Benjaline Hernandez
Co-Creating Feminist Realities
While we dream of a feminist world, there are those who are already building and living it. These are our Feminist Realities!
What are Feminist Realities?
Feminist Realities are the living, breathing examples of the just world we are co-creating. They exist now, in the many ways we live, struggle and build our lives.
Feminist Realities go beyond resisting oppressive systems to show us what a world without domination, exploitation and supremacy look like.
These are the narratives we want to unearth, share and amplify throughout this Feminist Realities journey.
Transforming Visions into Lived Experiences
Through this initiative, we:
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Create and amplify alternatives: We co-create art and creative expressions that center and celebrate the hope, optimism, healing and radical imagination that feminist realities inspire.
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Build knowledge: We document, demonstrate & disseminate methodologies that will help identify the feminist realities in our diverse communities.
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Advance feminist agendas: We expand and deepen our collective thinking and organizing to advance just solutions and systems that embody feminist values and visions.
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Mobilize solidarity actions: We engage feminist, women’s rights and gender justice movements and allies in sharing, exchanging and jointly creating feminist realities, narratives and proposals at the 14th AWID International Forum.
The AWID International Forum
As much as we emphasize the process leading up to, and beyond, the four-day Forum, the event itself is an important part of where the magic happens, thanks to the unique energy and opportunity that comes with bringing people together.
We expect the next Forum to:
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Build the power of Feminist Realities, by naming, celebrating, amplifying and contributing to build momentum around experiences and propositions that shine light on what is possible and feed our collective imaginations
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Replenish wells of hope and energy as much needed fuel for rights and justice activism and resilience
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Strengthen connectivity, reciprocity and solidarity across the diversity of feminist movements and with other rights and justice-oriented movements
Learn more about the Forum process
We are sorry to announce that the 14th AWID International Forum is cancelled
Given the current world situation, our Board of Directors has taken the difficult decision to cancel Forum scheduled in 2021 in Taipei.
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Plenary session:
Organising to Win
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Nazik Abylgaziva, Labrys
Amaranta Gómez Regalado, Secretariado Internacional de Pueblos Indígenas frente al VIH/sida, la Sexualidad y los Derechos Humanos
Cindy Weisner, Grassroots Global Justice Alliance
Lucineia Freitas, Movimento Sem Terra
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✉️ By registration only. Register here
📅 Thursday, March 13, 2025
🕒 09.30-11.30am EST
🏢 Outright International Office, 17th Floor, 216 E 45th Street, New York
🎙️AWID speaker: Inna Michaeli, Co-Executive Director
Organizer: Outright International
Snippet - WCFM smart filtering - EN
With smart filtering for both databases, you can connect with funders based on:
| Nature of funding: Due to global funding cuts and freezes |
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Recipient type: Filter for organizations or individual funding opportunities |
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Preferred languages: Boil them down to communications language preferences |
| Funding type: Be it rapid response, grantmaking, seed, direct aid and more |
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Movement and Struggle: Connect with funders that speak to your movement |
Snippet2 - WCFM type of funder - EN
Type of funder:
Filter your search by funders from different sectors i.e., philanthropic foundations, multilateral funders, women’s and feminist funds
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Join the feminist movement reclaiming climate action from corporate capture
With 1,773 fossil fuel lobbyists at last year's COP29, we're heading alongside other feminists to Belém, Brazil for COP30, from 10 November – 21 November 2025, where we will continue to denounce false solutions, call out corporate capture, demand that States uphold their commitments under the Common but Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities and push for feminist economic alternatives.
$2.7 trillion for the military. $300 billion for climate justice. We're here to flip the script.
Snippet - COP30 - Our Tools title - EN
Toolbox for COP30 Organizing
Annual Report 2009
Our 2009 Annual Report includes highlights of another busy year of action and reflection at AWID as we implement our commitment to boldly, creatively and effectively contribute to the advancement of women’s rights and gender equality worldwide.
In the report you can find out about our programmatic achievements, membership, finances, what to watch out for in 2010, as well as information about our Board and Staff.
Human Rights Council (HRC)
The Human Rights Council (HRC) is the key intergovernmental body within the United Nations system responsible for the promotion and protection of all human rights around the globe. It holds three regular sessions a year: in March, June and September. The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is the secretariat for the HRC.
The HRC works by:
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Debating and passing resolutions on global human rights issues and human rights situations in particular countries
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Examining complaints from victims of human rights violations or activist organizations on behalf of victims of human rights violations
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Appointing independent experts (known as “Special Procedures”) to review human rights violations in specific countries and examine and further global human rights issues
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Engaging in discussions with experts and governments on human rights issues
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Assessing the human rights records of all UN Member States every four and a half years through the Universal Periodic Review
AWID works with feminist, progressive and human rights partners to share key knowledge, convene civil society dialogues and events, and influence negotiations and outcomes of the session.
With our partners, our work will:
◾️ Monitor, track and analyze anti-rights actors, discourses and strategies and their impact on resolutions
◾️ Raise awareness of the findings of the 2017 and 2021 OURs Trends Reports.
◾️Support the work of feminist UN experts in the face of backlash and pressure
◾️Advocate for state accountability
◾️ Work with feminist movements and civil society organizations to advance rights related to gender and sexuality.
◾️ Raise awareness of the findings of the 2017 and 2021 OURs Trends Reports.
◾️Support the work of feminist UN experts in the face of backlash and pressure
◾️Advocate for state accountability
◾️ Work with feminist movements and civil society organizations to advance rights related to gender and sexuality.
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Sara AbuGhazal
Biography
Sara AbuGhazal is a Palestinian feminist living in Beirut. She is a co-founder of Sawt al-Niswa, a collective that produces knowledge in Beirut. She is the co-director of The Knowledge Workshop, a feminist organization based in Beirut that works on feminist oral history and archiving. Sara is currently the Regional Coordinator of the Regional Coalition for Women Human Rights Defenders in the Middle East and North Africa.
Sara strives to help create spaces of feminist transformation and solidarity. Her work is mostly centered on building sustainable movements in the MENA region. She is invested in knowledge production, feminist transformation, and Palestine. She publishes regularly in sawtalniswa.org and her fiction also appears in Romman e-magazine.
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Debbie Stothard
Biography
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.
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Fariha Al Berkawi
What is AWID?
The Association for Women's Rights in Development (AWID) is an international feminist membership organization.
We work to achieve gender justice and women’s human rights by strengthening the collective voice, impact and influence of global women’s rights advocates, organizations and movements.
Cheryl Ananayo
I have written a paper about an issue related to Women’s Rights and Development. How can I share it with AWID’s members?
Juventina Villa Mojica
April 2015: Interactive hearings with the business sector and civil society take place
Informal interactive hearings with the business sector and civil society took place on 8 and 9 April 2015 respectively at UN headquarters in New York.
- Women’s rights organizations and other CSOs raised concern about the limited participation of Member States during the CSO hearings and thus the Addis Ababa CSO Coordinating Group (ACG) issued a letter to the Co-facilitators
- The second drafting session of the Addis Ababa outcome document was held from 13 – 17 April 2015 at the UN Headquarters. The basis of discussion was the Zero Draft.
- The WWG on FfD presented recommendations on the FfD themes to Member States in different official sessions and side events. Among the key areas of concern for women was the fact that the zero draft did not give sufficient emphasis to the enormous, negative impacts of financial crises caused by instability in international financial systems on development, equality and human rights, particularly women’s human rights.
Hamida Barmakani
When can I register for the Forum?
We will announce this soon. Stay tuned!
Nadine Shams
