Over the last four and a half years, FRIDA has been on a collaborative journey with former grantee partner WHER Nigeria, under the jointly awarded Power Up grant from Comic Relief. This partnership is the first of its kind at FRIDA and has been pivotal for us to imagine and envision the future of grantee partner transitions. FRIDA has committed to strengthening the LGBTQI+ movement in West, East, Southern, and Central Africa (WESCA), by resourcing and accompanying young activists and their organizations to co-create a powerful African feminist future. The work done under this partnership has been critical to upholding this commitment and has produced sacred spaces for the imaginations and wisdom of WESCA young feminists to come together, like the largest-ever WESCA virtual convening in 2021, as well as the in-person Convening for LGBTQI+ organizers supported through this partnership, in Abuja, Nigeria in 2022.
Today on International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia (IDAHOBIT), we are thrilled to share with you The Young Feminist Leadership Toolkit for LGBTQI+ organizers in WESCA! This Toolkit was created for young, feminist organizers from WESCA who are at the forefront of their movements, tirelessly working towards radical systemic change for LGBTQI+ people in their communities. The toolkit is a collective labor of love, co-led by the Creative Action Institute and designed by Lynn Atieno. It represents an amalgamation of research and consultations with current FRIDA grantee partners from the WESCA region who are part of the LGBTQI+ community and whose organizations focus on this area of work. The toolkit is available in English, French, and Portuguese, and for the first time in FRIDA’s history, it is also available in Swahili. With Swahili being the most widely-spoken language on the African continent, this is a momentous step for FRIDA and our commitment to language justice.
This toolkit holds a collection of resources, strategies, and exercises for individual or collective use to support LGBTQI+ WESCA organizers to enhance their skills and their leadership as young feminist leaders. The contents of the toolkit are categorized into four major subsections:
- Feminist Leadership and Collaboration
- Intersectional Practices for People and Culture
- Cyber Security
- Regional Rights of LGBTQI+ Organizers
The content of this toolkit takes a deep look into how young LGBTQI+ organizers in WESCA can navigate the most prevalent challenges in their contexts while engaging in meaningful discourses around power dynamics, intersectionality, self and collective care, and legal advocacy.
We are incredibly grateful to all the brilliant young feminists who contributed to the co-creation of this Toolkit. In particular, we extend gratitude to the FRIDA grantee partners who formed part of the Power-Up cohort for their insights and feedback. We also hold gratitude for FRIDA’s staff and grantee partners from the region (and beyond) for their participation in this collective process. We appreciate you!
Young feminist movements are continuously working to dismantle the oppressive systems that hinder our collective progress. We hope that resources like this toolkit can support young activists in harnessing their power to drive systemic change.
Acknowledgments:
Publication Coordinator: Mbali Donna Khumalo
Researched and co-written by: The Creative Action Institute
Reviewed and edited by: Monika Niroula (Co-Manager of Programs); Amanda Hodgeson (Communications Manager); Mbali Donna Khumalo (Senior Program Officer for Knowledge Co-creation, Learning, and Sharing)
Illustration and design: Lynn Atieno
