Leading from the South (LFS) was present at CSW67 (the sixty-seventh session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women) with the panel “The Power and Politics of Leading from the South”, which was part of the events organised in parralel to the UN meeting.
CSW is the largest annual United Nations meeting dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women. This year it took place between March 6 and 17 with the motto: “Innovation and technological change, and education in the digital age for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls.” It was held in New York City and served as a meeting point for representatives of governments and civil society, especially activists from women’s and feminists organisations, to discuss the situation of women and girls, the challenges and inequalities they face, as well as the opportunities in terms of policies, laws and programmes that promote and advance the rights of women and girls globally.
Leading from the South Event New York, March 9, 2023 © Jessica Bal
Within this framework, the Leading from the South (LFS) consortium, represented by Françoise Moudouthe from the African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF), Teresa Zapeta from the AYNI Fund of the International Indigenous Women Forum (FIMI), Natalia Eberbach from Fondo de Mujeres del Sur (FMS) and Anisha Chugh from the Women’s Fund Asia (WFA) facilitated a discussion called: “The Power and Politics of Leading from the South”.
Leading from the South Event New York, March 9, 2023 © Jessica Bal
The meeting consisted of a discussion regarding the LFS consortium’s experience since its inception, the lessons learned and challenges in the almost seven years of implementation. It also reflected on feminist funding for women’s and diversity organisations, the role of initiatives such as LFS in international philanthropy, as well as the diversity and power of feminist strategies and movements in the Global South.
Leading from the South Event, New York, March 9, 2023 © Jessica Bal
It was an extremely enriching and inspiring debate, given both the interventions from the panellists, as well as the contributions from activists, donors and allies, who joined in the conversation and with whom an informal discussion arose at the end of the panel presentation.
Leading from the South continues to foster participation in these types of events with partners, allies and diverse stakeholders. We are convinced that the consolidation of alliances is a key strategy to collectively influence for more and better resources for the movements of women and diversities. In turn, participation in these events represents a counter-response to power imbalances through the construction and strengthening of more equitable, democratic and feminist relations in the international cooperation ecosystem.
You can visit the consortium website to find out more:
https://www.leadingfromthesouth.org
https://www.mujeresdelsur.org/en/our-programs/leading-from-the-south/