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.
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Faye Macheke
Faye is a passionate Pan-African feminist, active in movements for women's rights, racial justice, migrant and labor rights, and environmental justice. Her activism builds on the legacy of the struggle against apartheid in South Africa and the aftermath of the apartheid era in Zimbabwe.
In 2019, Faye joined AWID as the Director of Finance, Operations and Development, and strived to ensure that AWID upholds the feminist principles and values in all of its operations. She brings over 20 years of experience in feminist leadership, strategy, and all aspects of finance and organizational development.
Faye is a committed Board Member of UAF-Africa and other women's rights organizations. She previously held a Head of Finance and Operations roles at Paediatric Adolescent Treatment for Africa and JASS - Just Associates Inc. in Southern Africa. She also held Directorship roles for International Computer Driving Licence (ICDL) in Central and Southern Africa. She holds a Bcompt in Accounting Science from University of South Africa and is a member of the Southern African Institute for Business Accountants.
Snippet FEA trans and travesti people in Argentina (FR)

Seul·es 18 % des trans et travestis en Argentine ont accès à un emploi formel.
¿Cuándo estarán disponibles los resultados de la encuesta?
Analizaremos las respuestas a la encuesta para extraer conclusiones y tendencias, y presentaremos los resultados durante el 15º Foro Internacional de AWID en Bangkok y en línea, en diciembre de 2024. Para asistir al Foro, puedes inscribirte aquí.
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.
Juhi
Juhi es una entusiasta de las tecnologías. Posee una licenciatura en Ingeniería Informática de la Universidad Tecnológica de Gujarat y formación de posgrado en Telecomunicaciones Inalámbricas y Gestión de Proyectos del Instituto Universitario Humber. Apasionada de la resolución de problemas y de mantenerse a la vanguardia en el panorama tecnológico en constante evolución, Juhi se ha encontrado recorriendo diversas industrias como técnica en Tecnologías de la Información. Ha tenido oportunidad de aplicar sus competencias técnicas en distintos entornos, siempre abrazando los nuevos desafíos con entusiasmo. Más allá de los códigos y los circuitos, le encantan las aventuras de la vida. Explorar nuevos lugares y culturas es para ella una bocanada de aire fresco. Ya sea que se trate de descubrir alguna joya oculta en la ciudad, de probar algún plato exótico o de embarcarse en algún deporte de aventura, Juhi siempre está predispuesta a vivir nuevas experiencias.
Marisela Escobedo Ortiz
Snippet FEA Trans and Travesti people (EN)

THE TRANS EMPLOYMENT QUOTA
sanctioned by law is not being respected by companies and employers
Snippet - WITM why - RU
Почему Мне Следовало Бы Пройти Этот Опрос?
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.
Michelle D'Cruz
Michelle est une féministe d'Asie du Sud-Est qui aime concerterer pour rassembler des gens et susciter des conversations en faveur du changement social et du partage des connaissances féministes, à travers l'art, la poésie, la musique et les jeux. Forte d'une expérience en plaidoyer digital et en développement de stratégies de communication, elle a contribué à des initiatives en matière de droits digitaux, de recherche sur les droits humains et de création de coalitions de la société civile dans toute l'Asie du Sud-Est. Elle est titulaire d'une licence de droit de l'Université nationale de Singapour, aime se balader dans des rues au hasard de la ville et apprécie un peu trop le café.
Elena Gastaldo
Snippet FEA Brisa Escobar Quote (ES)
“Mis sueños y objetivos siempre han sido los mismos que los de Lohana Berkins: que la cooperativa siga de pie y no cierre. Seguir dándole este lugar a nuestras compañeras travesti, darles trabajo y un lugar de apoyo”
Brisa Escobar,
presidenta de la Cooperativa
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.
Samira Khalil
Samira was a Syrian activist under Bashar al-Asad's regime.
From a young age Samira opposed all forms of despotism, particularly vis-a-vis the authoritarian regime in which she lived.
Samira was kidnapped in 2013 along with three other prominent activists. She is believed to have been taken from the Center for the Documentation of Violations in Duma, in rural Damascus.
The main suspect associated with her disappearance is the Army of Islam (which denies its involvement). There has been no formal investigation of Samira’s disappearance and she has not been heard from since. Samira was committed to her country and refused to leave Syria until she felt her role in empowering women and documenting crimes was no longer necessary.
Debbie Stothard
During her 38-year career, Debbie Stothard, has worked with diverse communities and activists to engage states, IGOs and other stakeholders throughout Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas on human rights and justice. Her work is focused on the thematic priorities of business and human rights, atrocity prevention, and women’s leadership. Accordingly, she has either facilitated or been a resource person at nearly 300 training events in the past 15 years. Most of these were grassroots-oriented workshops delivered in the field, focused on human rights advocacy, economic literacy and business and human rights, and transitional justice and atrocity prevention. Her work in transitional justice and atrocity prevention has mainly focused on Burma/Myanmar, however she has provided advice on responses to other country situations around the world.
During 1981 – 1996, Debbie worked as a crime reporter, student organizer, policy analyst, academic, government advisor and food caterer in Malaysia and Australia while volunteering for human rights causes. In 1996, she founded ALTSEAN-Burma which spearheaded a range of innovative and empowering human rights programs. This includes ALTSEAN’s ongoing intensive leadership program for diverse young women from Burma, which in the past 22 years, has helped strengthen and expand women’s leadership in conflict-affected zones. She served as a member of the Board of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) for 9 years as Deputy Secretary-General (2010-2013) and Secretary-General (2013 – 2019) during which she promoted the mission and profile of FIDH at approximately 100 meetings and conferences per year.
Sunila Abeysekera
Snippet FEA Map of Georgia (FR)

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.
Dora Nkem Akunyili
Dora nació en el estado de Benue, Nigeria. Fue una farmacéutica, tecnócrata, investigadora erudita y líder comunitaria reconocida mundialmente.
El trabajo revolucionario de Dora produjo un cambio de paradigma en el servicio público nigeriano cuando se desempeñó como Directora General de la Agencia Nacional para la Administración y Control de Alimentos y Medicamentos, entre 2001 y 2008. Encabezó reformas en la aplicación de políticas y regulaciones que redujeron drásticamente la cantidad de drogas falsas que asolaban el sector farmacéutico nigeriano cuando asumió su cargo.
Se convirtió en un ícono del empoderamiento de las mujeres, porque fue un ejemplo real de mujer valiente y competente que desafió los males de una sociedad predominantemente patriarcal. Fue nombrada Ministra de Información y Comunicación entre 2008 y 2010.
Murió luego de una batalla contra el cáncer, y le sobreviven su esposo, seis hijxs y tres nietxs.