In 2008, the African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) launched a Popular Culture Project at the 6th African Development Forum, held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. In 2010, AWDF in conjunction with the Lufudo Academy of Performing Art (LAPA) convened the first African Women in Film Forum (AWIFF) in Lagos, Nigeria, on the theme, The Dynamics of Women and Representation. Then, in 2012, AWDF added a new thematic focus – Art, Culture and Sports – to acknowledge and support how women are transforming communities within these fields. This sequence of efforts is an explicit expression of the importance that AWDF has given to the study and practices of African women in Arts and Popular Culture. AWDF believes that by making effective use of cultural productions to shift attitudes about African women, we can better accelerate gender equity.

In 2013, the 2nd African Women in Film Forum is themed “Creating Compelling Social Justice Content for Film and Television.” It brings together filmmakers and other cultural producers from across the continent and the diaspora to deliberate on storytelling as a way to foreground African women’s stories.