In the wake of COVID-19, JASS has made some exciting organizational pivots. Embedded in our DNA is agility and responsiveness to changing contexts and crises. We are proud at how we have been able to move quickly and leverage our staff who are embedded in the movements we support to rethink our work in response to this moment. These shifts are ensuring that we help our allies and constituencies meet immediate practical needs while simultaneously finding creative ways to strengthen and support strategic organizing based on these needs in a rapidly shifting context.
Activating the JASS Mobilization Fund
This Fund provides small but immediate funds (within 24 hours) to our allies and partners to cover essentials and organize immediate responses to sustain their communities and organizations. This is critical because practical needs have become strategic needs that fuel both survival and organizing. If you do not have food or water – your leadership, focus and organizing capacity is diminished. This fund enables community-based women leaders and their organizations and formations to respond to unforeseen events, and strategic opportunities while strengthening collective leadership and safety.
Transforming our Beijing+25 advocacy plan
We’re rolling out a year-long dialogue series, “Women Transforming a World in Crisis” which aims to engage people in politically rich conversation about the meaning of our moment and reimagining movement strategies for transformative change in the most difficult of circumstances to feed our organizing agendas/strategies moving forward. To make these dialogues inclusive, the series will include webinars, social media engagements; audio segments including What’s App and bulk sms messaging and podcasts. Catch up on reflections from our first dialogue in April and stay tuned for details on next one on May 21, 2020.
Developing women-led community radio programs
We see community radio as providing the potential for broader outreach to our rural and community-based constituencies. Building on the pilot of a radio series in Honduras (Tercas con las Esparanza/Stubborn with Hope) and the work to build counter narratives in a time of extreme political repression, we are excited to adapt this in Malawi as part of the Our Bodies, Our Lives Campaign and in Indonesia to support information provision, dialogue, organizing and connection.
At this time, we continue to care for our organization and community of practice to ensure we are a healthy, strong, sustainable, vibrant, working to make change happen and supporting partners, allies, movements, and organizations in doing this.
