Young feminist activists play a critical role in women’s rights organizations and movements worldwide by bringing up new issues that feminists face today. Their strength, creativity and adaptability are vital to the sustainability of feminist organizing.
At the same time, they face specific impediments to their activism such as limited access to funding and support, lack of capacity-building opportunities, and a significant increase of attacks on young women human rights defenders. This creates a lack of visibility that makes more difficult their inclusion and effective participation within women’s rights movements.
AWID’s young feminist activism program was created to make sure the voices of young women are heard and reflected in feminist discourse. We want to ensure that young feminists have better access to funding, capacity-building opportunities and international processes. In addition to supporting young feminists directly, we are also working with women’s rights activists of all ages on practical models and strategies for effective multigenerational organizing.
We want young feminist activists to play a role in decision-making affecting their rights by:
Fostering community and sharing information through the Young Feminist Wire. Recognizing the importance of online media for the work of young feminists, our team launched the Young Feminist Wire in May 2010 to share information, build capacity through online webinars and e-discussions, and encourage community building.
Researching and building knowledge on young feminist activism, to increase the visibility and impact of young feminist activism within and across women’s rights movements and other key actors such as donors.
Promoting more effective multigenerational organizing, exploring better ways to work together.
Supporting young feminists to engage in global development processes such as those within the United Nations
Collaboration across all of AWID’s priority areas, including the Forum, to ensure young feminists’ key contributions, perspectives, needs and activism are reflected in debates, policies and programs affecting them.
Comunidades y personas lesbianas, gays, bisexuales, transgénero, transexuales, queer e intersex (LGBTQI) siguen siendo violadxs, criminalizadxs y discriminadxs en muchos países de todo el mundo por Estados opresores, leyes y prácticas discriminatorias. Son las personas las que impulsan estas fuerzas de discriminación, pero también son las personas las que impulsan un cambio poderoso.
Dans de nombreux pays du monde, des États répressifs et des lois et pratiques discriminatoires continuent à bafouer les droits des personnes et des communautés lesbiennes, bisexuelles, transgenres, transsexuelles, queer et intersexes (LGBTQI) et font peser sur elles la criminalisation et la discrimination. Ce sont des êtres humains qui font vivre ces forces discriminatoires, mais ce sont aussi des êtres humains qui font naître les changements les plus profonds.