Benjaline Hernandez
Co-Creating Feminist Realities
While we dream of a feminist world, there are those who are already building and living it. These are our Feminist Realities!
What are Feminist Realities?
Feminist Realities are the living, breathing examples of the just world we are co-creating. They exist now, in the many ways we live, struggle and build our lives.
Feminist Realities go beyond resisting oppressive systems to show us what a world without domination, exploitation and supremacy look like.
These are the narratives we want to unearth, share and amplify throughout this Feminist Realities journey.
Transforming Visions into Lived Experiences
Through this initiative, we:
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Create and amplify alternatives: We co-create art and creative expressions that center and celebrate the hope, optimism, healing and radical imagination that feminist realities inspire.
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Build knowledge: We document, demonstrate & disseminate methodologies that will help identify the feminist realities in our diverse communities.
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Advance feminist agendas: We expand and deepen our collective thinking and organizing to advance just solutions and systems that embody feminist values and visions.
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Mobilize solidarity actions: We engage feminist, women’s rights and gender justice movements and allies in sharing, exchanging and jointly creating feminist realities, narratives and proposals at the 14th AWID International Forum.
The AWID International Forum
As much as we emphasize the process leading up to, and beyond, the four-day Forum, the event itself is an important part of where the magic happens, thanks to the unique energy and opportunity that comes with bringing people together.
We expect the next Forum to:
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Build the power of Feminist Realities, by naming, celebrating, amplifying and contributing to build momentum around experiences and propositions that shine light on what is possible and feed our collective imaginations
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Replenish wells of hope and energy as much needed fuel for rights and justice activism and resilience
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Strengthen connectivity, reciprocity and solidarity across the diversity of feminist movements and with other rights and justice-oriented movements
Learn more about the Forum process
We are sorry to announce that the 14th AWID International Forum is cancelled
Given the current world situation, our Board of Directors has taken the difficult decision to cancel Forum scheduled in 2021 in Taipei.
Related Content
Snippet Welcome Message_Fest (EN)
Welcome message
Hakima Abbas, AWID
"We're using the tools that we have to share our resistance, strategies and continue to build our power to take action and create new brave and just worlds."
هل مشاركتي سريّة؟
أكيد. سيتم محي اجوبتك بعد عملية معالجة المعطيات وتحليلها وسيتم استعمالها لأهداف بحثية فقط. لن تتم أبداً مشاركة المعطيات خارج AWID وسيتم معالجتها فقط عن طريق طاقم AWID والمستشارات/ين اللواتي/ اللذين يعملن/وا في مشروع "أين المال" معنا. خصوصيتكم/ن وسرّيتكم/ن هي في أعلى سلم أولوياتنا. سياسة الخصوصية متواجدة هنا.
Как долго будет доступен опрос?
Опрос будет доступен до конца августа 2024 года. Пожалуйста, заполните его в течение этого срока, чтобы ваши ответы были включены в анализ.
Snippet - Home page promo WITM - EN
"Where is the money for feminist organizing?"
Building on our 20-year history of mobilizing more and better funding for feminist-led social change, AWID invites you to complete the new iteration of our flagship survey, WITM.
Snippet - Rights and Resources - EN
Rights and Resources:
Getting Ready for the Next 30 Years
✉️ In-person registration is now closed. Sign up for the livestream here
📅 Wednesday, March 12, 2025
🕒 12.00-1.30pm EST
🏢 UNDP, 304 E 45th St. Doha Room, 11th Floor (FF Building)
Organizers: UNDP, Femena, SRI and AWID
Snippet - GenderJobs.org
GenderJobs.org: This is a platform with a comprehensive list of job opportunities to work on gender equality and LGBTQI+ rights, curated by gender professionals and intersectional feminists who intimately know the sector and are extremely passionate about supporting other gender professionals and anyone who is aspiring to become one! (source: https://genderjobs.org/about)
2018: Supporting feminist movements to thrive and disrupt
This report looks back and celebrates the first year of AWID’s new strategic plan as we took our first steps towards our desired outcomes of supporting feminist movements to thrive, challenging anti-rights agendas and co-creating feminist realities.
We worked with feminists to disrupt anti-rights agendas, achieving important victories fought and won within the United Nations system when ground-breaking language on structural discrimination, sexual rights, and states’ obligations were included in a number of resolutions. Yes, the multilateral system is in crisis and in need of serious strengthening but these victories are important as they contribute to the legitimacy of feminist demands, providing feminist movements with more pressure points and momentum to advance our agendas.
We tried and tested different ways to build knowledge with feminist movements through webinars, podcasts and ‘live’ conversations. We developed facilitation guides with popular educators to reclaim knowledge in the interest of social and gender justice, even about a topic as seemingly opaque as illicit funding flows. We commissioned blogs and opinions about how feminist groups fund and resource themselves and threw light on the threats facing our human rights systems.
Within AWID, we practiced and learned from our shared leadership approach, and told the story of the trials and tribulations of co-leading a global, virtual organization. We don’t have a definitive answer to what feminist leadership looks like, but we know, a year on, that a continued commitment to collective experimentation and learning has enabled us to keep building an organization that we are all excited to contribute to.
As we look back on this year, we want to thank all our friends and supporters, colleagues and companions, who have given their time and shared their wealth of knowledge and wisdom with us. We want to thank our members who helped frame our strategic plan and joined us to make feminist demands. We could not do this work without you.
