of the swiss participants, Delphine Lebrun. EROTIC COACHING is about services rooted in neurodiversity beyond the binary; of consent, eroticism & sexuality.
 
 
Then FACILITATING CHANGE a project from Dani Priscariu, was at its turn praised. As a Romanian business to support queer, trans & feminist change-makers in their journeys to increase their capacity to better relate to themselves, others, and the change they want to create.
 
A second swiss project QUEER PÂDZE with its head Flora Gagnerie was commended for its LGBTQIA+ library for all in the Wallis Canton, linked with Alpagai (Sion).
 
And finally, the Slovakian project QUEER SLOVAKIA Initiated by Roman Samotny earned a prize from the jury as well as received the public choice award. Everyone was charmed by his platform which organizes events for the LGBTQIA+ community & an online magazine working towards creating a digital representation of the queer community.
 
With the end of the distribution of the prizes, the ceremony itself slowly but gently came to an end, the energy was inspiring and filled with support. The crowd moved into the other room of the Salons to debrief around an aperitif.
 
Sponsors, jury, participants, and audience mixed and exchanged around multiple topics, where first encounters and reunions took place.
 
All in all, we are so happy about the ambiance the event had and truly hope that everyone had a great time with us.
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We would probably have never been able to see nor share these incredible works without the existence of the Incubator. The perpetuation and development of these kinds of initiatives anywhere in the world are essential to fair representation. On top of bringing together the works of queer and feminist persons and sharing them with the world, the Incubator offers a community space where, even if it's only a few months, it feels good to be.
 
And that spirit had transpired to the soirée where the word of command was support and the enrichment of each of its participants.
 
Come to next year's ceremony and meet the queer and feminist projects of the future!

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Learn more about the program here.

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Photographic credit goes to Castille Alma