Girls Fund Highlights

The 12th Annual National Indigenous Women Conference (ANWIC 2026) brought together indigenous women, grassroots leaders, young women, human rights defenders, government representatives and partners to celebrate the resilience, knowledge and leadership of indigenous women.

Through storytelling, field visits and accountability conversations, the gathering highlighted women-led solutions addressing challenges such as gender-based violence, child marriage, FGM, land rights and access to education and livelihoods. It also demonstrated the importance of flexible, unrestricted funding that responds to the realities of indigenous communities.

At the heart of the conference was a clear message: indigenous women must be trusted not only as participants, but as leaders, decision-makers, land custodians, community defenders and peacebuilders shaping the future of their communities.

Read More →

Young climate justice champions, partners and stakeholders gathered in July 2026 for the launch of the fourth edition of the Young Environmentalist Innovation Challenge (YEIC), an initiative of the Kenya Community Development Foundation.

Under the theme “Co-Designing for a Cool Planet,” the launch celebrated Round 3 awardees while opening a new round of support for youth-led environmental innovation. Since 2023, the challenge has backed young innovators working across renewable energy, waste management, clean technology, smart agriculture, environmental monitoring and the circular economy.

The gathering also created space for broader conversations about climate financing, green enterprise and expanding access to resources for young people and feminist-led climate justice initiatives. It highlighted the importance of investing in ideas that are already emerging from communities and giving young innovators the resources to test, strengthen and scale their solutions.

Read More →

At the Tanzania Feminist Conversation Space in Dar es Salaam, girls and young feminists reflected on what it means to organise, lead and remain visible in environments where activism carries real personal and political risk.

The conversations centred on trust, flexible resourcing, safety, care, mentorship and the need for funding models that reflect the realities of young feminist organising. Participants called for support that values their time, skills and leadership, while recognising that sustainable activism also requires mental health support, crisis preparedness, stronger community systems and long-term investment.

One message captured the spirit of the gathering: “Msichana mwenye ndoto, ni moto!” A girl with a dream is fire. The conversation was a powerful reminder that when girls and young feminists are trusted, supported and resourced to lead, their ideas can grow into movements that challenge norms and shape lasting change.

Read More →

This year, more than 130 girls, grassroots leaders, practitioners and development partners gathered in Nairobi for the 10th Girls First Summit, a milestone gathering focused on advancing girls’ rights, strengthening girl-centred programmes and building meaningful partnerships.

The summit explored sustainable resource mobilisation, feminist mentorship, girls’ leadership and locally led approaches to change. A central message emerged throughout the gathering: lasting change happens when girls are trusted, resourced and supported as leaders and decision-makers in shaping the solutions that affect their lives.
Read More →

The inaugural East African Girls and Young Feminist Fund conversation space in Nairobi brought girls and young feminists together for a timely exchange on organizing, feminist funding, and the work of building just futures. The conversation affirmed that young feminist leaders are already shaping change across East Africa, while also naming the urgent need for responsive funding, mentorship, stronger access to information, and ecosystems built on trust. More than a gathering, the space offered a clear reminder that feminist futures will be strengthened when institutions move beyond symbolic support and invest more deeply in the leadership that is already at work.

Read more:

Women-led initiatives have long been doing the work of building movements, responding to community realities, and creating pathways for change. The deeper challenge lies in how institutions choose to support that work for long-term sustainability. This reflection, drawn from the conversation on Advancing Women’s Leadership Through Shared Opportunity under the 2026 IWD Give to Gain theme, explores what it means to move beyond symbolic support toward trust-based, power-shifting, and intentional resourcing that allows women-led work to thrive with dignity, strength, and staying power.

Read more.