News & Resources.
Updates on MFF Partners:
Around the world, communities impacted by extractive industries—mining, drilling, logging—face multiple and intersecting forms of violence. That violence is gendered in its operation and in whom it benefits and harms. Building Power In Crisis explores the breadth of structural violence created or reinforced by extractivism, from political violence against women environmental defenders to economic violence that threatens women’s livelihoods. Centering the experiences of women and girls in frontline communities, the report lifts up their strategies to resist extractive development and lead with bold and sustainable alternatives.
Based on nearly 100 interviews with women leaders and their allies in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, Building Power In Crisis provides an analysis of the opportunities for supporting women and their communities engaged in extractive struggles.
Building Power In Crisis offers multiple entry points for funders, civil society, and social movements across fields, including feminism, human rights, Indigenous Peoples, environment and climate. The aim of the report is to lift up three sets of strategies needed to confront extractive power: foundational, site-specific, and transformational. Led by frontline communities and the allies who support them, these strategies center women’s knowledge, practices, and experiences.
WALKING TOGETHER ON THE PATH OF CHANGE
Indigenous Women aspire that the adoption of the CEDAW General Recommendation be an integral process where States actually implement programs and public policies that guarantee our individual and collective rights; and within the movement, to continue strengthening our capacities to take full advantage of this space.
We also recognize the leadership and collective strength between movements - Indigenous and Feminist Women. This synergy has allowed us a powerful and effective advocacy.
WE ARE MANY, FROM VARIOUS FRONTS, AND WITH A COMMON DREAM.
More Than 150 African Women and Girls Launch Demands Ahead of UN Climate Conference – COP27 in Egypt
BY LINDSAY BIDGA
A coalition of African feminist activists has launched a set of collective demands for meaningful accountability and action for climate change ahead of the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference, commonly referred to as COP27, to be held in Egypt from 6-18 November. More than 150 activists from countries across all five regions of Africa put forward 27 demands calling for increased ambition and action to meet climate change goals, while addressing the specific needs of African women and girls. Central to these demands are equity, representation and financing.
The demands were launched virtually and across various African cities ahead of the first climate summit to be held in Africa since 2016. While Africa accounts for the smallest share of global greenhouse gas emissions, at just 3.8 percent, it remains one of the most vulnerable regions to climate change.
“It is time for the leaders to prioritise the lives and needs of the people of Africa, especially those of women and girls, who are often hit hardest by climate impacts,” said Mwanahamisi Singano, Senior Global Policy Lead for the Women’s Environment and Development Organization. “The government delegates who are going into the climate negotiations need to understand that we are losing hope, and they need to restore that hope – not just for themselves, but for the next generation.”
The 27 demands cover six key areas of concern: women’s and youth leadership in climate processes, an equitable energy transition, climate finance, land rights, just technology, and intersectionality and interlinkages across development work streams.
“We want to see negotiations deliver a stand-alone financing facility for ‘loss and damage’–the negative effects of climate change that people cannot cope with or adapt to,” said Sylvia Dorbor, a UNFCCC Negotiator for Liberia. “In the last year alone, the African continent has seen major climate disasters, drought, floods and food insecurity. There is a historic and ongoing lack of support and compensation for the victims of climate change, who are disproportionately women.”
African climate advocates say the inadequate financing, and lack of support to fully address loss and damage and reparations for historical environmental injustices, continue to mark the principal ways the climate negotiations have failed to meet developing countries’ needs. Last year, the proposal for a dedicated funding mechanism for loss and damage was at the top of the political agenda, but was blocked by wealthy countries like the United States and members of the European Union. This year, loss and damage is on the provisional COP27 agenda–and advocates continue to call for it to be included in the official COP agenda.
The coalition is also calling for an equitable energy transition that urgently shifts from a fossil fuel-based economy to investments in safe and clean energy.
