The International Indigenous Women’s Forum (IIWF) or FIMI (Foro Internacional de Mujeres Indigenas) in strong support of empowering indigenous women around the world has announced its first call for proposals under the Indigenous Women’s Fund. The areas prioritized under this grant are educational empowerment, economic empowerment, political participation and institutional strengthening.
In fact, the Indigenous Women’s Fund was born out of the Beijing Declaration of Indigenous Women to provide necessary resources for indigenous women in different regions around the world. “Led by and for Indigenous women, the Indigenous Women’s Fund aims to provide Indigenous women with resources in a way that increases their sense of dignity and self-esteem and that respects their visions, priorities, and perspectives that are compatible with the self-determination of their peoples. The Fund is committed to the concept of Intercultural Philanthropy, which puts forth a vision of respect for cultural diversity where Indigenous women can fully and effectively participate at all levels and spheres, and where they can exert leadership in the realization of the individual and collective human rights of all Indigenous Peoples. Intercultural Philanthropy builds from the knowledge that Indigenous Peoples have their own learning processes, systems of knowledge and ways to integrate new information, values, and interpretations and transfer them to new generations.”
Organizations that are promoting women’s rights among indigenous communities in “7 geo-cultural regions defined by the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues: Africa, Arctic, Asia, Eastern Europe/Central Asia/the Caucasus, Latin America/Caribbean, North America, and the Pacific” can apply for this funding opportunity. The guidelines also mention that indigenous women’s organizations should apply for the grant support. Single organizations or a coalition of groups can also apply for the Fund. An indigenous community or an organization which is not legally registered can apply through another NGO, providing clear information about the relationship.
There is an application form available at the IIWF website that can be downloaded, completed and submitted with other necessary documents. Since this is the first call for proposals from the Forum, the grant limit has been fixed at US $5,000. The deadline to submit the proposals is 15 January 2010. For more information, visit this link.
For some general tips on how to develop the proposal for projects benefiting indigenous communities, click here.
