The inauguration of CID Fraen an Gender’s youth-focused initiative CID|Y was attended by Minister for Gender Equality and Diversity Yuriko Backes, with the new library aiming to be a safe and playful space for young people.
Over the course of a few hours, guests were invited to participate in fun activities for the young ones, including a drawing table, a screen-printing workshop, and a bookmark-making workshop. These activities, alongside carefully selected books to promote diversity and solidarity, were thoughtfully put together to allow young people to experience gender equality in a playful and engaging way.
Speaking to RTL Today after the event, CID’s Claire Schadeck said “at CID|Y, our dedicated space for children’s and young adults’ literature, we’re opening the doors to a vibrant, inclusive, and inspiring space where young people, parents, and educators from all backgrounds – regardless of gender, heritage, or social status – can dive into a world of books, stories, and activities that celebrate diversity and equality.”
On the mission of the library, Schadeck went on to explain key focuses such as rethinking gender roles through books, games, and activities, and building confidence and preventing violence. The library is intended to be a place where every child and young person can feel strong, heard, and respected.
“Our collection features stories that reflect the richness of human experience and promote tolerance and empathy for oneself and others”, Schadeck explained. This is also designed to raise awareness of gender equality and societal diversity in a way that is engaging, relatable, and fun. “Every child and young person should feel that CID|Y belongs to them”, she said. “Here, everyone is welcome.”
Beside fun activities that keep children engaged, a major part of the library is, of course, books. Selecting the right titles that align with their mission is a task that requires the efforts and involvement of a number of experts, volunteers – and the readers themselves.
“Our library team, along with our pedagogical expert, work tirelessly to stay informed about the latest publications”, Schadeck said. “We are also fortunate to have the support of dedicated volunteers, who critically review our existing collection, helping us identify and remove outdated materials.” To ensure a community-driven approach, children, teenagers, and parents are also invited to help the library choose new books and activities.
In her opening speech, CID President Julia Maria Zimmerman recalled the journey the CID has taken from when it was first founded in 1992, to where it is today.
“The first collection of children’s books was entitled ‘Girl-friendly children’s books’, and since the 2000s there has been ‘Books for strong Girls and Boys’”, she said. Today, it is the CIDIY Children’s and Youth Library.”
And it’s not only the terms that have changed, but the methods. For example, running up-to-date workshops on body awareness and beauty pressure in social media directly in primary schools.
“We know that gender justice is all the more important now that diversity in all its forms is being attacked again, and antifeminism is growing”, she said. To counter that, Zimmerman explained the need for children and young people to be able to recognise gender roles as changeable, and for the promotion of non-conformity and diversity. “We want to help children and young people to recognise and question violent structures, so that they learn to seek help, develop self-confidence, learn self-assertion and solidarity.”
Speaking to RTL Today at the event, Minister of Gender Equality and Diversity Yuriko Backes expressed her support for this space, and for the event.
“I think this is a fantastic event, it is a fantastic library dedicated to feminist and women’s movements, women’s and gender topics”, she said. “Even in a digital age, I’m a big fan of still being able to take books into your hands and to read. I think it’s absolutely fundamental that we also get young people interested, first of all, in books. But also, books that are more on diversity topics. So I’m extremely happy that we can inaugurate this library today. It’s a very good thing.”
Amidst the challenges faced today, Minister Backes identified worrying trends to the progress that has been made over the years, such as the rise of extreme right movements in Europe and the US, and the presence of conservative forces through social media. “We see a lot of progress over the years in terms of women’s rights, LGBTQI+ rights, and diversity – but we see a lot of backlash against women’s rights and against LGBTQI+ plus rights”, Minister Backes said. “I think this is going in the wrong direction and we must equip ourselves, our society, and youth to see what’s right and what’s wrong.”
Ahead of the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia on 17 May, the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and Intersex Association Index was released: Luxembourg has dropped from 70 to 68.41 percentage points and now ranks 10th among the 49 countries assessed. In response to this, Minister Backes has reaffirmed the government’s commitment to equality:
“The role models that were depicted in books before – a man who is strong, goes to work and brings back money, and a wife who has to cook and clean – this man-woman and two children model, that’s not reality today. We have many different forms of living together and people loving each other. And we want kids from a very young age to see that. These stereotypes that we still have today in our books – we are trying to correct that here with more modern things that also reflect the progress and evolution in our society.”
CID | Fraen an Gender is open from Tuesday through Friday from 12pm, and on Saturday from 9am. Upcoming activities for CID|Y include Summer in the CID|Y which starts on 24 May and runs until summer break.