“We need to challenge our assumptions that what may be appropriate in developed economies can be applied to the African context,” said Faith Lumonya, Economic Justice and Climate Action Lead at Akina Mama wa Afrika in Uganda. “Across Africa, more than 597 million people don’t have access to electricity and almost 60% of medical clinics lack access to a consistent flow of electricity. So while a shift to renewables is prudent, it is also about building a future that ensures equitable access to and affordability of sustainable energy resources for all.”
Despite facing multiple challenges and structural marginalisation, African women, girls, and Indigenous Peoples are leading the work to care for the natural environment and fight climate change. First on the coalition’s list of demands is “equal representation and meaningful engagement of women, girls, people with disabilities, Indigenous peoples, and youth in their diversity at all climate change processes at global and national levels.”
“When we talk about representation it is about more than numbers; it is meaningful representation and inclusion,” said Nada Elbohi, an Egyptian feminist and youth advocate. “It is bringing the priorities of African women and girls to the table.”
About the Coalition
In January 2022, a small group of African Feminists, mostly advocates with long-lasting engagement with the Women and Gender Constituency, started the African Feminists Taskforce for COP27. The Taskforce’s aim is to mobilize African feminists ahead of COP27 to be hosted in Egypt, and ensure African feminists’ voices and demands, aspirations, and vision are centered in COP27 processes and outcomes. In April 2022, a public call was made to expand representation and ensure inclusivity of the Taskforce. To date, more than 150 feminists are part of the African feminist’s Taskforce. The membership of the Taskforce is open to everyone identifying as a feminist from Africa.
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From Fuel to Bicycles, ‘The Potential of Bamboo Is Limitless’
Uganda invests in bamboo as a sustainable way to reverse the worrying trend of deforestation.
NAJJERA, UGANDA — After seven years working in real estate, Divine Nabaweesi says she began to feel uneasy because the job was not fulfilling.
“I wanted to do something where I could apply my passion for nature and the environment, and also contribute to the global challenges we are facing,” she says.
Nabaweesi didn’t know where to begin her quest to attend to the environmental challenges, but in 2015, she decided to quit her job anyway. She began venturing into nature, and while she was climbing Mount Elgon, in eastern Uganda, an idea struck her. She discovered that the forest was disappearing at an alarming rate because people were cutting down trees for charcoal, firewood and construction.
“It is easy to get deceived by the greenery when driving through a forest road, but if you go just meters into the forest, there are no trees,” she says.
A year later, Nabaweesi used her savings to start a company called Divine Bamboo to explore the possibility of saving forests by planting bamboo trees and making products, including fuel, out of the plant she calls “the green gold.”
“The potential of bamboo is limitless for both the environment and economy,” she says, as she springs from her seat and hurries outside to showcase the work she’s been doing.
As many African countries struggle to curb deforestation, some like Uganda see bamboo as one of the most sustainable ways to reverse the worrying trend, while creating jobs and growing their economies. Between 2000 and 2019, the continent’s forest area declined by 15 million hectares (37 million acres), according to a study released in 2021 by the African Union and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
In Uganda, cutting down trees for timber and fuel is among the largest drivers of forest loss, which amounts to over 50,000 hectares (about 124,000 acres) annually. A Uganda National Household Survey found that in 2016 more than 90% of the households in the country used fuelwood and charcoal for cooking.
Bamboo has the potential to relieve forests of the pressure to provide fuel and material for products like furniture, says Moreen Uwimbabazi, a researcher and the project leader of forest product and services programs at the National Forestry Resources Research Institute.
“Bamboo grows on marginal land, highly adapts and only takes about three years to mature,” Uwimbabazi says.
A Catalyst for Kenya’s First SGBV Court
Kenya’s first special court for handling sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) cases was opened in March 2022, at Shanzu Law Courts, Mombasa. Advocacy for Women in Peace and Security Africa (AWAPSA) sat down with ICAN’s Maya Kavaler to discuss how this was possible through their Innovative Peace Fund grant.
