Intentional, Intergenerational, Inspirational

December Newsletter 2022

29 Dec 2022

Hello Education Transformers,

2022 was a year of boldness, hope, and solidarity. We have grown, and we have lost but we have also found new ways to thrive as a community of young feminist activists.

How has this year been for you?

This year's crucial lesson for us at TE was to speak up and show up. For us, these two actions are quite dynamic. We were able to speak up not only by words but by actions, leveraging our platforms to increase access to spaces for other young feminist activists. We could show up in spaces that were once not inclusive to young feminists. These lessons form a part of our foundation and our guiding principles as a young feminist-led coalition.

Where was TE in 2022? We were everywhere!

Key Advocacy Moments

International conferences are not the peak of our work but they do serve as an integral part of our activism as we are able to expand our platforms to amplify the grassroots work of young feminist activists, network for greater support as well as ensure that global agendas are inclusive to our realities. Throughout 2022, we were privileged to enter global spaces to raise our voices amplifying our work!

TE members attended CSW 66 in New York, the Lego Foundation Idea Conference, the Transforming Education Pre Summit in Paris, the Transforming Education Summit in New York, COP 27 in Egypt, and the Salzburg Global Seminar in Austria!

At these events, TE members, who are leading feminist activists in their home countries, advocated for gender-transformative education, safer schools for learners, and inclusive education policies that centre care, decolonised practices, and the lived experiences of those they are meant to serve.

We were able to co-lead the Ending Gender Stereotypes panel event with our fantastic host, UNGEI, and amazing and long-standing supporter, Plan International at the Transforming Education Summit at the United Nations in New York. This panel event allowed us to hear from activists who are working to challenge and end gender stereotypes in their countries and through education.

Credit: UN Photo/Loey Felipe

Key Actions by TE Members

TE members have carved their spaces and planted their roots in their home countries, advocating for education transformation for a sustainable future that is built on gender equality. Our members are leading organisations who are engaging in groundbreaking work within their communities. This year, TE has grown by 60 members, working across our 7 key thematic areas: STEM, Comprehensive Sexuality Education, Gender Norms, Feminist leadership in Education, Girls’ Education in Emergencies, Climate Justice and Climate Education, and School-Related Gender-Based Violence.

Notably, some of our members launched resources, hosted conferences, and led projects to continue their advocacy:

BeWithYou Indonesia: BeWithGirls Conference highlighting the importance of girls' leadership to transform education
Feminitt Caribbean launched The Right Way Toolkit, a resource geared towards knowledge sharing on topics related to comprehensive sexuality education and challenging stereotypes related to it.
The Breadfruit Collective: Caribbean Women for Climate Justice- virtual conference led by The Climate Conscious Podcast and The Breadfruit Collective, supported by the Open Society Foundations. This conference highlighted the importance of climate and gender justice through feminist leadership and advocacy.
Whisper to Humanity hosted a 2-hour workshop with teachers from 10 public schools in south-eastern Nigeria using the Gender Transformative Education brief.
Raising Teenagers Uganda led a conversation with women members of parliament on the existing national sexuality education framework in Uganda.

We came, we saw, we read!
Resources we loved in 2022

We are pleased to share the publications and resources that we have either created, contributed, or absolutely loved in 2022! These resources aim to challenge the way we as activists approach intergenerational partnerships, how we advocate for ourselves and communities, and the ways in which we can improve our activism to ensure that it is inclusive and feminist!

Put Gender at the Center: Young Feminist Statement on the Transforming Education Summit written by Young Feminist Activists of Transform Education

Queering Perspectives of GBV by Scott Marchack

Intergenerational Partnerships For Inclusive Education written by Armel Azihar, Amanda Suarez, and Roseline Adewuyi

The UNGEI Podcast: Educate 4 Equality by UNGEI

Transforming Education in Crisis- Beyond the Barriers Statement by Transform Education supported by the Secondary Education Working Group

Dear World Leaders, Don’t Fail Us by Safe to Learn

G7 Global Objective Report on Girls’ Education: Baseline Report by UNESCO Institute for Statistics, UNESCO Global Education Monitoring Report, UK Aid and UNGEI

Happiness Manifesto by FRIDA the Young Feminist Fund

Intergenerational Partnerships for Transformative Change: A Learning Brief by UNGEI, Generation Unlimited, Transform Education, Nala Feminist Collective, and the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts

A Look Ahead

We are entirely grateful for the brilliance, vision, and commitment of our members, funders, supporters, and allies in going above and beyond to create sustainable and inclusive futures. In 2023, we aim to meaningfully amplify and provide platforms for all TE members to showcase their work and key learnings. We will continue to collaborate with feminist grassroots organisations and agencies who share the same ideals and principles. We want to ensure that we continue data-driven advocacy, co-creating frameworks, and research with all of our members and supporters to further bolster our advocacy for Gender Transformative Education.

Thank you for your hard work and continued support. Let’s smash the patriarchy!