In 2021, XOESE significantly increased its support for Francophone movements. Our total grantmaking budget increased by 136% over the previous year’s budget, allowing us to increase the quantity and quality of our grants as well as the geographic scope of our support. We supported 40 projects from 29 women’s and young women’s organizations, groups, and networks in 15 French-speaking countries (Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Haiti, New Caledonia, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Senegal, and Togo). The total amount of grants allocated in 2021 is XOF 103,109,044 or EUR 157,189 or CAD 237,032 or USD 206,218.
In 2021, XOESE also organized several activities to strengthen and celebrate the Francophone movement. On the occasion of the Generation Equality Forum, XOESE, in collaboration with the Congolese Women’s Fund, launched the JE M’ENGAGE! campaign through which 12 national advocacy coalitions in Francophone Africa and Haiti were created. These coalitions have succeeded in obtaining more than 127 commitments from local actors in order to advance women’s rights and the objectives of the Generation Equality Forum.
Also in 2021, XOESE organized its first Francophone Forum which brought together 1503 activists and supporters of the Francophone movement from November 23-26, 2021.
Through the Forum, XOESE created a space for activists and supporters of the movement to meet, share, strategize, and network. The Forum was successful in encouraging more collaboration and collective action within the Francophone movement.
The Francophone Forum was also a time of celebration. XOESE honored the three winners of its second Francophone Gender Equality Award – Pitalunani HESSI, Gratias KIBANJA and Amélie AKINSHOLA – three extraordinary activists who have dedicated their lives to the struggle for women’s rights.
During the year of 2021, we also influenced the donor community to improve the quantity and quality of funding for women’s movements. We continued our advocacy work targeting the French government and its Fonds de Soutien aux Organisations Féministes (FSOF), a 120 million euro fund for feminist civil society organizations in countries that are partners in France’s development and international solidarity policy. XOESE and its Open Letter partners have contributed to the opening of the space for dialogue between French institutions, French civil society and Southern organizations. This allowed us to comment on the FSOF’s strategic framework and accountability framework.
None of this work would have been possible without the dedication of our staff and the financial and technical support of our partners. XOESE would like to acknowledge the key contributors who have been integral to the success and level of impact of the Fund: Foundation for a Just Society, Mama Cash, Equality Fund, Prospera, the International Women’s Fund, Fenomenal Funds, Mize Family Foundation, and the Agence Française de Développement.