Through 2020 and 2021, as COVID-19 dominated headlines globally, another “shadow pandemic” swept across the world with many countries experiencing surging rates of domestic and gender-based violence (GBV). Kenya was no exception, with a shocking 92% increase in GBV cases between January and June 2020, compared to the previous year. On the frontline of responding to this phenomenon was Advocacy for Women in Peace and Security Africa (AWAPSA), a women-led peacebuilding organization working to promote peace, security and stability, and prevent violent extremism in Kenya. AWAPSA has been operating since 2013 and has partnered with the International Civil Society Action Network (ICAN) since 2017.
AWAPSA’s Program Manager, Mohamed Hamisi, explained how interventions to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in Kenya, including curfews and restrictions on movement, led to job losses and intensified financial hardships. In the coastal region, where AWAPSA operates, many rely on the informal sector and tourism industry – both of which were particularly affected by the pandemic. These financial strains, coupled with confinement at home and fear of the virus, led to frustration, stress, and anger, thus magnifying a domestic and GBV problem that already plagued the region.
Though SGBV affects the whole of Kenya, AWAPA’s Executive Director and a member of the Women’s Alliance for Security Leadership (WASL), Sureya Roble, believes that the cultural and Islamic heritage of the coastal counties, as well as the lack of resources and investment in the region, contribute to the shame and stigma associated with being a SGBV survivor, making it far less likely for women to speak openly about their experiences:
“At the coast, our community is very reserved, so for someone to come out and say I was raped, or my daughter was defiled, it is not an easy thing. People are scared of what happens: What next? What if my relatives hear?”
Further aggravating the situation is the below average female literacy rate as compared with the rest of country and the prevalence of early marriage. Without access to education, many women do not understand their rights or the process of reporting violence: “Victims don’t know where to start” explained Roble.
AWAPSA set out to change this.
Climate justice glossary
The Glossary for Climate Justice, prepared by the Latin American and Caribbean Platform for Climate Justice, is a tool to help build people’s understanding of the climate crisis and promote concrete actions for justice. The Glossary includes sections that illuminate climate change jargon, expose false solutions and corporate strategies, and illustrate how social movements across the globe are framing the crisis and driving people-centered solutions.
In addition to the English version, you can access the glossary in Spanish and Portugese below.
The Chisholm Legacy Project (TCLP) is a Black liberation organization rooted in the Just Transition Framework. We are committed to supporting Black-led frontline climate justice work with the resources and tools necessary to advance systems change on the path towards liberation. We are excited to share Policies For The People with you as one of our tools. The Policies for the People database and policy exchange will feature existing policies and in time, draft prospective policies for advancing Black Liberation, Just Transition and Regenerative Economy principles and practices at the federal, state, and local levels.
Launch Policies for the People
To transform our system, we need transformative policies aimed at collective liberation. Currently there is a scarcity of model policies rooted in Just Transition and Black Liberation. People and communities are doing the work and we are helping to uplift and supply easy access to these models for replication where needed.
“If the process of transition is not just, the outcome will never be”
— CJA JUST TRANSITION PRINCIPLES
Described by the Climate Justice Alliance, of which TCLP is a member, the Just Transition Framework is a set of strategies, principles and processes that transition whole communities away from the extraction, exploitation and oppression that harm our health and the planet towards restoration of ecological and social well-being and reparations of past harms that mitigate power imbalances.
In the first stage of building the policy exchange, we are collecting all policies that are in existence and implemented. Everything we do is in the community. As we work to collect model policies, we want to hear what Just Transition policies you may be advancing. You can submit a policy here!
