Special Focus

AWID is an international, feminist, membership organisation committed to achieving gender equality, sustainable development and women’s human rights

Confronting Extractivism & Corporate Power

Women human rights defenders (WHRDs) worldwide defend their lands, livelihoods and communities from extractive industries and corporate power. They stand against powerful economic and political interests driving land theft, displacement of communities, loss of livelihoods, and environmental degradation.


Why resist extractive industries?

Extractivism is an economic and political model of development that commodifies nature and prioritizes profit over human rights and the environment. Rooted in colonial history, it reinforces social and economic inequalities locally and globally. Often, Black, rural and Indigenous women are the most affected by extractivism, and are largely excluded from decision-making. Defying these patriarchal and neo-colonial forces, women rise in defense of rights, lands, people and nature.

Critical risks and gender-specific violence

WHRDs confronting extractive industries experience a range of risks, threats and violations, including criminalization, stigmatization, violence and intimidation.  Their stories reveal a strong aspect of gendered and sexualized violence. Perpetrators include state and local authorities, corporations, police, military, paramilitary and private security forces, and at times their own communities.

Acting together

AWID and the Women Human Rights Defenders International Coalition (WHRD-IC) are pleased to announce “Women Human Rights Defenders Confronting Extractivism and Corporate Power”; a cross-regional research project documenting the lived experiences of WHRDs from Asia, Africa and Latin America.

We encourage activists, members of social movements, organized civil society, donors and policy makers to read and use these products for advocacy, education and inspiration.

Share your experience and questions!

Tell us how you are using the resources on WHRDs Confronting extractivism and corporate power.

◾️ How can these resources support your activism and advocacy?

◾️ What additional information or knowledge do you need to make the best use of these resources?

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Thank you!

AWID acknowledges with gratitude the invaluable input of every Woman Human Rights Defender who participated in this project. This project was made possible thanks to your willingness to generously and openly share your experiences and learnings. Your courage, creativity and resilience is an inspiration for us all. Thank you!

Related Content

Snippet - CSW68 - Responding to Anti-rights - FR

Répondre aux évolutions antidroits

in Multilateral and Regional Spaces

✉️ Sur invitation uniquement
📅Mardi 12 mars
🕒14 h - 15 h 30 HNE

Organisateur : Consortium de l'Observatoire sur l'universalité des droits (OURs)
🏢Blue Gallery, 222 E 46th St, New York

Jane Julia de Oliveira

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. 

 

Snippet FEA Aura Roig (ES)

Ven a conocer a Aura Roig, activista feminista visionaria, antropologa y directora-fundadora de la cooperativa Metzineres.

Dedicó las últimas dos décadas a la investigación, el diseño y la implementación de políticas con perspectivas de reducción de daños, derechos humanos y feminismo interseccional.

Después de experimentar y aprender de comunidades que usan drogas a través del mundo, volvió a Barcelona y creó la Xarxa de Dones que Usen Drogues (la Red de Mujeres que Usan Drogas, XADUD). XADUD era un espacio de apoyo mutuo y de solidaridad con la lucha por los derechos de los grupos marginalizados que, más tarde, se convirtió en la cooperativa Metzineres.

Actualmente, Aura está trabajando para expandir el modelo Metzineres y brindar apoyo a grupos más grandes, al mismo tiempo que documenta ampliamente su prolífico viaje y aprendizaje.

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Follow us!

Through in-person events, lives on our socials, an exhibit booth and more; we are showing up to convene, amplify and support the voices and participation of our members, partners and allies.

Together we will Reclaim Feminist Power by uplifting feminist alternatives and visions around economies that center collective systems of care and nurture both the planet and people.

Follow us on social media for more details on how to participate! Be part of the conversations using the hashtags #AWIDatCSW68 and #ReclaimFeministPower.

Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn | X (Twitter)

How can I fund my participation in the AWID Forum? Many activists will not be able to afford the cost of the Forum – is AWID doing anything to provide assistance?

Please visit the "Funding ideas" page to get some ideas and inspiration for how you can fund your participation at the next Forum, including the limited support AWID will be able to provide.

About the AWID International Forum

More than an event!

The AWID International Forum is a truly global space that gives participants an opportunity to network, build alliances, celebrate, and learn in a stimulating, emotive and safe atmosphere. 

AWID International Forum in Costa de Sauipe, Brazil, 2016

More and more, we are trying to bring the Forum process outside of the convening’s borders. Engaging with partners and deepening relationships all year round, connecting with local movements to better understand problems and co-create solutions. The Forum event itself, held every three to four years in a different region of the world, is just a crystallization of all these alliances that we are building as part of our work.

The AWID Forum dissolves our inner and external boundaries, fosters deep discussion, personal and professional growth, and strengthens our movements for gender justice and women’s rights.

As a convening, it is a response to the urgency to promote stronger and more coordinated engagement and action by feminists, women’s rights and other social justice advocates, organizations and movements. We also believe that the Forum is more than just an event – it can facilitate a process to influence thinking and set agendas for feminist movements and other related actors.

