A New Resource: AWID: "Young Feminist Activism Program"
Within the women’s movement there is a growing recognition of the critical role that young feminists play in defending women’s rights and of the unique perspectives and strategies for organizing that they bring to the movement. There is also an increasing understanding of the differential impact of women’s rights violations on younger women.
Strengthening and mobilizing younger activists within the women’s movement requires deliberate strategizing, dedication to understanding the experiences of young feminists and a commitment to supporting youth-led initiatives.
AWID’s Young Feminist Activism program aims to contribute to a multi-generational movement by amplifying the voices of young women within the movement so that their experiences and ideas are reflected in feminist discourse and activism.
Goals and objectives
The Young Feminist Activism program operates as cross-cutting to all of AWID’s work and focuses on specific activities within each of the AWID Strategic Initiatives. The Young Feminist Activism program aims to:
- Support young feminist activism in the context of AWID’s Strategic Initiatives to strengthen the role of young feminists within the women’s movement with a specific focus on young feminists from diverse backgrounds and marginalized women’s groups
- Work with young feminists to make a case for young feminist activism to key players in the women’s movement
- In collaboration with young feminists, build tools and resources to overcome key challenges to effective action for women’s rights in their contexts, particularly in relationship to resource mobilization and religious fundamentalisms
- Work with AWID allies to understand how to implement effective multi-generational dialogue and create strategic spaces for this to occur
What we hope to achieve
- Ensure that young feminists are an integral part of each AWID strategic initiative with specific activities, research or other strategies specifically developed for young feminists and/or to amplify the perspectives of young feminists
- Create resources and opportunities that specifically respond to the needs of young feminists in the women’s movement and support young women’s rights work
- Support young feminists from diverse backgrounds and marginalized women’s groups in their organizing in concrete ways
- Ensure that young feminists play a greater role in agenda-setting for the women’s movement
- Facilitate knowledge sharing and networking, and strengthening alliance-building for young feminists targeted towards enhancing women’s rights activism
Activities in 2008
- Ongoing research to identify and highlight the distinct experiences of young women resisting and challenging religious fundamentalisms
- Collaborating with the Where is the Money for Women’s Rights? team to ensure young feminist organising is integral to the regional strategy sessions.
- Building tools and resources on Where is the Money for Young Women? research and Guidelines for Donors on Funding Young Women.
- Young Feminist Dialogue prior to the Where’s the Money? Middle East and North Africa Regional Strategy Meeting, Marrakech Morocco, April 2008.
- Regular production & distribution of information on opportunities, events and activities by and for young feminists and development of online spaces for young feminists on this website.
- Mapping of organizations and networks engaged in young women’s rights work globally.
- Roundtable on young women’s visions for movement building held prior to the 2008 AWID Forum in Cape Town, November
- Work towards ensuring that the 2008 AWID International Forum is a multi-generational space
Project team
Sanushka Mudaliar - Program Coordinator
Lindiwe Bardill - Research Associate
Ghadeer Malek - Program Assistant