Policies for the People will uplift policies that stop the bad while building the new. An example from our database includes the New York City Waste Equity Law (Local Law 152) which counters the disproportionate amount of waste transfer stations in North Brooklyn, Southeast Queens, and the South Bronx which cause health hazards to primarily low-income communities of color. Local Law 152 requires the fair distribution of waste collection and drives down truck traffic. Some of the changes that can result from effective enforcement of this law include cleaner air, less greenhouse gas emissions and safer streets. Importantly, mobilization and advocacy around this policy was made possible by a coalition led by the NYC Environmental Justice Alliance in partnership with New York Lawyers for the Public Interest. This policy has Just Transition components as it was community led efforts that helped dismantle polluting industries while creating pathways for workers and/or clean energy for all.
With components centered on black liberation our policy exchange focuses on changing the rules by redistributing resources and building Black economic and political power in local communities. For example, our policy exchange includes The Boston Resilience and Racial Equity Strategy, an Executive Order strengthens the City of Boston’s commitment to enhancing its collective resilience by advancing racial equity, prioritizing social justice, and strengthening social cohesion across all city agencies. The Executive Order requires all city departments to proactively engage in a Racial Equity and Leadership (REAL) Training Program, including data collection and evaluation of how racial equity is being advanced across departments. Additionally, departments will have to develop individual plans and goals for resilience, racial equity, and social justice.
These are just some of the policies you can find starting today. As model policies are collected, key values and principles of a Just Transition Framework are uplifted while recognizing few policies are perfect and rejecting false solutions.
The principles we uplift include:
A worldview based on caring and sacredness
Work and labor rooted cooperation
Environmental and social resources focused on regeneration
Governance based in deep democracy
Acknowledged purpose of building ecological and social wellbeing
In the future, we will connect with grassroots mobilizers to lend technical support in drafting prospective policies that help transform society from extractivism to a living economy that cares for sacred relationships between people and with Mother Earth, through regenerative, cooperative, democratic systems.
We are excited to uplift the work happening all over the country towards building new systems that actively work towards Just Transition and Black Liberation.
We will launch an online seminar series exploring the Policy for the People Database, offering more insight on the tool, how it can be used and further discussing The Chisholm Legacy Project’s Research and Policy portfolio.
For any feedback on how we can improve our tool, do not hesitate to share here using this form.
Grassroots movements are transforming the landscape of climate solutions globally, addressing the multiplicity of root causes and effects of the climate crisis in lasting ways.
Grassroots climate justice movements are defending Indigenous land rights in Guatemala, advocating for the creation of freshwater and marine protected areas in Nigeria, supporting the revision of the national food and nutrition policy in Zimbabwe, and have contributed to the ratification of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Fiji.
Last month, we released two briefs on grassroots movements advancing systemic and policy change as they address the root causes of the climate crisis and respond to contemporary socio-political challenges.
The briefs demonstrate that grassroots movements are critical for advancing climate action commensurate with the scenarios in the recent IPCC reports. The briefs provide further evidence that grassroots-led change creates results that are long-lasting, effective at cooling the planet, and integral to upholding social justice.
To learn how grassroots movements are philanthropy’s best bet to confront the climate crisis, read Grassroots Movements and Policy Change: Investing in Grassroots Movements to Build Political Will for Climate Solutions and Grassroots Movements and Systemic Change: Investing in Grassroots Systemic Climate Solutions now.
Channel Foundation, Global Washington, Linksbridge SPC and Front Line Defenders invite you to an in-person event Friday June 24, 2022 at the Seattle Chamber of Commerce, 11am-12:30pm including networking and food.
Join us to hear from the 2022 Front Line Defenders Human Rights Defenders at Risk Awardees from Afghanistan, Mexico (by video), Sudan and Zimbabwe working on human rights issues such as sexual harassment in the workplace, forced and child marriage, forced disappearances, and Indigenous rights. Given their awards at a ceremony in Dublin, Ireland on Friday May 27, 2022, the winners include human rights defenders from five countries:
Liah Ghazanfar Jawad, Afghanistan
Ameira Osman Hamid, Sudan
Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ), Zimbabwe
Javier del Tránsito and María del Tránsito Salvatierra, Mexico
Woman human rights defender, Belarus (name withheld for security reasons)
Established in 2005, the Front Line Defenders Human Rights Defenders at Risk Award honors human rights defenders (HRDs) who, through their non-violent work, are courageously making outstanding contributions to the promotion and protection of the human rights of others.
