The one-year postponement of the Generation Equality Forum extends Equipop's involvement in this global process, but does not change its substance. Until the summer of 2021, we will continue to campaign for the Forum to set itself a truly ambitious political agenda and to be co-constructed with feminists in all their diversity. We will facilitate the participation of West African civil society and contribute our expertise in SRHR (sexual and reproductive health and rights).
Today was supposed to mark the start of the Generation Equality Forum, co-organized by France, Mexico, and UN Women, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the United Nations World Conference on Women in Beijing. Due to the health situation, the Forum will not take place until 2021. However, a virtual launch event will take place online on July 7 at 7 p.m. (CET). Among the thirty or so speakers, Hadja Idrissa Bah will represent Equipop during the session on "Health crisis and sexual and reproductive health and rights."
Co-constructing thethe Generation Equality Forum with civil society
It is important to remember that governments will not be the only participants in the Generation Equality Forum. The Forum aims to bring together some 50 governments from around the world, but also international organizations, associations, and the private sector. Equipop is therefore taking part in the July 7 event with a clear message: the Generation Equality Forum must be co-constructed with civil society in all its diversity and from different regions of the world.
Include feminist activists from West Africa
French-speaking voices are traditionally underrepresented in international forums; this Forum, organized in France, aims to correct this trend. Equipop, drawing on its various partnerships in West Africa and its position vis-à-vis the French government, will facilitate the inclusion of West African feminist activists throughout the process. Furthermore, in France, Equipop is part of a collective of associations committed to advocating for the Forum to be a turning point for systemic change: the Forum must result in the establishment of truly feminist public policies.
The SRHR Action Coalition: A Crucial Space
At the end of 2019, Equipop and its partners wrote to Emmanuel Macron to ensure that SRHR would be on the Forum's agenda. In January 2020, the themes of the six action coalitions that will form the core of the Generation Equality Forum were announced. SRHR is the subject of a specific action coalition.
A few days ago, the identity of the coalition leaders was officially announced. The DSSR coalition will be led by France and Burkina Faso, among others, as well as the Alliance Droits et Santé network, which brings together 22 West African civil society organizations, including Equipop. This means that Equipop and its partners will have an official framework to defend the rights-based approach as the priority of the action coalition for the next five years, both in terms of political positioning and financial commitments.
Log on to the Generation Equality Forum website on July 7 at 7 p.m.
