Our Collective Practice

✨Guided by a vision of a world that supports girls’ dreams, power, and resistance, we are thrilled to officially announce Our Collective Practice✨ We are a feminist hub for learning, experimentation, and collaboration. Our Collective Practice was seeded in 2020, building on decades of direct work and organising with girls and young people, movement activism, and philanthropic advocacy. We work in partnership with movements, sectors and culture change makers to build narrative, knowledge and collective power – with and for girls. 💬 Why is Our Collective Practice so important “Our Collective Practice is a necessary nexus for the girls' rights movement that while successful in many ways is still rooting itself. There is so much well-intentioned work happening in support of girls and young women. And yet, girls deserve more than just our good intentions. They deserve us to be well-coordinated. They deserve rigour and precision in our interventions and programming. They deserve the best of what we know. This is the promise of Our Collective Practice — a gathering place for all those working with and on behalf of girls' power.” - Dr.Ramatu Bangura, Founding Director, Children's Rights Innovation Fund (CRIF) “The practitioners behind Our Collective Practice are some of the most creative forces reshaping philanthropy to be more visionary and accessible to girls. They bring a deep understanding of philanthropy and center all of the complexity and nuances that encompasses girlhood to transform how we understand and resource girls. Our Collective Practice seeds connections, opens doors, builds bridges, and fills in the archive so that young feminists can grow their activism and be in the conversations where decisions are made about their lives. It is a bold space for transformation, experimentation, and creativity to build a more just future for all of us.” Divya Sooryakumar, Former Director of Grantmaking, MADRE “The girls' field is at a crossroad. It is critical that we move girls' activism from the margins to the centre ground in any conversations about gender justice and human rights. We can only do that when we come together, answer critical questions as a field, and produce the evidence we all need to tell the indisputable truth of girls’ power. Our Collective Practice will do all of this and more. As critical infrastructure for the girls rights field, we could not be more thrilled to partner.” - Rosa Bransky, Co-founder & Co-CEO, Purposeful 💜🌍Learn more about us, our approach, partners, and initiatives: https://lnkd.in/gZvu7YUZ 🔮 Deeply grateful to Shreya Gupta for her guidance, care, and brilliance in developing our visual identity and website.

✨Dreaming as a Radical Act of Resistance✨ I recently had the privilege of facilitating a 'Dreaming and Worldbuilding' workshop with Dalit girls, in collaboration with Our Collective Practice, a feminist hub grounded in decades of work with girls, young people, movement activism, and philanthropic advocacy. The workshop was cathartic, powerful, and deeply transformative. Amidst the intersecting global polycrises - deepening inequality, dehumanization, and dispossession, the need to reject violent structures was clear. In the process of imagining a better world, these girls have shown that they possess the insight and vision necessary to be agents of change. Their dreams may feel distant in the face of current realities, but their ability to articulate a world of fairness, kindness, and freedom is the first step toward making that world possible. As facilitators and advocates, it is our responsibility to nurture these dreams and support these girls as they work to transform their communities. As Arundhati Roy reminds us: “Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing.” I am grateful to have shared this space with these vibrant and resilient Dalit girls, and to work alongside the inspiring Jody Myrum, Laura Vergara, and Kruthika N. S. Together, we continue to build, dream, and transform. #Worldbuilding #DreamingAsResistance #FeministActivism #SocialJustice #DalitGirls #OurCollectivePractice #TransformativeChange

Violence has been normalized against people and land —a process of naturalization intended to embed it within narratives, policies, and systems. We witness this today, as wars and crises driven by violent systems are deemed acceptable or inevitable. Yet, this could not be further from the truth. From Palestine to Lebanon, Sudan to Congo, Sri Lanka to Bangladesh, Nicaragua, and beyond, girls, women, and queer folks across the Global Majority (Global South), who face state and gender-based violence, expose the reality of a system designed to create and propagate violence—seeking to divide and erase people in order to conquer land. ✴️ Join us for Finding the Fighter: Political Voice as Resistance for Girls & Women! This event held during the Sexual Violence Research Initiative (SVRI) Forum 2024 will explore how stories—and the narratives they create—serve as critical data to inform and transform policies and programs. Anchored around two recent releases 📚 Stories of Girls Resistance, the largest oral history collection on girls' resistance, and The Garret (on narrative captivity), this event will showcase how research shaped into compelling nonfiction becomes a powerful tool for shifting dominant narratives and mobilizing movements. 🎤✨ Featuring performances, readings, and presentations by D'Lo, Zukiswa Wanner, Nimmi Gowrinathan, PhD, and more! 📅 Thursday, October 24 · 7 - 9 PM SAST 📍 Cape Town Convention Centre 🎟️ Register here: https://lnkd.in/expQseYe Hosted by Beyond Identity at The Politics of Sexual Violence Initiative at CCNY and Our Collective Practice✨ Space is limited, make sure to register to secure your spot!