Front Line Defenders (FLD), winner of the 2018 UN Prize in the field of Human Rights, is an Irish based international organization founded in 2001 with the specific aim of protection HRDs at risk. FLD Executive Director Andrew Anderson will contextualize the defenders’ experiences within the larger global trends the organization is seeing of increasing criminalization of protest and activism, rising authoritarianism and increased surveillance.
The May 2022 edition of FLD’s online ‘zine Cypher celebrates these incredibly courageous human rights defenders from Afghanistan, Belarus, Mexico, Sudan and Zimbabwe.
Registration through Global Washington here: Upcoming Global Washington Events – Global Washington
HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS AT RISK – THE 2022 FRONT LINE DEFENDERS AWARD WINNERS
Channel Foundation, Global Washington, Linksbridge SPC and Front Line Defenders invite you to an in-person event Friday June 24, 2022.
Join us to hear from the 2022 Front Line Defenders Human Rights Defenders at Risk Awardees from Afghanistan, Mexico (by vide0), Sudan and Zimbabwe working on human rights issues such as sexual harassment in the workplace, forced and child marriage, forced disappearances, and Indigenous rights. Given their awards at a ceremony in Dublin, Ireland on Friday May 27, 2022, the winners include human rights defenders from five countries:
Liah Ghazanfar Jawad, Afghanistan
Ameira Osman Hamid, Sudan
Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ), Zimbabwe
Javier del Tránsito and María del Tránsito Salvatierra, Mexico
Woman human rights defender, Belarus (name withheld for security reasons)
Established in 2005, the Front Line Defenders Human Rights Defenders at Risk Award honors human rights defenders (HRDs) who, through their non-violent work, are courageously making outstanding contributions to the promotion and protection of the human rights of others.
Front Line Defenders (FLD), winner of the 2018 UN Prize in the field of Human Rights, is an Irish based international organization founded in 2001 with the specific aim of protection HRDs at risk. FLD Executive Director Andrew Anderson will contextualize the defenders’ experiences within the larger global trends the organization is seeing of increasing criminalization of protest and activism, rising authoritarianism and increased surveillance.
The May 2022 edition of FLD’s online ‘zine Cypher celebrates these incredibly courageous human rights defenders from Afghanistan, Belarus, Mexico, Sudan and Zimbabwe.
Registration through Global Washington here: Upcoming Global Washington Events – Global Washington
cypher
/’sīfər/
The dictionary definition of cypher is ‘a secret or disguised way of writing’. In many
ways, this is the essence of comics storytelling – the image, rather than the word, is
a disguise for many words, that can convey meaning, emotion, and can re/frame
an entire narrative.
Rap and hip hop culture has taken the word and ascribed a new meaning: ‘an
informal gathering of rappers, beatboxers and/or breakdancers in a circle, in
order to jam musically together.’ This, too, we find relevant to this project, in that
we are bringing together artists and HRDs in freestyle collaboration of activism and
art with the aim of informing, elevating and inspiring.
For us, this captures the spirit of why we are working in comics and guides how we
facilitate the process of creative production.
Adam Shapiro (Publisher) and Beldan Sezen (Creative Director)
Between Fresh Water and the Tides
This May, the Mesoamerican Initiative of Women Human Rights Defenders (IM-Defensoras) made available the English-language version of its most recent publication, “Between Fresh Water and the Tides. Ten years of construction and learning about care and healing among women human rights defenders and their collectivities”. This is the first of several publications planned as part of IM-Defensoras’ 10+ Anniversary and informed by the systematization of the Initiative’s experience with Feminist Holistic Protection (FHP).
