In two days, the project has received 10,000 dollars in funding.
What links Croatian writer Marija Jurić Zagorka, Russian astronaut Valentina Tereshkova, French director Agnes Varda, and Greek philosopher and mathematician Hypatia? They are all women, of course, more precisely “fierce women,” as they are called by the team from Vox Feminae, a feminist website and festival. Earlier this week, they presented the Fierce Women card game on the Indiegogo crowdfunding platform, and in just two days they received ten thousand dollars in investment, reports Večernji List on March 8, 2018.
“Vox Feminae has had a special ‘fierce women’ section for about ten years now. We were not even aware that this was our most popular section until a graduate student came to us and said that we were best known for that particular section,” says Gabriela Ivanov, editor-in-chief of the website. At that time, she attended training on social entrepreneurship, and it occurred to her that Fierce Women could become a recognisable and popular project to build a sustainable socially-responsible initiative.
“I mentioned the idea to my friend Želimir Periša, who is a great fan of card games. I knew it was enough to say ‘fierce women, a game’ for his imagination to lit up. And indeed, he developed a complete game design, and then we started looking for female illustrators. We were shocked when we received applications from 60 illustrators. That was a confirmation that we were on the right track,” explains Ivanov.
Among the applicants, they selected eight authors who created the main 65 cards, which will later be expanded with topical additions in collaboration with new authors. In the first round, the cards were illustrated by Sanja Stojković, Rina Barbarić, Tea Šokac, Željka Tkalčec, Ana Kovačić, Ivana Štrukelj, Branka Hollingsworth and Nataša Rašović.
“Honestly, I thought they would not choose me because I am more of a cartoonist than a traditional illustrator, but my idea seemed too good not to try. Among all the proposed names, mostly of foreign women, I selected Marija Jurić Zagorka and Nada Dimić, who are my personal role models. I want as many girls as possible to hear about their lives. There are too few inspirational female life stories in the public space. I want my 11-year-old niece to realise that she can be whatever she wants, and not just a model,” says Nataša Rašović.
Marija Jurić Zagorka’s books were the first literature she read at her grandma’s attic, and therefore she illustrated her card from a child’s viewpoint. “I am delighted how it turned out, and I like the fact that the game is not competitive, but cooperative. Adults will have fun, while children will hopefully learn something through the game,” she says.
“In the first crowdfunding round, we will sell thousand card decks, and for now the response is excellent. We are also aiming for international markets, with the possibility of subject-specific and country-specific expansions, and we are particularly pleased to see there are companies which want to buy cards for their employees,” adds Ivanov.
At the Indiegogo platform, the basic Fierce Women deck costs about 170 kuna, together with accompanying gifts, like stickers and digital accessories. Given the interest, it could soon be sold out.
Translated from Večernji List (reported by Milena Zajović).
