Bringing 1500+ activists and organizers from myriad movements to the 13th AWID International Forum brings up the inevitable family gathering question: Who is everybody and how are we all related?

On 8-11 September in Bahia, Brazil, 1500+ feminists, women’s rights and social justice activists from a broad diversity of movements and sectors will convene for a global gathering at the 13th AWID International Forum.

AWID begins this year with strong energies and renewed commitments. As Co-Executive Directors, Cindy and Hakima present their greetings and some highlights of our work in 2017.

As Sonya Renee’s poetic words washed over a room of women at the 13th International AWID Forum in Bahia, Brazil, I let out a breath I didn’t know I had been holding.

Over a month later the AWID Forum continues to inspire.

It was an amazing experience for those of us who had the privilege to be there. The purpose of the Forum was timely and powerful: connecting feminist movements, building alliances across constituencies, and strengthening collective power to create a just future free of patriarchy and where human rights are respected. This is music to our ears, and food to our souls.

I felt an incredible and instant rush of energy from connecting with feminist activists and organizers from all around the world at AWID’s 13th International Forum in spite of the exhausting 24-hour journey from Beersheba, Israel (historic Palestine) to Salvador, Brazil. There’s something empowering about surrounding ourselves with those who validate our struggles, and understand the multi-faceted elements of fighting for inclusive justice.

Those of us who work on issues surrounding gender and religious fundamentalisms are faced with a problem of representation.

It’s not so much that there isn’t enough coverage of these issues. In fact, the opposite can be true; we often feel bombarded by news coverage of the atrocities committed in the name of religion against women, and against people with non-conforming sexualities and gender identities.  

The Women Human Rights Defenders Hub at the AWID Forum was many things that are beautiful, informative, and challenging. Bringing to the same space women, trans* and intersex activists working in different parts of the world, we all had the opportunity to collectively reflect on challenges, unite in healing power and exchange strategies. It was a one of a kind opportunity for committed and fierce women, trans* and intersex activists in acknowledging each other’s strength in the struggle for  healing justice.

As disability scholar and activist, Martina Shabram wrote in a recent article about how Zika reveals our societies’ prejudice about disability, “too often, the narrative surrounding microcephaly relies on familiar – and disturbing – assumptions about what kind of lives are worth living.”

This poem was developed by the facilitators and participants in the session on: ‘Visions through the arts: Rights and justice for disabled and non-disabled women’ AWID 2016 Brazil conference