Leading from the South

📣 On this day, we highlight the incredible work of the grantees and constituencies within the Leading from the South initiative. They continue their efforts in the face of hostile circumstances where women’s rights remain under threat. Their struggle dismantles patriarchal norms and challenges the normalisation of violence against women, girls, and marginalized groups. ✊🏽 Leading from the South has been committed to eradicating gender-based violence for nearly a decade, supporting more than 100 organizations across the Global South 🌎 within South America, the Caribbean; South, East, and Southeast Asia; Africa and the Middle East. Sustained support is key for these organisations to keep strengthening women’s networks and supporting survivors. Join us during these #16DaysOfActivism as we amplify the voices of feminist networks through our #LeadingFromTheSouth grantee partners. #16DaysOfActivismAgainstGenderBasedViolence #16DiasDeActivismo

✊ We join the roar and outcry of millions of women as we demand an end to all forms of violence against women. We will never stop supporting women’s movements as they strive for a safe, just and equal world. #25N – International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women 🎨 Art by wonderful Eréndira Derbez

We keep Leading from the South!

🎊 Celebrating Our Sister Fund for its impact on Climate Justice! 🌿 Happy 1️⃣ 7️⃣ th anniversary to Fondo de Mujeres del Sur (FMS)! We have proudly collaborated with FMS for eight years through the Leading from the South consortium, alongside Women's Fund Asia and FIMI - International Indigenous Women's Forum, moving resources to advance women's leadership in the Global South. For a decade, FMS has been a powerful force for environmental justice, supporting over 300 initiatives from 93 organisations led by Indigenous, Afro-descendant, rural, and urban women across Latin America. Their new publication 'Defensoras' beautifully captures this journey through stories of five organisations from Argentina, Paraguay, and Peru, showing how community-based solutions are transforming the fight against climate change. Read the publication ➡ bit.ly/3YEwioI We are proud to be part of this transformative journey towards gender equality and climate justice with you!

Today, on #InternationalDayoftheGirl, we proudly stand in solidarity with and celebrate the incredible power, resilience and leadership of girls in Africa and across the world. We equally acknowledge the violence and suffering they continue to face- from war, genocide, climate crisis and in the face of anti-rights movements that hinder girls' progress. Our CEO, Francoise Moudouthe, reaffirms our commitment through our #Lemlem strategy to centre girls and invest in their leadership, agency, voice and activism. #IDG2024 #FeministFunding

💕 Happy birthday to our dear sister fund @Fondo de Mujeres del Sur. May your continued journey be filled with more joy, inspiration, and love! Here's to another year of strengthening solidarity and collective power to advance the rights of women and gender-diverse communities! #FeministFunding #ResourceMovement

✊🏽🌎 This week, our sister funds FIMI and AWDF participated in the Hamburg Sustainability Conference, which took place on October 7th and 8th in Hamburg, Germany. 💪🏽LFS contributed to the organization of the panel "How Can Philanthropy Make Climate Finance More Accessible for Women?", facilitated by F20 and Katrin Harvey, with the participation of activists from the Global South (including Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim) as well as Teresa Zapeta, Director of our sister fund FIMI, and Ramatoulaye Mballo, Coordinator of the LFS fund at the African Women's Development Fund. 📣This was an opportunity to remind the audience that the LFS Consortium has a substantial impact on gender, climate, and environmental justice work through its member organizations operating in more than 45 countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. More than 102 SWROs have been supported between 2017 and 2024, leading to 37 changes across legal, policy, and regulatory frameworks in the Global South. Learn more about our collective impact in https://lnkd.in/ee-cepHh #LeadingFromTheSouth, #HSC, #WeTheWomen ... ✊🏽🌎 Le Sud aux Renes du Leadership à la Conférence sur la durabilité de Hambourg ! Cette semaine, nos fonds sœurs FIMI et AWDF ont participé à la Conférence sur la durabilité de Hambourg, qui s'est tenue les 7 et 8 octobre derniers à Hambourg, en Allemagne. 💪🏽LFS a contribué à l'organisation du panel "Comment la philanthropie peut-elle rendre le financement climatique plus accessible aux femmes ?", animé par F20 et Katrin Harvey, en présence d'activistes du Sud Global (dont Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim) ainsi que Teresa Zapeta, Directrice du fonds sœur FIMI, et Ramatoulaye Mballo, Coordinatrice du fonds LFS au Fonds pour le développement des femmes africaines. 📣Ce fut l'occasion de rappeler au public que le Consortium LFS a un impact substantiel sur le travail en matière de genre, de climat et de justice environnementale, grâce à ses organisations membres opérant dans plus de 45 pays en Asie, en Afrique et en Amérique latine. Plus de 102 SWRO ont été soutenus entre 2017 et 2024, conduisant à 37 changements dans les cadres juridiques, politiques et réglementaires du Sud Global. Pour en savoir plus sur notre impact collectif, suivez-nous https://lnkd.in/ee-cepHh  #LeadingFromTheSouth, #HSC, #WeTheWomen

