After careful consideration, the AWID Board of Directors has decided to change the venue for the 14th International AWID Forum. This event will now take place 11-14 January 2021 in Taipei, Taiwan.
The decision around Forum location is guided by several criteria, most importantly: participant safety and security, logistical viability and accessibility.
The context in Indonesia, as in many parts of the world today, is very dynamic. Feminist movements there are actively and persistently challenging anti-rights forces. However, events in recent months - in particular, signs of intensifying militarization and backlash against LGBTQ rights - led us to question AWID’s ability to maintain a reasonably safe and welcoming environment for the diversity of participants we aspire to bring together at the Forum. Based on our latest assessment, we no longer see Bali as a viable location for global solidarity and debates on some of the issues of most concern for many in the region and around the world: self determination, bodily autonomy and integrity, and defense of land, territories and natural resources, among others.
There is no perfect place for a large feminist gathering.
In organizing the AWID Forum, we are trying to build and hold space as best we can for the diverse expressions of solidarity, of outrage, of hope and of inspiration that are at the core of feminist movements. At this moment in time, we see Taipei as the location in the Asia Pacific region that will best allow us to build that space for our global feminist community. We regret any inconvenience that this shift may cause but hope that our movement partners and allies will understand the necessity of this change and continue to engage with us in the process of building a bold and courageous process and space.
Cindy Clark and Hakima Abbas, Co-Executive Directors of AWID state, “we want to take this opportunity to thank the various feminist and social justice organizations and movements throughout the Asia Pacific region who have generously worked with AWID to figure out the most suitable location to host this gathering of over 2000 activists. In our quest to find a location we organized site visits to Indonesia, Malaysia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Taiwan and Thailand over the last year and a half. This journey has made it all too clear that there are few places in the world that can viably welcome us all. Yet in every place, we have met feminists who are not only disrupting and resisting oppression but building bold alternatives and creating feminist realities. We are excited to build this Forum with old and new members, allies and partners throughout the region and globally.”
"In every place, we have met feminists who are not only disrupting and resisting oppression but building bold alternatives and creating feminist realities."
- Cindy Clark and Hakima Abbas
About the 14th AWID International Forum
More than just an event, the 14th AWID International Forum is part of our Feminist Realities Journey, with many spaces to come together, online and offline, for sharing, discussing, strategizing and co-creating feminist realities.