Reclaiming our right to dream and reimagine the world is a deeply political act -- a fundamental step toward creating worlds where everyone belongs and feels safe. In the current moment where there are multiple genocides, oppression and crisis which have been normalised on people and land -- we reject this notion. We know the world doesn't have to be this way. From Palestine and Lebanon, to Sudan and Congo, to Nicaragua and beyond, girls and young feminists have always reminded us of this truth: We have the power to dream and build worlds that support and affirm our collective wellbeing. Holding space for this power, we are so excited to share our artist-in-residence Kruthika N. S.'s pop-up book exhibit, Sultana's Dream. Through her residency, we have reflected on: "What would the world look like if it was built on girls' dreams for the future?" Kruthika is creating a series of art capturing Sultana's Dream, Begum Rokeya's seminal work in feminist speculative fiction, and her pop-up book version is the first of its kind for this story. Through this exhibit, she hopes to evoke the joy of childhood dreams, visions of possible worlds, and a reconnection with each little girl inside us. The exhibit was showcased at the Blue Gallery NYC, on 25 September 2024. In a truly dreamlike space generously shared by The Noor Network, Just Futures Collaborative, and Urgent Action Fund for Feminist Activism, her artistic offering accompanied a powerful panel on "Our Bodies, Our Dissent". We are so grateful to the teams at Noor, JFC and UAF who made this possible, and to the panelists Noor Aldayeh, Mallory Knodel, Saumya Dadoo, Somaiyah Hafeez, Meena Jagannath, and Sabika Abbas for sharing the space with so much care! We hope to see her exhibit grow and travel to many more collaborative spaces where we can resist, hope, and dream together. If you would like to learn more and/or bring the exhibit to your community, let us know! hello@ourcollectivepractice.org + IG: theworkplacedoodler Sending powerful healing energy, Team OCP ✨

📢 Amplify girls and young feminists with disabilities' power and share their transformative stories! These powerful messages come from "Our Resistance: Stories of Disability Rights Activists Anthology" – a collective publication sharing the beautiful, rich, and diverse stories of nine Disability Rights activists. "I am deeply hurt by the many ways in which society has attempted to erase me, but I continue to go through healing processes, healing of the wounds that remain, and then those wounds are like war wounds that make me stronger, tougher." Estefanía Cubillos Nova, Disability Rights activist. I knew we needed to raise attention and an alarm about the violence girls and women with disabilities face. I said we need to fight. We need people to know that this is happening to us." Monica Yeanie Ghaliwa, Disability Rights activist. "I have a dream that one day we will all have access to opportunities regardless of disability, regardless of ethnicity, race, religion, sexual orientation, regardless of anything. Inequalities are the source of every struggle." Anisie Byukusenge, Disability Rights activist from Rwanda. For too long, the stories of girls with disabilities have been flattening their experiences and erasing their full humanity. This collective publication is flipping the script, sharing how these powerful girls and young feminists are reshaping the world and creating a future rooted in Disability Justice, where their full humanity and experiences are honored. ✨ Dive into this powerful publication: https://lnkd.in/e59V-fSU This feminist narrative project was co-led by Purposeful and Our Collective Practice, in partnership with feminist artists and narrative practitioners from around the world 🌍✨