Evolving from a national conference of around 800 people, the event now brings together around 2000 feminists, community leaders, social justice activists, and donor agencies from around the world. 

The 14th AWID International Forum will take place 11-14 January 2021 in Taipei, Taiwan.

Find out more!


The past Forums

2016 - Feminist Futures: Building Collective Power for Rights and Justice (Costa de Sauipe, Brazil)

Participants at the Black Feminisms Forum in Brazil, 2016

Given the complex world that we face today, the 2016 AWID Forum did not focus on a particular “issue”, but rather on creating more effective ways of working together!

Despite the challenging contexts in which the 2016 Forum took place (the Zika epidemic, a strike by Brazilian foreign-service workers, the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff and subsequent turmoil), it succeeded in bringing together over 1800 participants from 120 countries and territories across all regions of the world.

What happened at the 13th AWID international Forum:

  • For 96% of participants who responded to the post Forum evaluation survey, the Forum was a major source of inspiration and energy.

  • 98% of participants considered it an important convening space for feminist movements and expressed hope that AWID continues to organize forums.

  • 59% of Forum evaluation survey respondents declared to be very satisfied with the Forum and 34% somewhat satisfied.

  • Over 150 sessions were delivered in different formats on a variety of topics ranging from bodily integrity and freedoms, to gender-based violence in the workplace, to strategies for building collective power.

  • The first-time Black Feminisms Forum (BFF), held just before the main AWID Forum, brought together 250 Black feminists from all over the world to co-create a powerful space to build and strengthen ongoing, intergenerational, transnational connections

Read more about what the 2016 AWID Forum achieved:

Download the Forum evaluation report


2012 - Transforming Economic Power to Advance Women's Rights and Justice (Istambul, Turkey)

AWID International Forum, in Cape Town, South Africa, 2008

The 12th AWID Forum was the largest and most diverse AWID Forum to date, bringing together 2239 women’s rights activists from 141 countries. Of these participants, around 65% were from the Global South and close to 15% were young women under 30, and 75% attended an AWID Forum for their first time.

The Forum program focused on transforming economic power to advance women’s rights and justice and featured over 170 different kinds of sessions including feminist economics toolbox skills-building sessions, breakout sessions representing all 10 Forum themes, in-depth sessions, and solidarity roundtables. 

Building on the momentum of the 2012 Forum, we transformed the website into a resource and learning Hub, which builds on the content generated by participants by featuring multi-media resources on all Forum components. 

Visit the 2012 Forum web archive


All AWID Forums

  • 2016: Feminist Futures: Building Collective Power for Rights and Justice (Costa de Sauipe, Brazil). Read the 2016 Forum Evaluation report
  • 2012: Transforming Economic Power to Advance Women's Rights and Justice (Istanbul, Turkey)
  • 2008: The Power of Movements (Cape Town, South Africa). Read our 2008 Forum Report
  • 2005: How does change happen? (Bangkok, Thailand)
  • 2002: Reinventing Globalization (Guadalajara, Mexico)
  • 1999: Leading Solutions for Equality and Justice (US)
  • 1996: Beyond Beijing From Words to Action (US)
  • 1993: Joining Forces to Further Shared Visions (US)
  • 1991: Working Together/Learning Together: A South North Dialogue (US)
  • 1989/1990: Global Em-Powerment for Women (US)
  • 1987: Moving Forward: Innovations in Development Policy, Action and Research (US)
  • 1985: Women Creating Wealth; Transforming Economic Development (US)
  • 1983: ‘Women in Development’ (Washington D.C, US)

Snippet FEA Get Involved 2 (FR)

Si vous êtes de passage à Sao Paulo, au Brésil, visitez l'Occupation 9 de Julho et prenez un repas collaboratif. Vous pouvez aussi acheter leurs produits dans leur boutique en ligne depuis l'étranger.

Visitez la boutique en ligne de l'Association des Femmes Afro-Descendantes du Cauca du Nord où vous pouvez trouver de superbes produits faits à la main.

Il existe plusieurs façons de soutenir Metzineres : vous pouvez faire un don financier, offrir du matériel et des services, proposer une formation, un atelier ou une activité (pour plus d'informations, cliquez ici).

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To share your lived experience with mobilizing funding for your organizing

Will there be pre-Forum convenings this time around?

We have been contacted by global and regional partners about some ideas for pre-Forum convenings and we will share more information about these ideas soon.

If you plan to organize a meeting before the Forum please let us know!

Contact us


Many beautiful things emerged from the 2016 Black Feminisms Forum (BFF) that was organized by an Advisory Group and funded by AWID. Some of the independent organizing that arose from the BFF include Black feminist organizing in Brazil. While we won’t have another BFF this year, we remain committed to sharing some key learnings with anyone interested in continuing work around Black feminist organizing.

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Le lierre
Communauté et quartier

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L’enquête est disponible en français, anglais, arabe, espagnol, portugais et russe!