Welcome to the
International Women’s Association of Modena
Welcome to the
International Women’s Association of Modena
Our Vision
All IWA Modena members fully embrace their lives in Modena and actively support other women.
Our Mission
The International Women’s Association of Modena is a volunteer-run, non-profit network of Women for Women who live in, and around Modena. We are a group of internationally-minded, English-speaking women who support each other with:
- integration into a new community
- empowering each other in our personal and professional development
- providing opportunities to contribute to the association and the local community at large.
What We Do
Volunteering for IWA Modena
As an internal volunteer, our shared passions drive us towards achieving our goals. Connecting with like-minded women across many different cultures and developing professionally, but most importantly, personally, giving a new sense of community and home away from home.
Events and Meetups
We organise aperitivo evenings, business lunches, talks and events. Our other interest groups also organise their own meetups. Once a year we gather for the Annual General Meeting, a Thank You aperitivo for all our active, internal volunteers and the Christmas Dinner for our members to meet and socialise.
Community Engagement
Within our local community, we support other women’s associations through external volunteering and fundraising. Each year we run a different community engagement campaign allowing us to do something impactful in our adopted city.
IWA Modena in numbers
CURRENT MEMBERS
IWA Modena has grown steadily since its foundation in 2014. Many members have been with us for several years and we keep growing!
NATIONALITIES
We have members from countries including Italy, Germany, UK, USA, France, Greece, Canada, Spain, Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Mexico, Poland, Romania, Sweden, Turkey, Ukraine, Colombia, India & Israel
AVERAGE YEARS in ITALY
Our members know life in Italy pretty well. On average our foreign members have lived here for 7.3 years, and 32% of our members are locals.
CHARITY EVENTS
We organise the collection of useful items for the homeless and support a local charitable organisation each year as our partner of the year.
Latest News
Bike ride along the Casinalbo-Maranello-Montale loop
The Biking Group is looking to plan more bikerides to explore the countryside of Modena together!
Book Review: The Vanishing Half
The IWAM Book Club in March discussed The Vanishing Half, a historical novel by Brit Bennett about the lives of identical twin sisters.
Viva Vittoria: raising awareness and solidarity on violence against women
IWAM has been actively supporting the Viva Vittoria project, raising awareness and solidarity on violence against women. Read here how you can help too!
IWA Modena in the Community
As our slogan, “Women for Women” continues to inspire us to give back to our Modenese Community, it is with great pride that this year we announce our latest campaign, “Global Community Meets Local Needs”. It’s all about bridging the gap between our vibrant international community and the local associations right here in Modena. In 2023 and 2024, we are asking our members to roll up their sleeves and support the community that welcomed them with open arms in Italy.
We previously partnered up with the Association for the Integration of Women (AIW) in 2021/22 helping them launch their project ‘Roots:’.
In 2018 and 2019 we supported Casa delle Donne Contrο la Violenza Modena, raising in total over 16,000 Euros, and in 2020 by supporting the project with Il Cesto di Ciliege.
Read on to find out about our work in the community of Modena on our Community Engagement pages.
Our Story
It might be destiny or just an amazing coincidence that the city’s motto is: “Avia Pervia”, which translates into “let difficult paths made be easy to walk”. These two words, representing the city of Modena, are speaking from our hearts, as they are identical to our goals as an association.
A deep wish to help others, who are in the same situation like so many of us had been once, was the key driver to build this association, which has grown unbelievably fast since our foundation in December 2014.