Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era (DAWN)

DAWN mourns the passing of Professor Bene Madunagu, an accomplished feminist, scholar, and activist whose contributions have left a mark on DAWN and the global women’s movement. 💔 Bene served as DAWN's General Coordinator from 2004 to 2008, leading our work with brilliance and determination from the Secretariat based at the Girls’ Power Initiative (GPI) - a pioneering feminist organization she co-founded in Cross River State, Nigeria that embodies her vision of creating a world where girls and women are visible, valued and empowered. She was a member of the core group of women activists who provided the intellectual and experience-based grounding for the ICPD Program of Action, in 1994. Her warm hug, infectious smile, and the strongest of convictions left a profound impact on all who knew her. Her activism and scholarship were inseparable, fueling her work as a feminist and human rights advocate who believed in the transformative power of collective action. Today, we pay tribute to Bene and express our deepest gratitude for her invaluable legacy to DAWN and to the whole feminist movement. ✊🏾💜 Rest in power, dear Bene. You will forever remain in our hearts and continue to inspire the struggle for a just and equal world.

🌊📚A must-read: a beautifully articulated piece by Louisa Castledine of Ocean Ancestor Ancestors capturing major concerns about what is happening in the Cook Islands to push forward the government’s deep-sea mining plans https://lnkd.in/dkY2qiM5

🌍 The COVID-19 pandemic deepened existing inequalities across Africa. 📊 In this #Fem4PeoplesVaccine podcast episode, moderator Adija Adamu of the FIMI - International Indigenous Women's ForumI and speakers Khoudia Sow - physician and researcher from Senegal - and Leah Eryenyu - Gender Just Economy Learning Community lead at the Trust Accountability and Inclusion Collaborative - examine how State health policies reflect necropolitics—or the use of social and political power to decide who lives, who dies, and who deserves access to healthcare. 🎧 Listen to the episode now on Spotify & Soundcloud spoti.fi/48ZMC78 #HealthJustice #pandemicresponse #access2medicines #healthequity #fem4peoplesvaccine

“We stand here today carrying the voices and lived experiences of 800+ civil society members in the region, who echo the resilience and struggles of millions of other women and girls in all our diversities” 📢📺 Watch Linqian Peng, Director General, Chongqing KnowDeaf Social Work Service Centre (left) and Shahrzad Koofi Ahmadi, Director, Justice for Equality in Afghanistan deliver the Civil Society statement at the Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on the Beijing+30 Review, held this week in Bangkok, Thailand. https://lnkd.in/dbfX7Ujf

En América Latina, las personas más pobres —y dentro de ellas, las mujeres— pagan proporcionalmente más impuestos que los ricos. Para los países del G20, eso debe cambiar. Llegó la hora de que los 3 mil megamillonarios del mundo paguen un tributo mínimo global. En Brasil, los jefes de Estado se comprometieron a avanzar en las discusiones para gravar a los que más tienen. Milei firmó pero en desacuerdo con discriminar a los “ultra-rich”. Desde los feminismos, Agustina Paz Frontera analiza la propuesta impulsada por Lula, se pregunta a quién y cómo le cobra impuestos el Estado y si el nuevo gravamen pondrá la sostenibilidad de la vida en el centro de las prioridades. https://lnkd.in/dB8uSj4F

🌏 Advancing Feminist Futures at #Beijing30AsiaPacific! 🌟 This week, DAWN joined feminists and activists for the #Beijing30AsiaPacific CSO Forum and Ministerial Conference in Bangkok, Thailand. Kumudini Samuel and Yiping Cai, members of DAWN Executive Committee, spoke at the CSO Forum opening plenary session, a dynamic exchange of intergenerational wisdom, revisiting the fierce organising behind the Beijing Declaration in 1995 and reflecting on how feminist strategies have adapted to today’s socio-political challenges. In the presentation “The Journey Since Beijing: Progress and Challenges”, Cai Yiping highlighted the challenges faced not only by Asia and the Pacific but in many other parts of the world in hindering the full implementation of gender equality and women’s rights agenda three decades after adopting the Beijing Platform for Action at the Fourth World Conference on Women, in 1995. On Day 2, DAWN’s Cai Yiping co-led a session on Linking Local, Regional, Global Towards a Gender-Just Future, focusing on bridging global frameworks with local realities and providing an opportunity for advocates and feminists from across the region of Asia and the Pacific to engage with UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous. Alongside colleagues from @feminist_manch, @monfemnet, @apwld_ , @arrow_women and @risingflamenow, we reflected on feminist movements and multilateral systems such as the CSW69, and interlinkages between other processes like the COP and ICP, highlighting the urgent need for deeper feminist engagement with these processes for sustained action. Gita Sen, DAWN’s co-founder and executive committee member, celebrated the diversity of voices shaping this process. We moved toward the Ministerial Conference (19–21 Nov) with a strong statement calling for systemic change and transformative gender justice. Stay tuned for updates about the conference! Photos & Videos: UN Women Asia and the Pacific & Asian-Pacific Resource & Research Centre for Women (ARROW)

What progress has been made toward gender equality in health across the Asia-Pacific region? DAWN's co-founder and Executive Committee Member Gita Sen will moderate this side event at the Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on the #Beijing+30 Review, happening this week in Bangkok. A multidisciplinary panel of experts will draw on their professional and lived experiences to explore strategies for advancing gender equity through investments, institutional alignment, multi-sectoral collaboration, and collective action. Register now ⬇️ IN PERSON: https://go.unu.edu/LXGLi ONLINE: https://go.unu.edu/v68gy

🌍✨ Huge congratulations to Sonia Corrêa on receiving the Lifelong Pursuit of Equality award at the first-ever International Pride Awards! This inaugural event, a joint initiative by International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA) ,World and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), honoured five outstanding advocates for LGBTIQ+ equality during a ceremony in Cape Town, South Africa. A pioneering Brazilian feminist, researcher, and activist, Sonia has dedicated five decades to advancing gender equality and sexual health and rights. As DAWN’s Research Coordinator for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights from 1992 to 2009, and now a valued board member, her influence on our organisation and the global feminist movement has been profound. We’re incredibly proud to see her remarkable legacy celebrated on the global stage! 👏🏽👏🏽💜💚 https://lnkd.in/dcian8bS

💫 As part of the Beijing +30 Civil Society Steering Committee, we’re proud to share the Beijing+30 Asia-Pacific Civil Society Consultation Report. This milestone and comprehensive report result from collective efforts to critically assess and accelerate the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (BPfA). It captures insights from feminist movements across Asia and the Pacific, covering key areas like economic justice, leadership, ending violence, and forward-looking strategies for gender equality. This resource aims to influence transformative policies at the upcoming Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on the Beijing+30 Review in Bangkok, Nov 19-21, 2024. 🔗 Access the report and join us in driving change for gender justice! bit.ly/BPfAReport #Beijing30 #DAWN #GenderEquality #AsiaPacific

We’re counting the days to the Deep Ocean Symposium: Is Mining the Seabed Undermining Our Future? ✊🏾🌊 Organized by Te Puna Vai Marama Cook Islands Centre for Research, University of the South Pacific, Cook Islands and Te Ipukarea Society this thought-provoking event brings together distinguished speakers from across the Pacific, including Dr. Claire Slatter, DAWN co-founder and executive committee member. Dr. Slatter will explore the critical differences in this emerging deep-sea mining industry and why it raises concerns for our future. Kicking off on the 31st of October at 8.30am-6.30pm (CIST). Stay tuned to the organisers' pages for live updates. #DefendTheDeep #OurOceanIsNotForSale #StopOceanCrime #BanDeepSeaMining