West and Central Africa Regional Learning Hub for the Women’s Voice and Leadership Learning Partnership

This project is part of the Women’s Voice and Leadership (WVL) Learning Partnership, a five-year initiative with Global Affairs Canada to enhance the efforts and impacts of more than 2,200 women’s rights organizations, LGBTQI+ groups and feminist movements.

The WVL West and Central Africa Learning Hub is anchored in a vision of resilient, transformative and well-connected feminist movements across the region where women’s rights organizations and LGBTQI+ groups have the resources, solidarity and supportive ecosystems necessary to sustain systemic change. There are five projects participating in this project. The hub will seek to strengthen shared learning, deepen collaboration, document locally led strategies and support more effective advocacy. It will document lessons from the experiences of WVL partners in contexts affected by conflict, backlash or shrinking civic space and make this knowledge widely accessible through multilingual and user-friendly tools, including simplified guides, storytelling, training materials and peer-learning modules.

Learning will take place through two in-person regional gatherings, online exchanges, thematic circles, small grants to renewed WVL partners, community-led research and peer-support networks. Mentorship opportunities will connect experienced feminist leaders with emerging leaders within the WVL community, focusing on strategic accompaniment and navigating complex organizational and movement challenges. The hub will also facilitate connections with policymakers and regional decision-makers to strengthen advocacy efforts that advance gender equality. The anticipated outcome is a more connected, confident and resilient feminist ecosystem in West and Central Africa able to learn collectively, use evidence for advocacy and influence change.