“Between Fresh Water and the Tides” explains the historic process of building and promoting IM-Defensoras’ strategy for self-care, collective care, and healing – one of the pillars of Feminist Holistic Protection. The publication traces the history of IM-Defensoras from its beginnings in 2010 to the present day, focusing on its work to promote the integration of self-care, collective care, and healing into the personal, collective, and organizational dynamics of the women defenders with whom it works, as well as its commitment to creating spaces for rest and healing. The book also recounts the experience of Casa La Serena, a space for respite and healing that has welcomed hundreds of women defenders and has become a model, inspiring the creation of similar programs in other countries.
The Spanish- and English-language publication of “Entre aguas dulces y mareas” / “Between Fresh Water and the Tides” was launched on 19 May in an online event with the participation of Marusia López, Anamaría Hernández, Michel Forst, Mónica Enriquez, Luz Stella Ospina M., Rudo Chigudu, Sonia Sánchez, and Liana Funes.
This book is an essential navigation chart to ensure that self-care, collective care, and healing become fundamental and indispensable elements in the daily work of women defenders, social movements and organizations, placing life and care at the center of their struggles.
The 10th Africa Conference on Sexual Health and Rights
FREETOWN, SIERRA LEONE
27 JUNE–1 JULY 2022
Accelerating the elimination of sexual and gender-based violence in Africa
The 10th Africa Conference on SHR is a landmark moment bringing together feminist activists, Governments, UN Agencies, development partners and civil society from across the Continent to learn, connect and build consensus to end violence against women and girls in our lifetimes.
ACSHR is convened by the African Federation for Sexual Health and Rights, and hosted by Purposeful in partnership with the Government of Sierra Leone and international collaborators.
Gender and Sexuality in African Futurism
This Feminist Africa issue was inspired by my weekly conversations with five African-born graduate students in “Gender & Sexuality in Afro-Futurism”, an upper-level course offered by the Department of African Cultural Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the United States. We began the course by discussing why individuals of African descent have been marginalised in science fiction, a genre of fiction that conceptualises future scientific or technological advances. We observed that while White men have long dominated science fiction, Black people have expanded the boundaries of the genre. For instance, we debated how continental Africans have used Afrofuturism—an interdisciplinary genre and movement that emphasises the cultural aesthetic, philosophy of science, and philosophy of history to address the developing intersection of cultural expressivities and performances with technology in the African diaspora—to imagine diverse futures and the effects of rapidly changing gender ideals in postcolonial contexts. The conversations continued with a discussion of the naming of “Afrofuturism” as a genre and a dialogue of its relevance to the African continent.
Earth Day Around the World
At Global Greengrants Fund, Earth Day is every day. From Indigenous communities protecting the Amazon from deforestation to local communities in Ghana opposing the expansion of mining projects to groups in the Pacific educating their communities about climate resilience, we are supporting those who are on the frontlines of defending and protecting the Earth year-round. Still, Earth Day can be a significant day to re-commit ourselves individually and collectively to the work of caring for the Earth and pushing back against the climate crisis.
This year, we’re reflecting on the breadth and power of the people who make up the Global Greengrants community. As part of that reflection, we checked in with some of advisors and friends about Earth Day—how they’re celebrating and what the day means to them. We hope you are as inspired by their wisdom as we are.
Clean Green Energy for Congo
80 million people live in the Democratic Republic of Congo, but only 9% have access to electricity. Meanwhile, illegal logging for charcoal is decimating forests and impoverishing communities. ELAW partners in DRC are working hard to advance a national energy policy that meets this enormous need for power while protecting vital ecosystems.
ELAW partners Erick Kassongo, Executive Director of Congolese Center for Law and Sustainable Development (CODED) and Olivier Ndoole, Executive Director of Congolese Alert for the Environment and Human Rights (ACEDH), are learning about Congo’s current energy portfolio and exploring the promise of a green energy future.
They are collaborating with a dozen Congolese organizations, including the Coalition of Civil Society Organizations for the Monitoring of Reforms and Public Action (CORAP), to build a Congolese-led vision for energy access.