AWDF's #VoicePowerSoul: African Feminist Narratives Festival - A Celebration of Creativity and Knowledge We are thrilled to share highlights from our recent festival in Accra, Ghana, which showcased the power and diversity of #Africanfeminist voices. This event brought together artists, thinkers, and changemakers to challenge the erasure of African feminist narratives and celebrate our indigenous ways of knowing and creating. Key highlights: 📣 Theatre performances that gave us chills. 🎵 Music that moved our souls. 🖼️ Art that opened our eyes. 📚 Stories that challenged norms. The festival was not just an event - it was a revolution! Watch the highlight 👉🏿 https://bit.ly/4gQ0Qeb #AfricanFeministFestival #FeministStorytelling

🫂 “It is very rare for us feminist[s] of the Global South to be able to come together to share and hold each other.” Hosted by the Women's Fund Asia and organized by the Leading from the South (LFS) Consortium, the cross-regional convening on Resistance, Resilience, and Care was six years in the making. Finally during the month of October in 2023, the four LFS Consortium partners, namely the African Women's Development Fund (AWDF) FIMI - International Indigenous Women's Forum Fondo de Mujeres del Sur and WFA, convened alongside more than 50 #GlobalSouth women, young women, and trans and non binary feminists, from 26 countries to reflect on activism at the frontlines of environmental and social justice movements and its impact on their lives and wellbeing. 🦋 This space provided a critical opportunity for women’s rights defenders and grassroots leaders to exchange and build cross-border solidarity. For many participants, it was the first time they had ever left their communities and met women and gender-diverse people from different countries to share individual and collective stories of how they withstand the impacts of traumatic and life-changing experiences. Ultimately, the convening provided a refuge to imagine how activism could look if care practices were fully resourced and universally viewed as integral to the work. ❇ More on the reflections here: https://lnkd.in/g8FxwF_g ___ Beautiful artwork by Sonaksha Iyengar __ Fondation CHANEL Cathleen Caga-anan Lerat Kristina Wintermeier WO=MEN, Dutch Gender Platform

🫱🏽🫲🏾 "[Through the LFS grant] we were able to reach groups of women & girls in territories that are not reached, enter into realities that are not known, and provide a safe space for them to share [dream together and plan]." For a lot of grantee partners in countries and regions of the #GlobalSouth, Leading from the South (LFS) has been a gamechanger in the growth and stability of their operations. 📣 Now more than ever, we need to keep resourcing organisations that are holding the line, continue to support their capacity building and above all to stand with them in imagining and shaping a 🌏 where women, girls & intersex people and communities fully enjoy their human rights. Visit our website to read more about the uniqueness of LFS model: https://lnkd.in/gjZyvPkp #LeadingFromTheSouth #FeministFunding #FundGlobalSouthFeminists #FundWomensFunds 🎨 Artwork by Claudia Lopez | On the right mind — 🤝🏾"[A través del apoyo de LFS] pudimos llegar a grupos de mujeres y niñas en territorios a los que no se llega, entrar en realidades que no se conocen y brindarles un espacio seguro para que compartan [sueñen y planifiquen].” 📣Para muchas organizaciones copartes en países y regiones del Sur Global, Liderando desde el Sur ha sido un antes y un después en su crecimiento y estabilidad organizacional. Ahora, más que nunca, necesitamos seguir financiando a las organizaciones que están luchando en la primera línea, continuar apoyando su fortalecimiento de capacidades y, sobre todo, estar con ellas en la creación de un mundo donde las mujeres, niñas y personas intersexuales y sus comunidades disfruten plenamente de todos sus derechos. #LeadingFromTheSouth #FinanciamientoFeminista #FinanciaAFeministasDelSurGlobal #FinanciaFondosDeMujeres" WO=MEN, Dutch Gender Platform Fondation CHANEL African Women's Development Fund (AWDF) Fondo de Mujeres del Sur FIMI - International Indigenous Women's Forum Women's Fund Asia