Call for Participations: Asia and the Pacific Gender and Politics Training 2024

This is in recognition of the importance of capacity and transformative leadership building in increasing women’s democratic participation and political power. The G&P training is designed to enable women’s engagement in multiple forms and levels of politics and leadership in expanding their participation in democratic processes, challenge gendered political structures, lead women’s initiatives and engage with broader peoples’ movements and influence development agendas at local, national, regional and international levels.

The G&P training aims towards building the transformative pathways to power by engaging emerging fearless grassroots women leaders from marginalised communities across the region. Amid the rising authoritarianism, shrinking civil spaces, attacks on women activists, human rights defenders and movement leaders, there is greater need for grassroots struggles to engage in direct political action. Further, in view of the fact that women in positions of power in the region are often from dominant class, caste, religious, ethnic, linguistic, sexuality and other backgrounds, it becomes more urgent to facilitate support in building the capacity of grassroot women leaders who are at the frontlines of the battle for fundamental women’s human rights and Development Justice across constituencies.

Objectives of the Gender & Politics Training 2024

• The overall objective of the G&P training is to strengthen women’s transformative leadership to generate systemic change and advance participatory democracy, women’s human rights and Development Justice.
• The specific objectives of the training are:
  • To enhance the leadership capacity of grassroot women in political participation and decision-making to advance women’s human rights agenda for change in an era of growing authoritarianism, macho-fascism and imposed militarism.
  • To enable women political aspirants to contest in local, state/province level and parliamentary elections.
  • To ensure that the upcoming women in power will be equipped with analysis that will enable them to counter structural inequalities with holistic Development Justice.
• The training will be conducted from July 23rd – 27th (excluding travel) and the exact location/venue of the training will be notified to the selected participants upon selection.

What to expect from the training?

• A feminist and participatory space to share about your feminist movements, political struggles, and aspirations.
• An opportunity to learn important concepts and tools such as gender and patriarchy, politics and political systems; transformative leadership; gender and feminist participatory budgeting, Development Justice as an alternative feminist vision.
• Tools and strategies to undertake advocacy and lobbying including campaigning; movement building; to build electoral campaigns around feminist political agenda(s).

Expectations and Obligations of Participants

• Pre-training (APWLD will provide guidelines and materials):
  • Collate and submit national information, policies or case studies.
  • Accomplish reading materials, as provided, before participating in the training.
  • Respond to emails in a timely manner as that will be the main method of communicating regarding deadlines, registration, hotel and travel arrangements.
  • Comply with all the logistical requirements in coordination with the APWLD team.
• During training:
  • Attend the training for a full period of 5 days.
  • Actively participate and share knowledge, expertise and experiences, including making presentations, group work, mobilising speeches, etc.
  • Develop a personal/organisational action plan/critical pathway at the end of the training that will demonstrate how they will utilise the training as part of a strategy to run for political positions within the next one to two years.
• Post-training:
  • Maintain regular contact with APWLD and other training participants to exchange lessons, experiences, practices and impacts that result from the training.
  • Report to APWLD on applying the action plan/critical pathway during the follow-up by APWLD.

Cost of the Training and Sponsorship

• APWLD will cover the selected applicants’ participation cost, including economy airfare, boarding and lodging during the training and applicable visa fees. Other additional travel-related expenses must be informed by the participant to APWLD beforehand for approval.

Who can apply?

• Women with a considerable experience of steering grassroots feminist movements and now aspiring to achieve political positions, or have previously attempted for political positions and want to continue their endeavours and grounded on a movement as a source of political power.
• Women political leaders at the local level who are also part of the grassroots movements and aspiring to contest in the upper echelons of electoral politics.
• Grassroots women leaders at the local level who emerged from Womanifesto and Feminist Participatory Action Research (FPAR) processes associated with the nine APWLD programmes who are now aspiring to contest for political positions.
• Women who are and continue to be involved in the political arena as facilitators, campaigners, trainers, mentors to enable women’s political participation and leadership.
• Participants will be selected based on the following considerations:
  • Role of applicants in political organising of women, and most importantly their motivation to run for elections/electoral processes, need and motivation to join the training.
  • Balanced representation from countries across Asia and the Pacific region.
  • Election schedules in Asia and the Pacific in the next couple of years.
  • Limited group size of 10-12 participants.

For more information, visit Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development.