Year: 2016
The News
The News
AWID Forum – Bahia, Brazil
The African Women’s Development fund participated in this year’s AWID Forum. Members of our organisation were present on several panels, and helped carry the voices of African Women to the discussions in Bahia, Brazil. The conference took place from the 8—11 September, with the Black Feminisms Pre-Forum taking place from the 5-6 September. The theme was “Imagining Feminist Futures”, and over the course of four days participants were made to imagine a feminist future and strategize around making that happen. It was an important, fruitful conference and we were glad to be a part of it.
Power and Care : A mind and Life Dialogue with the Dalai Lama
AWDF CEO Theo Sowa was a moderator at the Power and Care Dialogue, held in Brussels from September 9-11. It was a two and a half day Mind and Life Dialogue of leading experts with His Holiness the Dalai Lama. The aim of the conference was to see how forces of power and care could be conscientiously and fruitfully allied, and engender projects and actions to promote the welfare of living beings and of our environment.
Launch of Education Commission Report to the United Nations Secretary General at the UN General Assembly
In September 2016, AWDF CEO Theo Sowa and other commissioners of the Global Commission for Education launched their report and agenda for action. They also presented the report to the United Nations Secretary General at the UN General Assembly.
Over the last year, the Education Commission has sought to persuade global leaders to take urgent action by bringing together the best evidence on what works in expanding access to quality education and learning for all. If leaders do not take action now to increase investment and reform global education, more than 124 million young people will continue to be denied access to schools and more than 250 million will not gain the skills they need to lead healthy and successful lives.
Supporting Arts, Culture and Sports for the promotion of Women’s Human Rights
Supporting Arts, Culture and Sports for the promotion of Women’s Human Rights
The African Women’s Development Fund will be hosting a thematic convening on arts, culture and sports from October 22-24th under the theme “Weavers of Intersectionality: Amplifying Women’s Rights, Social Justice and Feminist Narratives in Arts, Culture and Sport.”
The first of its kind, this convening will bring together key women creatives from multidisciplinary fields of art, cultural production and sports to talk about their experiences, connect with one another and devise new strategies to strengthen the voices of women within their industry and on the continent as a whole.
It is no secret that the multidisciplinary fields of arts, cultural production, and sports have a huge impact on how people across the world engage with one another and the African continent is no exception. Over the years, African traditions rich with oral history, visual imagery, poetry, proverbs, dance, theatre, and sports have used these tools for education, entertainment, conflict resolution and community building. However, these cultural industries have historically been dominated by men which limit women’s participation in these spaces.
Women’s engagement in arts and in sports has led to the birth of radical ideas, beliefs and attitudes about the immense value and contributions of women. It has also invigorated connections and possibilities for communities across the continent and the world at large. Through both the arts and sports, women have challenged and broken stereotypes, amplified the demands of women and feminist movements, raised resources, and spread messages of social change.
In spite of this work, women practitioners in arts, cultural production and sports face persistent restraints from intimidation, harassment, and theft of work to isolation, immobility, burnout and limited access to networks of care, support, and resources of sustainability. By working through a lens of intersectionality, African women are in a key position to speak out against multiple oppressions – gender, sexuality, disability, race, class, ethnicity, geography, etc. – within their fields of work. This convening will help connect women whose work has been instrumental in telling the stories of african women’s lives and who have used their various mediums to amplify women’s rights, social justice and feminist narratives. The multidimensional nature of the convening will promote cross learning and solidarity. It will be a creative, engaging space that will help spark new momentum for change within various creative industries on the continent.