MENA Regional Mapping for Emerging Feminist Organisations

Location:

Remote (worldwide)

Type of Contract:

Service contract

Languages Required:

Arabic and English

Duration of Assignment:

3 months

1. General Overview:

The Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) is a leading global organisation focused on addressing the root causes of violence through a feminist lens. WILPF’s vision is for a world of permanent peace built on foundations of human rights, justice, nonviolence, and equality where people and the planet flourish in harmony.

One of WILPF’s strategic goals for 2022 – 2025 is “Strengthening feminist peace activism”, which will be achieved through supporting, protecting, and mobilising feminist peace activists, building synergies, strengthening our movement, and working to decolonise the movement. Some of the action pathways to achieve this goal are as follows:

• Supporting solidarity dialogues and the creation of vibrant feminist spaces and networks that connect the movement and agendas of feminist peace activists from local to global, as well as amplifying collective activism at all levels and working alongside like minded partners and other aligned movements.
• Resourcing the feminist peace movement through mutual support, by mobilising resources, and by advocating for feminist activism to be properly supported and funded.

Through these action pathways, we will continue to support local women-led organisations and feminist movements in the MENA region to develop their own agendas, narratives and perspectives and to claim spaces within decision making at the local, national and international levels, to contribute to an inclusive, intersectional and powerful peace movement(s). WILPF’s approach to partnerships is one based on mutual trust and active collaboration. Whether through formalised or structured partnership, or through ad-hoc solidarity and support, we stand firm besides women organisations, sections, groups, networks and movements that are working to define, defend, and develop a space for the advancement of peace, equality, justice, and demilitarised security.

1. Project Overview:

WILPF, through one of its projects, seeks to leverage its holistic resourcing model to support feminist organisations and movements in the MENA region to become powerful feminist movements with strengthened agendas and vibrant networks. This project builds on the successful implementation of the holistic resourcing model under the Feminist Movement for Change in Syria (FMCS) project, implemented in Syria between 2018 and 2022 and evaluated in 2022 (Side by Side on the Journey to Feminist Peace: Applying WILPF’s Holistic Feminist Resourcing Approach in Syria), in which WILPF’s three-pillared approach of flexible funding, tailored technical support, and strengthened networking and collaboration opportunities was found to have “changed the predominant funding landscape by adhering to an intersectional approach that puts collaborating with Syrian feminist organisations into the foreground.”

WILPF has long term, historically-developed partnerships with 6 partners in 5 countries in the MENA region – Iraq, Syria, Palestine, Yemen and Libya – which have sought to develop and refine feminist agendas and network for joint actions, and contribute to feminist movement building in MENA. Through the partnerships, WILPF supports partner organisations in their efforts to influence peace processes and agreements, as well as in integrating gender responsiveness and human rights into different processes and mechanisms, in these countries.

Through this project, WILPF will support the efforts of new, emerging and long-standing feminist organisations in the MENA region as they develop their feminist solutions to address conflicts and violence and to achieve feminist peace. This will allow WILPF to engage and support a wider circle of feminist organisations, agendas and movements, and will enrich the development of agendas, knowledge production and advocacy undertaken with our pre-existing partners. The selection criteria and process for new partner organisations will be done based on the mapping exercise that will identify key feminist movements, organisations and initiatives, the feminist solutions and forms of resistance they are implementing to address and respond to the protracted conflicts within their contexts, as well as the challenges they are facing while doing so.

1. Specific Objective:

The Consultant hired for this assignment is to conduct a mapping of emerging feminist organisations and initiatives operating from or for the MENA region by people from the region,, their needs, priorities and challenges.

In order to better understand the modes of operation and needs, to reach and to prioritise new and emerging feminist organisations, especially those that emerged after the second wave of the popular movements in the MENA region around 2018-2019, and that are less likely to receive flexible funding from other donors or funds, we will conduct a mapping exercise through a series of consultations with key feminist organisations and actors in the region to ensure diversity of voices and representations of feminist organisations across the MENA region. The mapping will deepen the understanding of how feminist movements, initiatives and organisations in the region define their feminist agendas, how they set their priorities, and what kind of work they are prioritising. It will provide an intersectional analysis on their positionalities, governance models and diversity within their structures.

