WUNRN

http://www.wunrn.com

http://forum2016.awid.org/home

Submit a Proposal to Organise a Session at the 2016 AWID Forum before June 26th, 2015

Forum Background & Context – http://forum2016.awid.org/Conceptual-Framing ; Guiding Questions for Session Proposals – http://forum2016.awid.org/2207 ; Submit a Proposal - http://forum2016.awid.org/home

"Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing.” Arundhati Roy

Join Us!

At a time of increased global repression and the attempted silencing of progressive voices, the AWID 2016 Forum is a space for re-imagining and co-creation. This invitation is for you, those who believe in futures free from gendered oppressions, the realization of full rights for people and planet, and self-determination from the body to the nation.

We are living through times of unprecedented repression and violence. Most targeted are those who seek to challenge discrimination, inequality and injustice; who work to transform oppressive power structures; who assert their human rights; and who mobilize to protect people and the planet. Attacks on women and other activists and human rights defenders have become particularly violent and widespread.

Even as we see the rise of new forces of oppression, however, there are growing cracks in old systems of power – often thanks to the impact of resistance by our own movements. These cracks create an opportunity – despite the threats – to nurture new futures based on our own visions of just societies, just relationships, and a healthy Mother Earth.

The crises and opportunities facing us mean we need to rethink our responses. It is time to move beyond our customary silos of issues, sectors, locations and identities to create powerful new alliances. Alliances that can transform our diverse sites of activism into powerful interconnected webs of vision and action. Only then can we hope to tap into existing opportunities and turn back the forces of oppression that diminish and destroy our rights, our lives, and our planet every day.

The 2016 AWID Forum is a space for progressive feminist voices and our allies to imagine futures free from gendered oppressions, racial, ethnic, and economic injustice, environmental degradation, and war and violence, to renew solidarities and advance concrete joint action agendas. It is a space for all who believe in the values of dignity, rights and justice for people and the planet to join in a creative disruption of the dominance and oppression that has sought to silence alternatives. And it is a space where the ideas and experiences of diverse voices and movements will converge to examine the lessons of the past, conjure fresh perspectives and daring ideas, and explore new ways of working together that move us beyond our existing silos and build our collective power.

The goals of the AWID Forum 2016 are to:

1. Celebrate the gains of the past 20 years by diverse social movements and critically analyze the lessons we can carry forward; 

2. Assess our current reality in the full diversity of our contexts, to locate opportunities for advancing the rights of women and other oppressed people, as well as the threats and challenges – both new and old – confronting us today;

3. Explore strategies for mobilizing greater solidarity and collective power across diverse movements to push back the forces of oppression and tap into existing opportunities to advance shared visions for a just world;

4. Inspire, energize and renew strength and purpose among activists and advocates from diverse locations and movements.