30 Years, 30 Voices: Call for Contributions!
Deadline: May 31st, 2026, Contact: thesaura@frida.at
The Austrian Women’s Thesaurus – thesaurA for short – is turning 30! We’d like to celebrate this with the „thesaurA revisited“ project – and look back together:
- What has happened since thesaurA was published in June 1996?
- Where has not enough happened yet?
- And what questions might now be arising that are entirely new?
We want to create a space for celebration, but also for (critical) discussion. In doing so, we want to give a voice to many different perspectives – each with its own view of this feminist vocabulary.
What is thesaurA?
It contains just under 3,000 terms and helps to describe literature in the field of women’s and gender studies – thereby making it searchable in catalogues. More about thesaurA (in German).
How can you partcipate?
Choose a term from thesaurA – or suggest a term you think is missing – and jot down your thoughts on it. Whether personal, academic, artistic or poetic – your perspective matters: diversity and creativity are expressly encouraged. Submit your contribution as a short text, an image, an audio clip or a video.
Please send us a short message with your chosen term to thesaura@frida.at! This way we can ensure that not everyone is working on the same term. Send your finalised contributions to thesaura@frida.at until May 31st, 2026.
What should the content of the contributions look like?
Need some inspiration? Here are a few ideas to get you started: You could…
- …place the term within the context of current debates…
- …explore its meaning…
- …share your personal connection to it…
- …simply jot down your spontaneous associations.
Feel free to take a critical approach: perhaps a term in the thesaurA has become outdated in the meantime?
What are the format requirements for submissions?
- Text: max. 1,200 characters (including spaces)
- Audio/video: max. 90 seconds
- Images: max. 5 images, each in 1:1 or 4:5 aspect ratio
Please also include a short biography (max. 200 characters, including spaces). It is possible to publish contributions under a pseudonym. Only the project team will then know your real name.
Where will the entries be published?
The entries will be shared on the Instagram account @thesaura_revisited and on the frida website. If desired, the entries may also be included in the planned anniversary publication or displayed at the anniversary event.
How can I access thesaurA?
thesaurA is available in many libraries across the German-speaking world, but is only available second-hand in bookshops in a few places. If you do not have access to a copy, simply get in touch with us and we will find a solution.
Contact
You can contact the project team – consisting of Andrea Gruber, Viki Wechselberger, and Monika Bargmann – at thesaura@frida.at.
Last update: April 3rd, 2026