UAF A&P is proud to introduce their new Co-Lead Vinita Sahasranaman, who along with Virisila Buadromo will begin a new chapter of feminist co-leadership that began in late September.

In Vinita’s own words: "I have over 18 years of experience of learning from and leading work on issues of women's rights, gender, sexual and reproductive health and rights, with adolescents and youth. I have worked in India, South Asia and East Africa with national and global implementing organisations and philanthropy. I have worked the longest with CREA [https://creaworld.org/]  in Delhi and in Nairobi. I started my work at CREA with a program that built feminist leadership among grassroots women-led organisations. One of my personal highlights was managing a program that addressed violence against women and trans people. I also worked with The YP Foundation, a youth-led organisation that builds youth leadership on issues of gender justice, sexuality rights, health equity and social inclusion in India. This was also an interesting experience - coming at a time of leadership transition and helping build the organisation in its 2.0 version. After this, I was able to further diversify my experience and learning by working with the Children's Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF) to build the Adolescence portfolio, and then worked with a private tech company called Quilt.AI. These two experiences were unique and very different than my other work with feminist and rights based organisations. I learnt a lot!

Apart from Vinita’s impressive resume, we are excited that her work and lived experiences will add value to what we are collectively trying to achieve as a feminist fund working on rapid response grant making and strengthening resilience of feminist and social movements in Asia and the Pacific. She is keen to learn how she can help us think through different ways in which we can support WHRDs and non binary HRDs in Asia and the Pacific.

Viri and Vinita are also clear that this new co-leadership chapter will not be all work and no fun! Here’s a sneak peek of how they are preparing for the coming years! Please click and watch the video below.

uaf_viri_vinita from Urgent Action Fund A&P on Vimeo.

A peek at how communities use storytelling as a way to commune and be entertained. Here's Shilpa Mudbi and the Urban Folk Project at our year ender gathering.

Yellamma and Other Stories from Urgent Action Fund A&P on Vimeo.

We hope you are safe and healthy, and coping well with the difficult times we find ourselves in.

Since 2020, UAF A&P team members too have been functioning amid repeated lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with some countries, such as India, Nepal and Papua New Guinea more severely affected than others. As you probably are aware, we have several staff members working out of these countries, while others have been steadily facilitating grants or raising resources for the different needs mentioned by activists and defenders across Asia and the Pacific.

This new wave of the pandemic has taken a severe toll on us, not just professionally, but personally too. We collectively feel the need to take a PAUSE to contain the overwhelm being experienced due to the increasing and compounding contexts of crises that we are working to support as well as exist in. Therefore, we have collectively decided to take a WEEK of PAUSE - from 24 May - 28 May 2021.

As a feminist fund, we are committed to modelling the behaviour, we want to shape and inspire within the ecosystems that we all belong to and the world we hope to co-create. These  wise words of Adrienne Marie Brown have been inspirational for us:

“Care for ourselves and each other as a revolutionary practice…caring for each other is a fundamental piece of any future we will build. This doesn’t displace struggle, critique, or conflict, but rather deepens and softens these necessary human experiences, makes them part of belonging instead of a precursor to exile.”

Please support us during our PAUSE Week, we need it to be kinder to ourselves, our bodies, hearts, souls and minds, and do bear with us if our responses are delayed. We promise to be back refreshed and rejuvenated, and continue our work with renewed energy, inspiration and vigour.

 

In solidarity and co-responsibility,
Team UAF A&P

The UAF Sister Funds are deeply saddened by the news that our Sister, Tatiana Cordero Velásquez, the Executive Director of Urgent Action Fund - Latin America & Caribbean, has passed away due to complications while undergoing medical treatment. She brought a deep spirituality to her lifelong work as a feminist activist, scholar, mother, and leader of Urgent Action Fund-LAC. Tatiana’s legacy for feminist movements and funders across the globe is profound and will continue to shape our analysis and action. Throughout her career, she advocated for the values and practices of care and protection of frontline defenders.

As Tatiana joins the ancestral world, we know she is caring for us. With her, we send care to the countless defenders, comrades and sisters who were touched by her life.  

Here's the Urgent Action Funds statement.

