Welcome to the March newsletter of the Australian Feminist Foreign Policy Coalition! |
Thank you for being involved in this growing community advancing feminist foreign policy in Australia. In this bi-monthly newsletter, we share updates from the Australian Feminist Foreign Policy Coalition (AFFPC) and the global Feminist Foreign Policy (FFP) space.
Please direct all enquiries, suggestions and feedback to Liz Gill-Atkinson at research@iwda.org.au. |
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Every day is International Women’s Day for feminists, but this year is a particularly important opportunity to highlight the structural violence experienced by women, including in conflicts in Palestine, Ukraine and Myanmar. See what we are reading/watching/listening to below for multiple events and webinars exploring this from an intersectional FFP lens.
Today is also a chance to highlight new approaches to foreign policy, particularly at the intersections of feminist and first nations thought leadership.
This week, IWDA and the AFFPC are proud to launch a new limited-series podcast: F! It! exploring feminist and First Nations approaches to foreign policy. Fortnightly from Tuesday, host Julie Ballangarry – a Gumbaynggirr/Dunghutti woman, PhD candidate and researcher at Griffith University – will be yarning with prominent First Nations thinkers and feminists about ways to reshape and reimagine foreign policy.
Julie Ballangarry was the co-authored of AFFPC Issues Paper #1 – Indigenous foreign policy? A new way forward – with James Blackwell (ANU) in March 2022. This paper has been foundational in shaping the AFFPC’s approach to feminist and First Nations foreign policy approaches, and also influenced Foreign Minister Penny Wong’s commitment to a First Nations foreign policy approach for Australia. James will join Alice Ridge (IWDA) in episode 1: What do feminist and First Nations foreign policy have in common? (dropping Tuesday 12 March!)
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Episode 2: How can a UN declaration shape Australia's foreign policy? Dr Sheryl Lightfoot, Chairperson of the United Nations Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP)
- Episode 3: What does a First Nations approach mean to Australia's inaugural Ambassador for First Nations Peoples? with Ambassador Justin Mohamed
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Episode 4: What should First Nations foreign policy look like in practice? with international development practitioners Alice Tamang and Jenna Hawes
- Episode 5: To be announced!
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On Friday 16 February AP4D hosted a webinar to launch the options paper ‘What does it look like for Australia to take a whole-of-nation approach to international policy’. Moderated by AFFPC member Melissa Conley Tyler (AP4D), panellists Nicola Rosenblum (ACMC), Jon Berry (KPMG Australia), Kylie Walker (AATSE), Vafa Ghazavi (James Institute for Public Policy), AFFPC member Julie Ballangarry (Griffith University) and Danielle Ireland-Piper (ANU) shared their insights and sectoral perspectives.
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Are you interested in learning more about foundational feminist principles, or discovering how intersectionality and power analysis can enhance your organisation’s goals? Would you like your organisation’s values and mission to be more aligned with feminist principles?
Join us for IWDA's upcoming workshop - Introduction to Feminist Principles & Practice, delivered over two half-days! Discounts available for multiple staff members from your organisation.
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Last year, AFFPC member Annabel Dulhunty (ANU) published “Women’s Empowerment and Microcredit Programmes in India: The Possibilities and Limitations of Self-Help Groups”. The book provides new insights into women’s empowerment and microcredit programming, elaborating on the themes of power, dignity, mobility and solidarity. Please contact Annabel at Annabel.dulhunty@anu.edu.au for a copy.
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This recording of the Polis180 event, organised by the program Gender and International Politics, examined how Mexico has applied its FFP and how it can be evaluated more than 3 years after its introduction. Speakers AFFPC member Daniela Phillipson (Monash University) and Patricia von Wartenberg Salgado (Mexican Embassy in Berlin) discussed how Mexico’s FFP has influenced national politics and domestic developments as well as how the feminism movement in Mexico has reacted to the FFP since its declaration.