At a December workshop in North Kivu Province, Olivier brought together dozens of stakeholders to explore how hydro, solar, wind, and biogas could meet Congo's electricity gap. This series of consultations in North Kivu is making community voices heard as critical decisions are being made about meeting energy needs in Congo. Erick provided technical assistance at these forums.
“Our aim is to influence energy policy at the national level,” says Olivier. “We want a policy that protects the environment, respects human rights, and puts concerns of local communities at the center.”
Olivier supports a local private operator's solar hybrid project in Goma that aims to serve 5 million people by 2024. He also promotes the use of clean cooking based on renewable energy among women in vulnerable neighborhoods in Goma.
Meanwhile, ELAW is working closely with Erick Kassongo and his colleagues at CODED to study energy laws from other jurisdictions to craft best practices for Congo. “This is an effort to identify options for a strong legal framework for renewable energy, which currently does not exist,” says Erick. He adds that the sector has grown since liberalization and opening to private operators.
Many thanks to The 11th Hour Project for making this vital work possible.
Documented - 358 HRDs killed in 35 countries
Front Line Defenders launched its Global Analysis on the situation of human rights defenders (HRDs) at risk around the world. The report details the variety of risks, threats and attacks faced by HRDs around the world, and examples of HRDs continuing to defend and advance the rights of their communities and societies despite threats to their lives.
The Global Analysis includes data on the killings of HRDs produced by the HRD Memorial1, which documented 358 HRDs killed in 35 countries in 2021. The HRD Memorial is a collective initiative of human rights organisations working to collect and verify data on the killings of human rights defenders each year. The HRD Memorial Report profiles some of the HRDs who were killed and analyses key trends in lethal attacks last year.
WESCA VIRTUAL CONVENING REPORT: Co-creating a powerful African feminist future
In June 2021, FRIDA successfully coordinated its first ever West, East, Southern and Central African (WESCA) virtual convening: a collaborative space that brought together 100+ young feminist activists from the region, including grantee partners, board members, staff and regional advisors. Spread over three days, this was a sacred and shared virtual space for all our wisdom and synergies to combine. With an agenda collectively developed by a committee of FRIDA community members, the convening was centered on three core principles of transparency, care and accountability.
FRIDA recognizes the reality of digital burnout and inequitable access to digital spaces that have been heightened due to the overwhelming amount of screen time during this pandemic. Nevertheless, it was critical that we were deliberate in honoring our commitment to collective care, healing accessibility and well-being in curating this virtual space. For us, this manifested through the onboarding of a care facilitator, providing tech and care stipends for each participant, dance breaks, music meditations, de-centering English as the facilitation language, and having simultaneous sign language interpretations for the first time at a virtual FRIDA convening.
Disability Justice Project Launches
“The Disability Justice Project (DJP) is a strategic partnership between the Disability Rights Fund (DRF), an international NGO funding grassroots organizations of persons with disabilities (OPDs) in the Global South, and journalism educator and human rights filmmaker Jody Santos and other nationally recognized media makers from Northeastern University’s School of Journalism in Boston, Massachusetts. Based on a fellowship model, newer professionals with lived experience of disability from the Global South are paired with mentors/professional journalists in the U.S. In an exchange of ideas and experiences, the fellows learn about digital storytelling from some of the best in the industry, while the mentors learn about the global disability justice movement from frontline activists – with the goal of incorporating that new understanding into their reporting for publications like The New York Times and The Guardian or for broadcasters like PBS and ABC.”
‘Ecofeminism is about respect’: the activist working to revolutionise west African farming
Outside Mariama Sonko’s home in the Casamance region of southern Senegal pink shells hang on improvised nets that will be placed in mangroves to provide a breeding spot for oysters.
Normally, women collecting oysters chop at the branches – a method that can harm the mangroves. But these nets allow them to harvest sustainably, says Sonko, who is trying to revolutionise agriculture in west Africa.
