International networking 2025 in Bologna
14. October 2025
Activists from five European countries took part: Italy, Greece, Spain, France and Germany. The aim of the meeting was to further network the social clinics at a European level, exchange views on political developments and share ideas for practical solidarity.
The network is growing. INOSC is also in contact with social clinics outside Europe that would potentially like to become part of the network.
On the individual days, there were detailed reports, exchanges and discussions on strategies for migration, militarisation and practices of resistance to repression.
The focus was on topics such as migration from Southwest Asia and Africa, support for refugees and migrants in the event of imminent deportation and the development of cross-border support structures. Other key topics included the current situation in Palestine and the increasing militarisation of European states, accompanied by social cuts and growing hostility towards migration - exemplified by the planned construction of deportation camps in Albania by Italy, which the "Network against Migrant Detention" is campaigning against in collaboration with Italian groups.
During the discussions, it emerged that local groups and clinics in Central Europe, especially in Germany without external European borders, face different conditions when it comes to providing care and support for refugees and migrants. Better networking with groups in Italy, Spain and Greece is necessary in order to provide "People on the Move", especially those at risk of deportation, with local support and care networks so that they are at least not left without any support structure.
Sunday's theme was "Communities and self-organisation".
We discussed what communities mean to us and how we can effectively dismantle traditional hierarchies between patients and health and social workers.
We shared our experiences of self-organisation. Some groups are completely self-organised and do not depend on institutions, while others are exclusively paid and also financed by municipal and state funds. We discussed what organising can look like and what constitutes communities for us and how we define them.
Finally - it was 28 September - we visited the gynaecological practice of the group from Bologna - in keeping with Safe Abortion Day - and took the photo you see above. On the banner, we call for free access to self-determined, free and safe abortions.
