#schneeflockearkitect

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Rolling Stones My new project: give a second life to old pillows and textiles. Everyone and everything deserve a second chance!

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Until the 18th of September you will find "OSKAR" - the project for the Baugewerbliche Berufsschule Zürich- in an exhibition in Zürich. Check the flyer!

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At the moment I’m working as Architect at office haratori GmbH in Zürich, Swiss.

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George Bernard Shaw in his play “Pygmalion” declared: “the way you speak classifies you”; nowadays I would transform it in “The place you born classifies you”, that is much closer to a representation of the unfair reality.

ABOUT ME

My name is Elena Pasini, I’m an architect born in Modena, Italy.

In 2012 I moved to Zurich (Switzerland) to seek work. After three years I became manager of a big construction area, an immigrant woman in a men's world! Against all the odds, I was respected at all times, and mostly because I come from a country with an important "red passport”, which gave me from the power of white privileges.

This means that the randomness of the fact that I was born in Italy granted me with a very important chance from the very onset: an established legal protection framework for women's rights and free, unhindered access to health and education.What important privileges I was born into - a chance, which millions of people never get in life simply because they were born in countries that are not considered "important" in the world map of power.

Because of this deep-rooted awareness, it became clear to me that  as "privileged people" we do have a moral duty to side with those who had to flee everything because of war, poverty or persecution and who had to leave literally everything behind, starting again from nothing.

MY CAUSES/ MY FIGHT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

- In the last months I started to collaborate with Architecture for Refugees Schweiz - it was pure bliss: my job finally had a higher purpose, which is not profit, and could become useful for those in need. The project I was assigned to was the Renovation of the Autonome Schule Zürich - I was entrusted with the coordination of a team of different workers coming from refugees-producing countries, such as Eritrea, Afghanistan, Syria.. it was truly one of the most inspiring and meaningful work experience I have ever had in my life, in terms of team-building and engagement. I understood how Kindness and putting oneself in someone's else shoes are crucial skills that cannot be learned , even in the most expensive University in the world. They have to come from inside and they have to come from the belief that we all have something to learn all the time from our collaborators. There's not right or wrong, better or worse - and if I can teach something to someone, I should donate my time for that as it is the best way I can facilitate their financial sustainability and future employment. It was a real honour to spend a week with those dedicated refugees and immigrants from all over the world and observe the virtuous process of building something that we all wanted.  The work space and relationships were guilt-, judgement- and blame-free.

- Recently, I become an Ambassador of SAHR (Strategic Advocacy for Human Rights), a gender justice NGO that advances gender equity and women’s rights, one of the causes dearest to me. But let me explain to you the groundbreaking legal innovation work of our organisation.

ABOUT SAHR

We are women from across the world with expertise in law, activism, and academia, working to open pathways to transformative justice for and alongside survivors of gender violence. Our journey started a decade ago. ‘SAHR’, our acronym, is a beautiful word that means ‘Magic’ in four of our work languages: Arabic, Farsi, Dari and Turkish. We believe that the pursuit and the victory of justice can only be achieved through the magical domino effect sparked by the efforts of visionary leaders around the world.

Did you know that in our countries of operations, Afghanistan and India, when a woman reports rape or other sexual crimes, she is blamed for it and often ends up being wrongfully prosecuted and in prison? Police and prosecutors accuse her of lying and subject her to invasive medical examinations and other degrading procedures, such as virginity tests.  In court, she is then asked accusatory questions that make her re-experience the trauma. Such treatment is inhumane and constitutes a form of torture.

That is why we support women facing trial by 1) obtaining victims’ compensations and court orders that guarantee the right to fair procedures 2) securing the release of individuals who have been arbitrarily detained 4) holding abusers accountable 4) offering training on strategic litigation, impact storytelling, and legal reform to members of the communities.

Recently, one of our three co-founders, Natasha Latiff, has worked very hard in Kabul, with some of the bravest women lawyers from our local nonprofit partner, Medica Afghanistan, to organize a conference that put an end to virginity testing. The results brought justice to over 40 clients who were subjected to this harrowing experience. They have filed petitions to strike out evidence obtained from these virginity examinations and sent official letters to the Ministries to put an effective stop to thee humiliating practices.

Since 2013, we are registered in the US as a 501(c)3 nonprofit organisation and we aim to inspire the next generation to continue the fight for the right of all women to live free from fear and violence and with dignity and equal opportunity. In San Francisco, at the moment our SAHR team is working towards making the organisation financially sustainable by bridging women leaders in law, finance and women entrepreneurs in the start up & business world with our meaningful grass-root work as it is through these connections where SAHR, the Magic of Women Justice, is made possible. It would be awesome to have you among our important supporters and donors. For any info please email Sara, our co-founder based in the US at [email protected].

Please Join our journey by subscribing to our newsletter here and follow us on Facebook |  Twitter  |  Instagram  |  LinkedIn  | Be inspired by the power of women's justice!  

Let’s make the Magic of SAHR happen together !

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New website is online. Check it out! www.schneeflockearkitect.com

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Punk's not deAd My new project: give a second life to old pillows and textiles. Everyone and everything deserve a second chance!

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Homage to Julien Fanton D'Andon (Bad Panda) My new project: give a second life to old pillows and textiles. Everyone and everything deserve a second chance!

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Oh Deer! On SALE, PM for info ;)

My new project: give a second life to old pillows and textiles. Everyone and everything deserve a second chance!