Sonko, 52, heads Nous Sommes la Solution (NSS, We are the Solution), an ecofeminist movement of more than 500 rural women’s associations in Senegal, Ghana, Burkina Faso, the Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea and Mali. The movement promotes sustainable agroecology and fights large-scale industrial farming.
“We promote agroecology and food sovereignty in Africa. Women are invaluable actors for the development of the rural areas,” she says. “We want to valorise this tireless work of women who are concerned about the environment and the health of their families. They have always worked in agriculture, and they do not use the products that ruin the ecosystem nor the health of humans.”
Human Rights Grantmaking Principles
“In addition to what foundations fund, an important consideration in human rights philanthropy is also how they fund. Do they recognize the power dynamics at play? Are they funding the communities most affected by injustice and inequality? Are they transparent and accountable in their decision making? In short, do they adhere to the human rights principles their grantmaking seeks to uphold?”
In late 2020, Gender Funders CoLab (formerly known as Philanthropy Advancing Women’s Human Rights or PAWHR), the Human Rights Funding Network (HRFN) and Ariadne -European Funders for Social Change and Human Rights, launched a set of Human Rights Grantmaking Principles, which reflect the contributions of approximately 300 human rights contributors including funders and activists from over 40 countries. The six principles they came up with are intended to help funders align their grantmaking practices with human rights values. The principles can help foundations explore their practices internally, catalyze conversations among funders from different institutions, and support funders to share and learn together with others in the human rights field. The principles are available in English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish.
Power Sharing and Shifting
Accountability
Collective Care
Community Driven
Equity
Adaptability and Learning
More info can be found here: https://www.hrfn.org/about-us/the-principles-project/
Indigenous Women’s Reproductive Justice must be put front and center and made part of a fully inclusive conversation.
The Ms. Foundation for Women’s Pocket Change: How Women and Girls of Color Do More with Less report revealed a dearth of philanthropic dollars for Indigenous women and girls. Less than 3% of the more than $350 million in foundation funding was allocated for this group, which has enormous ramifications especially when it comes to reproductive justice.
Pocket Change set the stage for larger conversations and initiatives that addresses the historically low levels of philanthropic investment in Indigenous women and girls – examining the needs of Indigenous communities, with Indigenous leaders, to understand how such funding discrepancies are a direct byproduct of colonization and institutional systems and how to shift the philanthropic paradigm to one that prioritizes Native communities.
In our convenings with Indigenous women, what emerged as funding priority was the lack of quality health care and that the limits placed on Native women’s reproductive choices are directly tied to colonization. Instead of being relegated to a secondary issue, Indigenous Women’s Reproductive Justice must be put front and center and made part of a fully inclusive conversation.
This assessment, informed by an Indigenous Women’s Council, discusses how funders’ priorities are not aligned with the needs of the very people who are most lacking reproductive justice and shares their recommended actions to advance reproductive justice in Indigenous communities.
UAF-Africa launched its report
The report responds to the following questions: what are the root causes of water scarcity? What are the approaches employed by organizations to solve the problem? What is water justice and why is it a feminist issue? What has been the impact of Covid-19 on African womn?
The Ford Global Fellowship.
Throughout our history, we have invested in the individuals, ideas and institutions that make change happen.
Environmental Justice Does Not Transcend Racial Justice
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This Juneteenth, we are asking—and beginning to answer—what we can contribute to the transformative Black Lives Matter movement.
By Abigail Dillen | June 18, 2020
Women’s Organising in a time of Crisis - Lessons from the Learning Exchange
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UAF FEATURED IN “PHILANTHROPY WOMEN” ON THE LAUNCH OF THE COVID CRISIS FUND FOR FEMINIST ACTIVISTS
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HARVESTING FROM THE FRIDA CLIMATE AND ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE MEDIA FELLOWSHIP.
MAY 28, 2020 | ADVOCACY, CLIMATE JUSTICE, FELLOW STORY