On the third day of the Forum, the Young Women’s Caucus talked about ways in which young feminists can mutually support and empower each other.

One theme that recurred throughout the discussions was the need for young feminists to share information, strategies and best practices.Several ideas about how exactly go about this were floated. Some Caucus members supported the idea of a blog where questions could be asked and answered. Having a list serve or a Google group was another suggestion, but some members were circumspect, because they felt that often, people subscribe to such online forums but end up not engaging in active conversations on them. One suggestion to get around this problem was to use forums within which Caucus members are already active such as forming a Facebook group since many members are already on the social networking site.

It was acknowledged that although online tools are extremely useful for organising, they do have outreach limitations. Many young women around the world do not have easy access to the internet, nor are they familiar with the major languages in which information is relayed on it.

Another idea to strengthen mutual support among young feminists is to have a regular international meeting which would be a space not to simply talk about their experiences as young activists in women’s movements, but also to discuss other women’s rights and social justice issues.

Francophone activists in regional and international forums frequently express their feelings of exclusion and marginalisation even within those forums. One Caucus member said that Francophone activists feel that they get less media attention than English or Spanish speakers. The need to ensure their inclusion was emphasized.

The young women at the Forum represent a rich diversity of knowledge and experience. Caucus members agreed that it is necessary to use each other, and other young feminists as resource persons.

The Caucus discussions touched on the tensions between young women in youth movements and those in women’s movements. Exchange visits were suggested as a way of addressing those challenges as well as promoting learning among young feminists from diverse organisations and contexts.

Networks in feminist movements are often initiated or strengthened through collaborations around single advocacy initiatives. It was suggested that young feminists select one priority idea or activity to jointly organise around.

Caucus members welcomed the AWID Young Feminist Activism team’s plan to compile a directory of young women’s organisations as a way of enhancing networking and collaboration.

During the plenary session on the second day of the Forum, Sanushka Mudaliar, the manager of AWID’s Young Feminist Activism Programme presented an interesting challenge to older feminists who are established within women’s movements. She proposed that instead of limiting their inclusion strategies to inviting young feminists their (older feminists’) spaces, they should venture into young feminists’ spaces. This change in standpoint is likely to lead to a shift in perspective. The multigenerational dialogue which will form the basis of the Young Women’s Caucus session on the final day of the Forum will be an opportunity for older feminist allies to do just that.