In conjunction with the launch of the paper, “Marginalizing Migrant Women’s Associations in EU Policies Tracking EU Funds”, WIDE+, through the network’s migration and gender working group, organized an online dialogue, “Resourcing Migrant Women’s Activism in Europe” on 10 May. The recording is now available for viewing in English (as above) and in Spanish.
The online dialogue was a rich exchange between migrant women leaders and staff members at private foundations. Speakers included Jennifer Kamau, co-founder of International Women Space (IWS); Marcela de la Peña Valdivia, the coordinator for La Marche Mondiale des Femmes Belgique; Vanina Serra, senior programme officer at Mama Cash and Sophie Ngo-Diep, from the European Programme for Integration and Migration (EPIM). It was moderated by Paula Riedemann, programme manager at Calala Women’s Fund.
In the discussion, both migrant women leaders, Jennifer and Marcela raised issues around the immense complexities of fundraising for migrant women associations. When funding is available, it is rarely, almost never, earmarked for core funding, which in turn sorely limits the vital work of migrant women in supporting their communities. Migrant women groups like IWS provide support to migrant women, especially those in precarious positions, given the sheer failure of the state to provide basic needs for marginalized groups of women. Vanina highlighted the work of Mama Cash in supporting small and unregistered groups but acknowledged that more can be done in making flexible funds available to support migrant women’s activism. Sophie concurred and offered ideas that can improve the representation of migrant women in grantmaking spaces.
A full narrative report on this dialogue will be published in the coming weeks. In the meantime, do watch the recordings!