AWID Forum: Co-creating Feminist Futures
In September 2016, the 13th AWID international Forum brought together in Brazil over 1800 feminists and women’s rights advocates in a spirit of resistance and resilience.
This section highlights the gains, learnings and resources that came out of our rich conversations. We invite you to explore, share and comment!
What has happened since 2016?
One of the key takeaways from the 2016 Forum was the need to broaden and deepen our cross-movement work to address rising fascisms, fundamentalisms, corporate greed and climate change.
With this in mind, we have been working with multiple allies to grow these seeds of resistance:
- Our Seed Initiatives, has helped 20 ideas that emerged at the Forum to grow into concrete actions
- The video “Defending people and planet” and guide “Weaving resistance through action” put courageous WHRDs in the spotlight and present concrete strategies they use to confront corporate power.
- With our animations about the State of Our Feminist Movements and Climate and Environmental Justice, movements now have creative tools to support their advocacy work.
- The compiling artistic expressions of our #MovementsMatter series continues to inspire stronger and more creative organizing around the world.
- Movements can also benefit from new methodologies on Visioning Feminist Futures (Coming up soon!)
And through our next strategic plan and Forum process, we are committed to keep developing ideas and deepen the learnings ignited at the 2016 Forum.
What happens now?
The next AWID Forum will take place in the Asia Pacific region (exact location and dates to be announced in 2018).
We look forward to you joining us!
About the AWID Forum
AWID Forums started in 1983, in Washington DC. Since then, the event has grown to become many things to many peoples: an iterative process of sharpening our analyses, vision and actions; a watershed moment that reinvigorates participants’ feminisms and energizes their organizing; and a political home for women human rights defenders to find sanctuary and solidarity.
Related Content
Sue Hoya Sellars
Née en 1936 dans le Maryland aux États-Unis, Sue était artiste, activiste et enseignante.
Son art était destiné aux femmes et parlait des femmes. En tant que féministe lesbienne, pendant un temps séparatiste, elle s'est engagée à créer des espaces réservés aux femmes. En 1976, elle a acheté un terrain qui est toujours géré par des femmes qui y séjournent pour créer de l'art. Sue a pris une position farouche sur la question de la protection des femmes et des filles.
Avec son approche révolutionnaire, futuriste et anthropologique, elle remplissait chaque pièce dans laquelle elle entrait avec une intelligence et une excentricité authentiques, ainsi qu’un humour et un esprit impitoyable. Ses idées sur la conscience et la créativité continuent à inspirer beaucoup de gens.
Snippet FEA Travesti (EN)
TRAVESTI
A latin-american gender identity
The term travesti is often mistakenly translated as "transvestite" in English. However, it is a Latin American gender identity with no equivalent in other languages, and exclusively female. It is a person designated male at birth who identifies as female. They may or may not undergo bodily changes, and should always be addressed with she/her pronouns.
Travesti is not only a gender identity located outside of gender binarism, it is also a cultural identity rooted in Latin American movements. The term was initially pejorative, but it was later re-appropriated as a symbol of resistance and dignity.
Every travesti is trans because she does not identify with the gender designated at birth, however not every travesti considers themselves as a trans woman, since travesti is already a gender identity on its own.
Source: Berkins, Lohana. (2006). Travestis: una Identidad Política [Travestis: a Political Identity]. Trabajo presentado en el Panel Sexualidades contemporáneas en las VIII Jornadas Nacionales de Historia de las Mujeres/ III Congreso Iberoamericano de Estudios de Género Diferencia Desigualdad. Construirnos en la diversidad, Villa Giardino, Córdoba, 25 al 28 de octubre de 2006.
Snippet - WITM why - RU
Почему Мне Следовало Бы Пройти Этот Опрос?
Seismic shifts: A year of completion, transition and reflection | Annual report 2017

The past five years have been huge for AWID.
We have contributed to some major victories, like expanding the women’s rights funding landscape with ground-breaking, far-reaching research and advocacy. At the same time, we have experienced some devastating setbacks, including the assassination of Women Human Rights Defenders (WHRDs) like Berta Cacares of Honduras, Gauri Lankesh of India and Marielle Franco of Brazil, as well as the rise of anti-rights mobilizing in human rights spaces.
