Introduction
16 Zimbabwean grassroots organisations (Community Based Organisations) form a Community of Practitioners (CoP) that uses an empowerment approach in communities to advocate for women’s rights and gender justice.
The experiences in 2021 and 2022 are rich and promise that the path taken will make a substantial contribution to strengthening women’s rights and achieving SDG 5, while also achieving sustainable promotion and empowerment of young women as transformation agents and development agents.
Current reports on some of the contributors can already be found on the main page.
fepa’s approach to action
In our internal concept we describe our commitment to women’s rights and gender justice. The fepa community of practice approach is a flywheel for committed people. We consciously focus on diversity, agility and a multi-perspective approach. We are all part of an activist movement that empowers community members to achieve SDG 5. The distinct empowerment approach aims to achieve sustainable, democratic and equitable structures in communities. Individual rights (e.g. protection from early marriage) play a role in this, but we also do this in the belief that we are shaping an enabling environment for all genders through participation and citizen initiative. By working together to strengthen the capacity of grassroots activists, to seek dialogue, and to identify and implement solutions, we are building the foundation for a society that respects and advocates for the rights of all genders.
A flexible and participatory approach is a prerequisite and strength of community-based development. Navigating within societies is complex and it can never be fully anticipated. The CoP approach allows individual partners to develop autonomous objectives and context-specific solutions from the bottom up and implement them directly for the benefit of the target group. At the same time, they contribute to the improvement of the work of other activists. This is the advantage over a programme approach with guard rails set by fepa. The partners complement each other systemically and, thanks to the exchange and joint learning, increase the impact of committed people as agents of change.
The chosen approach is part of our initiative to ‘decolonise help‘ and to introduce agile methods in project management in order to not only achieve better results more effectively and faster, but also to act (even) more in partnership.
Excerpts from the fepa report on the CoP (highlights/lowlights/lessons learned) can be found here (only available in German).
Documentation on women and development
On the occasion of an exchange visit in 2020, we worked up some background information. There are still gaps. Will you help us to fill them?
Your contribution
Would you like to volunteer as part of our team that supports activists in the South? We have room for movement and give space for your commitment and talents. Contact us by email: info@fepafrika.ch