The mapping exercise will identify trends and developments in relation to feminism in the region, what roles these movements are playing in national struggles, feminist struggles, as well as in regional and/or global discourses. Through the mapping, WILPF should be able to gain a better understanding of the types of organising and collective actions frameworks that are being created to respond to emerging needs in the region. Finally, a clear indication of the challenges they face to the realisation of their feminist agendas should be identified.

1. Specific Tasks:

• Identify, along with the WILPF MENA team, the parameters of the mapping exercise, such as geographical coverage/countries, limitations, methodology, advisory committee, etc..
• Consult with relevant team members within WILPF’s MENA team, stakeholders, and other relevant feminist funds in the MENA region once the parameters are set.
• Adopt a consultative and participatory approach, while remaining aware of the power structures among civil society actors in the MENA region, mostly pertaining to intersectional factors of age, presence, outreach, funding accessibility to ensure that the voices and needs are amplified and are balanced.
• Present the methodology to the WILPF MENA team, which should adopt a feminist research approach.
• Conduct the mapping exercise utilising a combination of first and second hand research in the form of both individual and focused group discussions in English and/or Arabic language.
• Develop a report based on the mapping exercise which captures the findings, needs, priorities and challenges of emerging feminist initiatives in the MENA region.
• Provide any required edits and reframing following the review process from the WILPF team.
• Support the MENA team in setting eligibility criteria for the selection of organisations to provide holistic resourcing support to, based on the mapping findings and recommendations.

1. Key Deliverables
2. 1. Methodology, parameters of mapping exercise, and work plan
   2. Initial findings report
   3. Facilitate workshop to present findings and discuss recommendations
   4. Draft (minimum of 1 and maximum 2) Mapping Exercise Report(s)
   5. Final Mapping Exercise Report
   6. Set of eligibility criteria vis-a-vis the project’s resourcing parameters
3. Interdependencies and Reporting

The Mapping Consultant reports to the MENA Manager, and willwork closely with the MENA Director, and the MENA Associate working on regional programming. The Consultant will also coordinate with other team members within the MENA team and across WILPF where required and upon communication and coordination with the MENA Manager.

1. Knowledge, Skills and Competencies

• Strong contextual knowledge of the MENA region, and ability to demonstrate knowledge of feminist movements in the region.
• Demonstrated knowledge of and interest in WILPF’s work, aims and principles. Keen interest in and commitment to WILPF’s values and mission.
• Detail-oriented with ability to keep sight of the bigger picture.
• Excellent fluency in written and spoken English and Arabic.
• Established experience and examples of feminist and qualitative research and analysis.
• Strong writing, analytical and data analysis skills
• Flexible, solution-oriented and able to work autonomously.

1. Number of Working Days

The Consultant is expected to put in between 60-70 working days for this assignment over a span of three months.

1. Start Date and Work Schedule

End of March 2023 start date if possible, for a total of 3 months to end by mid-/end ofJune 2023.

1. Location

This position can be remote (worldwide), with a preference to a timezone reasonably close to the MENA region.

How to apply

1. Submissions

This position is open to individuals as well as teams composed of Arabic and non-Arabic speakers. Interested candidates should submit the following to [email protected] with “Application for MENA Mapping Exercise” in the subject line. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. Candidates who fail to submit all requirements will be dismissed.

• Updated CV outlining relevant skills and experience,
• Cover letter (not exceeding two pages) outlining the added value you will bring to this consultancy,
• A provisional technical proposal (not exceeding 2 pages) that sets out a rough work plan, methodology and approach that is to be adopted throughout the consultancy to realise the deliverables,
• A link or description of relevant research produced, such as research, mappings, strategy documents and case studies.

Deadline for application submissions is 9:00am CEST, Monday 27th of March 2023.