Five years ago, we committed to our movement-building role by producing knowledge on anti-rights movement trends, as well as on issues that feminists often engage with less, like illicit financial flows. We advocated side by side with our movement partners, strengthening young feminist and inter-generational activism, and expanding the holistic protection of WHRDs. As we close out the strategic plan, we are proud of our accomplishments and our growth as an organization. We end 2017 with renewed commitment, insights and learning for the continued struggle ahead!
Elena Gastaldo
Lara Kruger
Lara was a well-known and loved radio DJ on Motsweding FM in South Africa.
Lara was one of the first openly-transgender radio hosts on a mainstream station. She worked hard to shine a light on LGBTI issues.
Lara’s activism started at a young age when she would vocally defend her right to dress and behave as she felt comfortable to members of her community who didn’t yet understand what it meant to be transgender.
Snippet FEA Lohana Berkins (ES)
Una de las líderes fundadoras de la cooperativa fue Lohana Berkins, activista, defensora y promotora de la identidad trans. Lohana jugó un papel crucial en la lucha por los derechos de las personas trans y travesti.
A través de su lucha se consiguió, entre muchas otras cosas, la aprobación de la Ley de Identidad de Género. Es una de las legislaciones más progresistas del mundo, garantizando derechos fundamentales a las personas trans y travestis. Ahora, las personas pueden cambiar sus nombres y géneros solo con una declaración jurada, y tener acceso a atención médica integral sin intervención/aprobación judicial o médica (Outright International, 2012).
Snippet - WITM To Strengthen - PT

Para fortalecer a nossa voz e poder coletivos para obter mais recursos de melhor qualidade para a organização feminista, de direitos das mulheres, de LBTQI+ e de aliados globalmente.
2020: Annual Report
For many of us, 2020 was an especially challenging year due to the global health pandemic. Feminists and activists rose to the new challenges meeting community needs in innovative ways. Here are 5 highlights of how AWID contributed to feminist co-creation and resistance.
Watch our Annual Report Video below
Sunila Abeysekera
María Cecilia Alfaro Quesada
María Cecilia dedicó la mayor parte de su vida a la incorporación de una perspectiva feminista y de género en el trabajo institucional y organizacional y en el de capacitación.
De niña, demostraba fuerte interés en el arte, la comunicación, la naturaleza, la literatura y el logro de la justicia, especialmente para las mujeres y los grupos marginados.
Estaba comprometida con los derechos sexuales y reproductivos y fue parte de la Junta Nacional para la Educación Integral en Sexualidad. Sus seres queridxs la recuerdan como «una luchadora apasionada e incansable» con un profundo compromiso con los derechos de las mujeres y lxs niñxs.
Snippet FEA Exclusion and Stigma (FR)

L'EXCLUSION, LA STIGMATISATION ET LES ABUS INSTITUTIONNELS
auxquels les personnes trans et les travestis continuent de faire face au quotidien
Snippet - WITM Why now_col 2 - PT
O financiamento dos movimentos feministas é fundamental para garantir uma presença mais justa e pacífica, e um futuro liberto.
Na última década, os financiadores investiram significativamente mais dinheiro na igualdade de género; no entanto, apenas 1% do financiamento filantrópico e de desenvolvimento foi efetivamente direcionado para apoiar diretamente mudanças sociais lideradas por feministas
Na busca da abundância, e para acabar com esta escassez crónica, o inquérito WITM é um convite para os defensores do feminismo e da justiça de género se envolverem no percurso da recolha coletiva de testemunhos e de casos para mobilizar mais recursos financeiros de melhor qualidade e recuperar o poder no ecossistema de financiamento neste momento. Em solidariedade com os movimentos que continuam invisibilizados, marginalizados e sem acesso a financiamento central, de longo prazo, flexível e baseado em fundos fiduciários, o inquérito WITM destaca o estado efetivo dos recursos, desafia soluções falsas e aponta.
