Dear Members

We are delighted to be celebrating a year since the official launch of the Alliance for Feminist Movements. As with any journey, we find ourselves reflecting on how much we have grown, what we have learnt, and the potential the Alliance holds to bring about transformative change in how feminist movements are resourced and supported. 

It’s been a wonderful first year of experimenting, setting up teams and systems, discovering areas of commonality, and laying foundations, all with the intention of building trust and of understanding how we can fulfill our sense of collective purpose. Through numerous activities such as one-on-one meetings with different members, focus group discussions, surveys, office hours, in person meetings on the margins of events and our Learning and Solutions Hubs, we have begun to distill some of the ways we will bring about change in our resourcing ecosystem to aggregate our efforts, and foster complementarity. 

If the first year was about laying down a strong foundation and making plans, then the second year is all about getting into (more) action. Even as our countries try to rebuild differently in the wake of Covid-19, there continue to be immense inequalities, injustices and resulting crises such as climate disasters, debt crises, and anti-gender movements that continue to gain power and resources. We believe the Alliance is well positioned to respond collectively to moments like these and to build more political and financial support for feminist movements.  In the second year, we will see the Alliance pivot more towards action, ensuring that we are not only building trust among members but leveraging this trust to shift our practices and work together to address the growing challenges facing feminist movements. We are aware of the monumental task that lies ahead, however, we believe that the Alliance was conceptualized to respond collectively to moments such as this. By working together through sharing lessons and strategies, and utilizing our collective voice through coordinating our messages and collating our evidence in the variety of spaces we inhabit, we can achieve more in fighting for better understanding of and commitment to the role feminist movements play across different contexts.  

As we embark on the year ahead, we hope that all members will begin to identify ways in which they can engage with and use the Alliance as a platform to broaden reach, collaborate and build meaningful connections. Thank you to everyone who has taken part in bringing the idea of the Alliance to life. We have a long road ahead but we hope that the journey will take us further because we are together. 

In solidarity, 

Global Affairs Canada and RESURJ, on behalf of the Steering Group of the AFM