FRIDA’s WESCA Virtual Convening Report

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.