| Formation | 14 October 1995; 30 years ago (1995-10-14) |
|---|---|
| Type | NGO |
President | Sylvi Graham |
Head of secretariat | Gro Lindstad |
| Website | fokuskvinner |
TheForum for Women and Development (Norwegian:Forum for Kvinner og Utviklingsspørsmål), often known asFOKUS Kvinner, is a Norwegiannon-governmental organization aimed at spreading information on women-centereddevelopment cooperation and to be a cooperation forum for the Norwegian women's organizations in regard to their development activities in theGlobal South.[1]
The Forum for Women and Development has its roots in the 1989 nationaltelethon which supported "women in the third world," and which had been initiated by women's organizations, especially theNorwegian Association for Women's Rights. In 1995 the two organizations that had been established to implement the "Women in the Third World" program were dissolved and replaced by a new permanent organization, the Forum for Women and Development.
The primary goal of the Forum for Women and Development according to its bylaws is to contribute to the improvement of women's social, economic, and political situation in theGlobal South. The forum only has other organizations as members, and does not have individual members. Member organizations are required to have at least 50 female members and aim to promote women's interests. The forum currently has around 50 women's organizations and women's committees in political parties, trade unions, and solidarity and aid organizations as members. The forum receives financial support from theNorwegian Agency for Development (NORAD) and theMinistry of Foreign Affairs (UD) through framework agreements on development and information activities.
The political leadership, the executive board, is elected by the member organizations. Since 2017,Sylvi Graham is President of the forum. The forum has a small secretariat in Oslo which supports the executive board in their work. The head of the secretariat is Gro Lindstad.
In 2005, the forum was the beneficiary of the Norwegian national television's telethon, whose funds have gone to combatingviolence against women. In 2014, the main women's rights organizations in Norway additionally founded theNorwegian Women's Lobby as an umbrella organization for the Norwegian women's movement with a broader focus than the Global South. Most of its member organizations also participate in the Forum for Women and Development, but the organizations have a different focus.
In 2018 the Forum for Women and Development and five other key NGOs organized thecustomary torchlight parade in Oslo in honor of that year'sNobel Peace Prize laureates,Denis Mukwege andNadia Murad, who were awarded the prize for their work to end the use ofsexual violence as a weapon of war.[2]