Young Feminist Wire is an online platform was created in March 2010 by the Association for Women’s Rights in Development (AWID).  The Wire is a space for young feminists – especially young women – working on women’s rights and gender equality around the world to connect, learn and share information. It is also a place where women’s rights advocates of all ages can learn more about young women’s activism and make connections with younger activists.

Browse the following links to learn more about AWID’s work with young feminists.

About the Young Feminist Activism program

Across many issues and in every part of the world, young feminists are actively involved in the struggle for women’s rights.  The Young Feminist Activism program, as part of AWID’s Building Feminist Movements and Organizations (BFEMO) initiative, supports younger activists with tools, resources, capacity building opportunities and other activities to strengthen and sustain their efforts to advance women’s rights. You can read more about us here. You can also check out the history of the YFA Program as well as our goals, objectives, and activities in the works for 2010.

Exploring Gender through the Arts

Re-looking at the Sci:dentity Project
In 2006, an arts project funded by the Wellcome Trust asked the question ‘What is the Science of Sex &
Gender?’ with 18 young transgender people, resulting in a documentary film. With the help of an additional
grant, this series of screenings of a new cut with additional footage includes a Q&A session with original
participants.
The ‘second edition’ Sci:dentity film footage contributes to discussion and debate around identity, specifically
gendered and sexed identity. A series of vignettes incorporates the film and performance project work we did
with the group of young trans people and the interviews they carried out with ‘medical experts’ such as
endocrinologist, Professor Andrew Levy (University of Bristol).
The film footage will be screened with Question &
Answer sessions in June 2010 with project staff and
some of the young people who participated in the original
project in 2006.

Join this year’s Reclaim the Night march!

Reclaim The Night
Saturday 27th November 2010
Assemble 6pm central London for women-only march followed by mixed rally and party at the Camden Centre, Euston till late. All welcome

Over the years the marches evolved to focus on rape and male violence generally, giving women one night when they could feel safe to walk the streets of their own towns and cities.

Today we walk for the same reasons. Because we still have not got these rights; because women are still blamed for rape and male violence. An ICM poll commissioned by Amnesty International in 2005 found that over one third of the British public surveyed believed that women were sometimes wholly or partly to blame if they were raped, for example if they had been drinking, if they flirted or dressed outrageously.

http://www.reclaimthenight.org/index.html

Or check out the sister marches if you cant make it… http://www.reclaimthenight.org/sister.html

11 May 2010   |   2-6pm

Dep. of Sociology, University of Manchester
University Place Room 6.207

Call for Participation

It is a widespread misconception that feminism is ‘post’ and did not make it into the 21st Century. Ideas that young women are post-feminist and do not engage with feminism is a trap! Since 2000 there has been an international and national surge in formal and informal, institutional and grassroots, transnational and local feminist initiatives. As a result, there has been an increase in popular feminist and academic publications on the subject.

As PhD students researching young feminist ideology and activism, we think it is important to develop academic thinking on young feminism and to create a network of researchers in the field. With this in mind, we would like to invite you to an interdisciplinary PhD seminar on YOUNG FEMINISM on the 11 May 2010, at the University of Manchester.

The seminar will cover two broad themes:

1.  THINKING&  IDEOLOGY.

2.  DOING&  ACTIVISM:

We would like to invite PhD students to present their work in progress on one of these themes. All students are welcome, from any department or University and at any stage in their PhD research. Send us an abstract and a brief statement of purpose (each max.150 words). The deadline is 23 April. We welcome other researchers and staff interested in the field of young feminism to attend. For presentation and attendance (both limited), please fill in the registration form.

We will respond to applications 30 April.

Registration form:
www.socialsciences.manchester.ac.uk/disciplines/sociology/events/YF

Organisers:
-  Dieuwertje Dyi Huijg (Sociology, University of Manchester)
-  Susan O’Shea (CCSR, University of Manchester)

Contact: youngfeminismresearch@googlemail.com

training Salford local people in participatory research methods and gender equality

This project, funded by the Transformation Fund, is being run in Salford in partnership with Community Pride Unit, Take Part Pathfinders, Salford City Council and Manchester Metropolitan University. The training is an informal education project, looking at issues around gender and inclusion, aimed at local women and men interested in working with people from different groups in their areas, and who want to promote community inclusion and participation.

Charlotte Newson’s photo-mosaic portrait of Manchester suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst is formed from thousands of images of other inspirational women, supplied by people around the world.

The portrait, also displayed on poster sites across the city, is the first public artwork in Manchester commemorating this remarkable woman and her pivotal role in our history.

Charlotte spoke about the artwork and made an appeal for photographs on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour programme. Listen to Charlotte’s interview on the BBC Radio 4 website.