Young feminist leadership toolkit for LGBTQI+ organisers in West, East, Southern and Central Africa

Over the last four and a half years, FRIDA has been on a collaborative journey with former grantee partner WHER Nigeria, under the jointly awarded Power Up grant from Comic Relief. This partnership is the first of its kind at FRIDA and has been pivotal for us to imagine and envision the future of grantee partner transitions. FRIDA has committed to strengthening the LGBTQI+ movement in West, East, Southern, and Central Africa (WESCA), by resourcing and accompanying young activists and their organizations to co-create a powerful African feminist future. The work done under this partnership has been critical to upholding this commitment and has produced sacred spaces for the imaginations and wisdom of WESCA young feminists to come together, like the largest-ever WESCA virtual convening in 2021, as well as the in-person Convening for LGBTQI+ organizers supported through this partnership, in Abuja, Nigeria in 2022.

Today on International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia (IDAHOBIT), we are thrilled to share with you The Young Feminist Leadership Toolkit for LGBTQI+ organizers in WESCA! This Toolkit was created for young, feminist organizers from WESCA who are at the forefront of their movements, tirelessly working towards radical systemic change for LGBTQI+ people in their communities. The toolkit is a collective labor of love, co-led by the Creative Action Institute and designed by Lynn Atieno. It represents an amalgamation of research and consultations with current FRIDA grantee partners from the WESCA region who are part of the LGBTQI+ community and whose organizations focus on this area of work. The toolkit is available in English, French, and Portuguese, and for the first time in FRIDA’s history, it is also available in Swahili. With Swahili being the most widely-spoken language on the African continent, this is a momentous step for FRIDA and our commitment to language justice.