Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) MENA Project

WILPF reports results for the first phase of the programme, thus presenting activities conducted that would lay the groundwork and prepare for the programme. That includes: - Hiring of key staff - Conducting a mapping to better understand the feminist movement across the region, its' development and needs. (Report on emerging feminist movements). The mapping provided Wilpf with insights to design the selection and on-boarding process for new partners. - Designing and conducting the expression of interest and following call for proposals for selection of new partners - Developing a system for partners' needs assessment - Developing a dedicated monitoring plan - Conducting assessments and improving internal structures for grant making etc. Activities relate mainly to output 1 and 4 but lay the ground for work in relation also to output 2 and 3 which there will be more focus on as the programme proceeds. Output 1: Feminist grassroots organisations and women-led initiatives are better resourced to focus on advancing their own feminist peace agendas In October 2023, WILPF released a call for Expressions of Interest, encouraging new, emerging, and longstanding feminist organisations in the MENA region to apply for an opportunity for a partnership with WILPF through which they would receive flexible funding, tailored technical support and access to safe and emergent spaces for peer exchange, networking and movement building. WILPF received 245 applications. The final number of shortlisted applicants stood at 32 organisations. In May-June 2024, and through a rigorous process, WILPF finally selected 12 new partners. The organisations are spread across seven countries including Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt, Lebanon, Palestine, Iraq and Jordan with their geographical focuses spanning rural, national and regional interventions. They address various thematic focuses such as sexual and reproductive health rights; feminist history and storytelling; migrant workers rights; disability rights; environmental sustainability; cultural preservation; and peace building. Their work ranges from community engagement and legal support to independent media coverage and feminist knowledge production with some implementing their work mainly online and others through on the ground interventions, campaigns and activities. Output 2: Feminist grassroots organisations and women-led initiatives are technically supported to participate in and influence feminist peace Partner needs assessment initiated for the 12 partners. Output 3: Feminist grassroots organisations and women-led initiatives have enhanced networking and movement building opportunities facilitated by WILPF During partner needs assessment, discussion has been initiated about needs and how to contribute to learning of the others. (The first regional event will take place in late autumn 2024). Output 4: Resourcing procedures at WILPF are enhanced for the feminist movement As part of laying the groundwork for the programme, WILPF, through internal expertise, developed the Holistic Resourcing of the Feminist Peace Movement Mapping Report which sought to provide an overview, background and baseline along with recommendations for an improved and more streamlined holistic resourcing approach across the international secretariat of Wilpf. The mapping assessed all the different modalities for resourcing and support across programmes and functions, and any areas of overlap between the methods and modalities of resourcing. The findings suggested a need to synchronise and streamline the modalities and identified options for how different teams can organise to work together and complement each other as part of a more overarching and strategic approach to resourcing across the secretariat. The implementation of the recommendations from the report is ongoing.

The objective of the programme is to support local women-led organizations and feminist peace movements in the MENA region to develop their own agendas, narratives and perspectives and to claim spaces within decision-making at the local, national and international levels, to contribute to an inclusive, intersectional and powerful peace movement.