Isabel Marler
Isabel is a feminist from the United Kingdom with over a decade of experience in feminist responses to fascisms, fundamentalisms, and anti-rights trends. At AWID, her work centers on knowledge-building and has included leading the production of the Rights at Risk series in collaboration with the Observatory on the Universality of Rights (OURs). She holds a Master’s degree in Gender Studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) and previously worked with Women Living Under Muslim Laws (WLUML). She is passionate about cross-movement work, movement-centered knowledge-building, and the use of creative expression to disrupt systems of oppression. Outside of work, Isabel is active in various disability justice spaces for collective care, learning, and advocacy.
Cristina Morales Jose
Peni Moore
Philosophe féministe radicale, Peni était aussi poète, écrivaine, dramaturge et compositrice.
Première coordinatrice du Fiji Women’s Rights Movement (Mouvement pour les droits des femmes aux Fidji), elle a laissé un héritage empreint de sa profonde préoccupation pour les droits fondamentaux des femmes, la justice et la paix. L’engagement de Peni en faveur de la justice sociale, économique et écologique et son travail remarquable lui a valu le respect de la communauté locale et internationale. Au sein des mouvements féministes traditionnels des Fidji, elle a été l’une des premières à travailler avec et aux côtés des personnes LGBTQI et a fourni une assistance concrète au mouvement des travailleurs et des travailleuses du sexe lorsqu’il s’est constitué aux Fidji.
Ses collègues l'ont décrite comme une personne formidable et une leader visionnaire du changement. Elle a inspiré beaucoup de personnes par sa créativité et son courage. Son travail a permis à de nombreuses personnes de se faire entendre, d’acquérir de nouvelles compétences et d’ouvrir de nouvelles voies, tant au niveau personnel que communautaire.
Snippet FEA The fight for a world full of workplaces (EN)
The fight for a world full of workplaces that are free from of all forms of discrimination, stigma and exclusion is a worthy one. A world in which sex work is decriminalized and recognized as work is part of this.
A world where all workers have safe working conditions, dignified wages, and can enjoy the same rights like health care, pension pay, sick days, holidays, job security and more, no matter their gender, race, ethnicity, age or ability. Labor rights are feminist issues, and feminist unions play a key role in advancing the legal, labor and economic rights of all workers, especially migrant workers, domestic workers, informal workers and sex workers. These are folks who have most recently been disproportionately affected by the pandemic, its burdens of care, lockdowns, curfews and increased policing. Let us introduce you to the stories of feminists and union organizers that are fighting for better working conditions and better worlds for all.
Какую цель преследует опрос «Где деньги?»
Ключевая цель исследования – осветить финансовое положение различных феминистских движений, инициатив за права женщин, гендерную справедливость, ЛГБТКИ+ и смежных движений по всему миру и, основываясь на этом, еще больше усилить аргументы в пользу увеличения объема денежных средств и передачи власти феминистским движениям.
Marianne Mesfin Asfaw
Marianne Mesfin Asfaw es una feminista panafricana dedicada a la justicia social y la construcción de comunidad. Es Licenciada en Estudios de Género y Relaciones Internacionales de la Universidad de Columbia Británica (UBC) y posee una maestría en Estudios de Género y Derecho de la Escuela de Estudios Orientales y Africanos de la Universidad de Londres. Anteriormente, trabajó en administración académica y apoyo para estudiantes internacionales. Asimismo, se desempeñó como investigadora y facilitadora en espacios feministas y sin fines de lucro. También ha trabajado como voluntaria en organizaciones no gubernamentales, incluida Plan International, donde cumplió funciones administrativas. Antes de asumir sus funciones actuales, se desempeñó en logística y apoyo administrativo para AWID. Marianne nació en Etiopía, se crió en Ruanda y, actualmente, reside en Tkaronto/Toronto (Canadá). Le encanta leer, viajar y pasar el tiempo con su familia y amistades. En los meses más cálidos, se la puede ver paseando por barrios conocidos y buscando cafés y librerías desconocidas donde pasar el tiempo.