Snippet - WCFM Database blurb 2 - En
Know a Funder? Add them to the Database!
Are you a funder? Or do you know funders that support feminist and gender justice movements? Apply to be a part of the Who Can Fund Me? Database now!
Kasia Staszewska
Biography
Kasia has been supporting the work of feminist and social justice movements for the last 15 years. Before joining AWID, Kasia used to lead policy and advocacy for ActionAid and Amnesty International while organizing with feminists and social justice groups in Poland for access to abortion and against violence on the European borders. Kasia is passionate about resourcing feminist organizing in all their boldness, richness and diversity. She shares her time between Warsaw and her DIY community village in the forest. She loves saunas and is crazy about her dog named Wooly.
Position
Manager, Resourcing Feminist Movements
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Key factors impacting
budget size
→Region
→Level of organizing
→Registration status
→Priorities and Agendas
Jessica Whitbread
Biography
Jessica is a queer artist- activist from Toronto, Canada, but is currently based in Bulgaria. Jessica has over 15 years experience in the HIV response working at the intersections of gender and HIV with key populations (sex workers, women who use drugs, LGBTQI communities, incarcerated people and of course people living with HIV). Jessica loves movement building and thinking/taking/strategizing about arts-based interventions. One fun project she started in 2013 was LOVE POSITIVE WOMEN that engages over 125 community groups and organizations globally every February 1-14th to celebrate women living with HIV in their communities.
Position
Membership and Constituency Engagement Lead
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Snippet - COP30 - Actions - EN
COP30 Events and Actions
08 - 16 November, 2025
Faten Nabhan
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Snippet - COP30 - Mutual Aid and Community Care - EN
AWID Member Exclusive: Mutual Aid and Community Care Crafting Workshop
AWID members will explore and critically evaluate the role that mutual aid can play in resourcing our movements, through collective collage making.
📅 Wednesday, November 12, 2025
📍 The People’s COP Space
I am a young feminist. How can I engage in AWID’s work?
Young feminist activists are at the heart of AWID’s work.
In fact, 38% of our members are under the age of 30.
We believe that young feminists are both the present and the future of the struggle for women’s rights. We promote young leaders in the global women’s rights movement and our Young Feminist Activism program cuts across all aspects of our work.
At the same time, by defining young feminist activists as one of our Priority Areas, we contribute new analysis to current debates and ensure that young feminist activists are able to articulate their priorities and voice their concerns.
Human Rights Council (HRC)
The Human Rights Council (HRC) is the key intergovernmental body within the United Nations system responsible for the promotion and protection of all human rights around the globe. It holds three regular sessions a year: in March, June and September. The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is the secretariat for the HRC.
The HRC works by:
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Debating and passing resolutions on global human rights issues and human rights situations in particular countries
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Examining complaints from victims of human rights violations or activist organizations on behalf of victims of human rights violations
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Appointing independent experts (known as “Special Procedures”) to review human rights violations in specific countries and examine and further global human rights issues
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Engaging in discussions with experts and governments on human rights issues
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Assessing the human rights records of all UN Member States every four and a half years through the Universal Periodic Review
AWID works with feminist, progressive and human rights partners to share key knowledge, convene civil society dialogues and events, and influence negotiations and outcomes of the session.
With our partners, our work will:
◾️ Monitor, track and analyze anti-rights actors, discourses and strategies and their impact on resolutions
◾️ Raise awareness of the findings of the 2017 and 2021 OURs Trends Reports.
◾️Support the work of feminist UN experts in the face of backlash and pressure
◾️Advocate for state accountability
◾️ Work with feminist movements and civil society organizations to advance rights related to gender and sexuality.
◾️ Raise awareness of the findings of the 2017 and 2021 OURs Trends Reports.
◾️Support the work of feminist UN experts in the face of backlash and pressure
◾️Advocate for state accountability
◾️ Work with feminist movements and civil society organizations to advance rights related to gender and sexuality.
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2013: The sixth High-level Dialogue reviews progress of MDGs
The Sixth High-level Dialogue on Financing for Development, 7-8 October 2013 focused on reviewing the progress of MDG’s, and identifying gaps to be addressed in discussions on the new development framework.
A report by the MDG’s Gap Task Force launched during the session pointed to the failure to meet MDG 8 (Global Partnership for Development) as a major factor in the challenges to meeting the MDGs. The report showed that more focus should be given to developing stronger global partnerships that would ensure binding commitments for the new development framework post 2015.
What will be different about this Forum?
We have always worked towards ensuring that our Forums are co-developed with partners, movements and our priority constituencies.
For our upcoming Forum, we aim to deepen and strengthen that spirit and practice of co-creation and collaboration. We also recognize the need to improve the balance between the inclusion of many voices and experiences with room for participants and staff to breathe, take pause and enjoy some downtime.
This Forum will be different in the following ways:
- We will have far less organized Forum activities because we want people to have time to engage, experience, process, talk to each other, etc. This is key to communicate: you can come to the Forum, be very engaged and active and not facilitate any organized activity (or “session”).
- We will have Open Spaces - at least one whole afternoon without any organized activities - but also physical spaces available throughout the Forum for people to self-organize meetings, etc.
- We have a Content and Methodology Committee made up of feminists from different regions with expertise on participatory methodologies to support us and all those leading activities at the Forum to use creative and engaging formats for the Forum activities.
Fariha Al Berkawi