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This year, Spain will co-chair the Feminist Foreign Policy Group (FFP+) as the Global North representative with Mexico, co-chairing it on behalf of the Global South. The FFP+ Group operates out of the New York headquarters of the UN and works with both civil society and the UN to promote feminist and gender-transformative approaches within multilateralism and foreign policy. |
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On 21st Feb, the Scottish Council on Global Affairs published the findings of a roundtable consultation held last year with civil society and other stakeholders towards developing and advancing the Scottish Feminist Foreign Policy. Panellists addressed questions on what the priorities of the Scottish Government should be, the main obstacles it might face in developing a feminist foreign policy, the challenge of fostering equitable partnerships with Global South states, the prospects for backlash and how to limit it, and the scope for involving citizens.
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Palestine: A 'Test' for Feminist Foreign Policy |
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Women in Pursuit of Peace in the Middle East |
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In her blog for Engenderings, Layla Saleh considers the current war in Gaza from the perspective of Feminist Foreign Policy. Layla assesses the extent to which the FFP declared commitments of relevant states have influenced their positions on the war and critically explores the disconnect between official discourses and policies and the needs and experiences of Palestinian women. |
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In the context of Slovenia's FFP, the Bled Strategic Forum and the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia host Women in Pursuit of Peace in the Middle East. Israeli organisation Women Wage Peace and the Palestinian organisation Women of the Sun, both nominated for the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize for their joint work, will present the two organisations and the goals they have set together, and share with the public their life stories and experiences of the conflict, their desire for peace and their hopes for their children.
The event will be introduced by Tanja Fajon, Deputy Prime Minister of Slovenia. Livestreamed: 8 March 18:30 GMT+1 and later available on Youtube |
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Women in Wartime Ukraine. How Feminist Foreign Policy Can Strengthen Political Minorities in Humanitarian Crisis |
| Where next for Feminist Foreign Policy |
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Wars hold a gender dimension – a facet that can also be found in the ongoing war in Ukraine. Therefore, especially in conflict scenarios, support for women and political minorities is needed from outside to counteract reinforced inequalities and tackle gender-specific consequences of war. In this AIES Focus Paper, author Miriam Mandel calls for FFP to be used to analyse the humanitarian situation in Ukraine and identify a foreign policy strategy targeting existing challenges for women and political minorities.
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In his brief for ODI, Ján Michalko critically examines the current tensions and opportunities for states in the feminist foreign policy (FFP) space, sketching out the contours of debate and providing guidance on how to navigate the ambitions and principles behind the FFP agenda. Jan argues that FFP states, and those inspired by feminist ideas, can enhance their policy impact and credibility in three ways: 1) by clearly articulating what makes their foreign affairs and policies feminist 2) by recognising the diversity of feminist policies and aspirations 3) by embracing critical introspection and engaging with domestic policy issues.
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How Feminist Foreign Policies Work to Enhance Gender Justice. |
| Palestinian Women in Gaza: War, Health, and Feminist Solidarity
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In their article for Georgetown Journal of International Affairs, authors Kathryn A. Sikkink & Helen Clapp examine whether the Global North uses feminist foreign policies (FFPs) to impose their values on the Global South and if such policies can enhance gender justice. Using evidence from their new global data set of transitional justice mechanisms, the authors argue that countries with FFPs do not impose gender-attentive transitional justice on other countries. Rather, FFPs should be viewed both as an expression of a commitment to internal gender-attentive policies and a willingness to support and fund these policies abroad.
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In commemoration of International Women’s Day, the Palestine Program for Health and Human Rights invites you to join a webinar dedicated to the Palestinian women in Gaza. The webinar will bring together three feminist scholar-activists in conversation about Gaza, Palestinian women’s health, and resistance to genocide. Time and date: March 6 @ 11:00 am - 12:30 pm EST
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The Australian Feminist Foreign Policy Coalition acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land on which we work and live. We pay our respects to their Elders, past and present, and the Aboriginal Elders of other communities.
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