The UAF Sister Funds are deeply saddened by the news that our Sister, Tatiana Cordero Velásquez, the Executive Director of Urgent Action Fund - Latin America & Caribbean, has passed away due to complications while undergoing medical treatment. Tatiana’s legacy for feminist movements and funders across the globe is profound and will continue to shape our analysis and action.

“We feel honoured to have had the chance to share paths with Tati. Her presence has transformed our lives, especially regarding the importance of care for ourselves, for each other and for life (...) Tati has been a loving, generous reference of collective work for many social movements in Latin America and the world. Her departure is a huge loss. However, her legacy will be present in each of our actions.” – UAF-LAC team and Board

Tatiana brought a deep spirituality to her lifelong work as a feminist activist, scholar, mother, and leader of Urgent Action Fund-LAC. Throughout her career, she advocated for the values and practices of care and protection of frontline defenders.

“Tatiana would insist that, ‘At the centre of feminism is collective care. Taking care of ourselves and each other is political!’” – Ndana

The care she led with she also demonstrated in an end-of-year appreciation for all UAF staff globally (a space she held with sister co-lead, Viri, from UAF A&P, on behalf of the Sisters) where Tatiana and all danced and swayed and listened to music together. Tatiana also took care to co-create a Colectivo de Dirección at UAF-LAC, a collective leadership body that she cultivated and supported long before her break began to undergo treatment. Our hearts are with Laura, Terry, Lorena and the UAF-LAC Board and Staff Team.

From her work with feminist collectives to ensure the inclusion of women’s rights in the Ecuadorian constitution to her advocacy for LBT rights with Taller de Comunicación Mujer, Tatiana demonstrated an unwavering commitment to ensuring each person’s right to live in freedom and full expression.

“Tatiana was a sister in the deepest sense. Guiding, supporting, pushing our political imaginations, and caring deeply. I miss her already and also feel her love, knowing it will guide our journey for years to come.” – Kate

Tatiana, embracing her own Indigenous heritage, had a profound political commitment to Indigenous communities defending land, territory, and traditions. Her belief in the fundamental dignity of every being and her love for Mother Earth guided her every step. She loved nature, poetry, healing traditions and her roots, as well as music, dance, cigarettes, fine drinks and good food consumed in community and celebration. She had a deep sense of humour and would shake her hand in the air and snap her fingers when she found something particularly funny, which was often.

“Tatiana’s spirituality and her strong connection to mother earth and all living beings was inspiring. She inspired me to embrace my own spirituality and tap into my indigenous identity and ancestors for strength and guidance. I miss her calm, her humour and beauty. Vinaka vakalevu na veikawataki. Gole ena vakacegu Tatiana. Tawaguilecavi.” – Viri

Tatiana recently said, “without a doubt our ancestors and guiding spirits are caring and looking after us.” She reminded us often that this is a time to be grateful, even as we mourn loss. We are grateful for you, Tatiana.

As Tatiana joins the ancestral world, we know she is caring for us. With her, we send care to the countless defenders, comrades and sisters who were touched by her life.

Laura Carvajal, Terry de Vries, Lorena Medina, Colectivo de Dirección, Urgent Action Fund Latin America and the Caribbean
Virisila Buadromo, Co-Lead, Urgent Action Fund Asia & Pacific
Ndana Bofu-Tawamba, Executive Director, Urgent Action Fund Africa
Kate Kroeger, Executive Director, Urgent Action Fund for Women’s Human Rights

Song shared recently by Tatiana as she held space with Viri (sister co-lead from A&P, on behalf of the Sisters) at the end of the year to appreciate all sister funds’ staff: Cuatro Vientos, by Danit

Would you love an audio offering to help you relax and support personal reflection? Leave your care behind, pick up a paper and pen and begin your half an hour session of relaxation here 

In 2019, Urgent Action Fund, Asia and Pacific and Fiji Women's Fund commissioned a study to assess the funding realities for Pacific women organisations. As a result of interviews with over 40 organisations, that included donors, funders, and grantee organisations, and research of available data from multilateral and bilateral donors active in the Pacific, this study brings together the trends, patterns and recommendations on how more resources can be mobilised for Pacific organisations working on gender and rights-based work.

To access the 8 page summary, click here

For a snapshot of the findings and recommendations, check out the infographic

What feminists from 34 countries conspired together to produce - a feminist funding manifesto on how to Resource Strengthening of Feminist Movements in Asia and the Pacific. This feminist manifesto is the result of a unique convergence, Revolutionising Philanthropy, which was organised by Prospera International's eight women's fund members of of Asia and the Pacific, facilitated a shared vision for feminist funding that is flexible and transformative for these regions. In late September 2019, nearly 130 activists, funders, and other allies committed to the realisation of women, girls, and trans* human rights in the region, gathered in safe and political space for open and dynamic discussions.

As we come to the end of an extraordinary year, we set our sights on new hopeful horizons: launching our next Strategic Plan and recruiting a new Co-Lead for Urgent Action Fund Asia and Pacific (UAF A&P).

The year 2020 marked three years since the birth of UAF A&P. We decided it was timely to undertake a reflective review on how we have progressed in implementing our mission with our community and networks, moving much needed resources to women and non-binary human rights defenders across borders, and issues in our region of the world. The process was an insightful virtual coming together of our community of grantees, partners and advisors as well as our Staff and Board, mindful of where we started it all and where we still want to go. We know for sure that, against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing human rights crackdowns, we persevered.

We look forward to sharing the outcome of our reflections in a new Strategic Plan, in early 2021, that will outline our next pathways to co-creating better conditions for women and non-binary defenders to survive, thrive and regenerate.

In addition to our strategic planning, 2020 also marked a pivotal point in our organisation’s journey as Mary Jane Real announced her decision to resign as Co-Lead. After being a part of our founding process, and then taking up the executive leadership with Virisila, Jane has been key to ensuring that our young organisation is both relevant and responsive to the resilience of activists and defenders around the region. We respect and support Jane’s decision to step down so she can care for her ailing mother. While we are sad to see her leave, we are proud of Jane’s legacy in shaping UAF A&P’s grounding and standing in these early years. Beginning this January, Virisila Buadromo will be leading the Fund until we recruit a new Co-Lead. From January to June 2021, Jane will support UAF A&P’s work on a contractor basis.

The UAF A&P Board has set up a Leadership Transition Team to coordinate the recruitment and selection of our new Co-Lead for Programmes and Innovation. From among our Board, Devi Leiper O’Malley will serve as the point person in charge of recruitment, and she will be supported by Roshmi Goswami and Mayan Villalba.

Please stay tuned. We plan to announce the call for applications in January 2021.

We would appreciate your support during this time of organizational change. Please spread the word and connect us to strong feminist leaders with the vision and drive to co-create new opportunities, re-define resource mobilizing and facilitate access to platforms and grants for all women and non-binary defenders across Asia and the Pacific.

In solidarity,

Kamala Chandrakirana
UAF A&P Regional Board Chair

It's a new year, and we have a new lens with which to view our work and purpose. Presenting 'Steering Towards New Feminist Horizons', the UAF A&P Strategy Plan for 2021-2023!

We wish to thank the courageous feminists, women and non-binary human rights defenders and activists whose insights helped us map our journey over the next three years. This plan acts as a bamboo scaffolding that strongly supports our collective work and vision and has the flexibility and strength of bamboo to bend and adapt to the changing pathways and winds that we may encounter on our way.

Our report is a product of months-long virtual meetings by the UAF A&P Board and team, a true testament to our adaptiveness during socially-distanced times! The new visual language conjures up guiding stars and earthy tones, to reflect us looking up at possibilities while being grounded to grassroots realities.

Low resolution version

High resolution version

UAF A&P dedicates this report to the brave women, girls and non-binary human rights defenders and activists of Afghanistan.  We extend our solidarity to them in this difficult hour of their lives. If you would like to contribute to support them, click here

This Annual Report is a compilation of our learnings from our work as a regional feminist fund for Asia and the Pacific that supports the resistance and resilience of women and non-binary activists across these two regions. We have been intentional about making this report into a learning document so that the groups and movements that we work with, can adapt or adopt practices and processes that we have experimented with.

UAF A&P Annual Report high resolution (76.9MB)

UAF A&P Annual Report low resolution (19.8MB)