🌟For too long, the stories of girls with disabilities have been flattening their experiences and erasing their full humanity. "Our Resistance: Stories of Disability Rights Activists Anthology" " – a collective publication sharing the beautiful and rich stories of nine Disability Rights activists, is flipping the script. ✨ Dive into this powerful publication to explore how powerful girls and young feminists are reshaping the world and creating a future rooted in Disability Justice, where their full humanity and experiences are honored. 📢 https://lnkd.in/e59V-fSU Some of the powerful messages quoted here: "Having a disability is not the limitation... the limitation is the system that creates them. I wanted to learn, enjoy, wonder. I knew I was different, I broke stereotypes." Indira Azucena Vargas, Disability Rights activist 📝 "The truth is that it is so important to be able to share our own experiences, our struggles, and to recognise our interconnection with each other. To know we are not alone – the system may want us to think that, but can't let it crush us." Mariana Veliz Matijasevi, Disability Rights activist 📝 "Liberation to me looks like independence. Not having to beg, or to convince somebody of my worthiness or anything like that. Just being able to wake up in the morning and be independent. Do what I've been created to be: Everything." Crystal Asige, Disability Rights activist 📝

These powerful messages come from "Our Resistance: Stories of Disability Rights Activists Anthology" – a collective publication sharing the beautiful, rich, and diverse stories of nine Disability Rights activists. "People who don't know me see me and want to help me to do things, then they ask me like this: 'Do you need help, do you? Or how do I help you?' And I've found that I don't need help so much as time, time to be. Time." Nur Matta, Disability Rights activist. "We hierarchise the differences to see who can do more than the other. And those who can't, we minimise them, we exclude them. We don't see that these differences are complementarity. That is structural violence." Elizabeth Patricia Pérez, Disability Rights activist. "I have learnt that there is ability in disability. I have learnt that women have many rights. Our mentor taught us that disabled people have rights, that we should be bold to demand our rights because we deserve to be respected in our community." Aminata, Disability Rights activist. For too long, the stories of girls with disabilities have been flattening their experiences and erasing their full humanity. This collective publication is flipping the script, sharing how these powerful girls and young feminists are reshaping the world and creating a future rooted in Disability Justice, where their full humanity and experiences are honored. ✨ Dive into this powerful publication: https://lnkd.in/e59V-fSU 📢 Amplify and support girls' power and share their transformative stories! This feminist narrative project was co-led by Purposeful and Our Collective Practice, in partnership with feminist artists and narrative practitioners from around the world 🌍✨

"I have a dream that one day we will all have access to opportunities regardless of disability, regardless of ethnicity, race, religion, sexual orientation, regardless of anything. Inequalities are the source of every struggle." Anisie Byukusenge, Disability Rights activist from Rwanda. ✨ This powerful message comes from "Our Resistance: Stories of Disability Rights Activists Anthology" - a collective publication sharing the beautiful, rich, and diverse stories of nine Disability Rights activists. For too long, the stories of girls with disabilities have been flattening their experiences and erasing their full humanity. This collective publication is flipping the script, sharing how these powerful girls and young feminists are reshaping the world and creating a future rooted in Disability Justice, where their full humanity and experiences are honored. Dive into this powerful publication: https://lnkd.in/e59V-fSU 📢 Amplify and support girls' power and share their transformative stories! This feminist narrative project was co-led by Purposeful and Our Collective Practice, in partnership with feminist artists and narrative practitioners from around the world🌍✨

✨ Our Resistance: Stories of Disability Rights Activists Anthology, shares the beautiful, rich, and diverse stories of nine Disability Rights activists— Anisie Byukusenge, Aminata, Senator Crystal Asige, Elizabeth Patricia Pérez, Estefanía Cubillos Nova, Indira Azucena Vargas, Mariana Veliz Matijasevi, Nur Matta, and Monica Yeanie Ghaliwa. For too long, the stories of girls with disabilities have been told through a lens of pity or tokenization—flattening their experiences and erasing their full humanity. This collective publication is flipping the script, sharing how these powerful girls and young feminists are reshaping the world and creating a future rooted in Disability Justice, where their full humanity and experiences are honored. Dive into this powerful publication: https://lnkd.in/e59V-fSU This feminist narrative project was co-led by Purposeful and Our Collective Practice, in partnership with feminist artists and narrative practitioners from around the world🌍✨ 📢 Amplify and support girls' power and share their transformative stories

What would the world look like, feel like, sound like if it supported the dreams, power, and resistance of girls and young feminists? Our Collective Practice is helping us explore this question, as they introduce their Narrative Revolution fellows with are exploring and imagining this world. Join us in celebrating their powerful art which is shifting and transforming the world.   🖊️Carolina Vozian, REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA and ROMANIA 🖊️Gianna Mastrolinardo, ARGENTINA 🎨Lina Bani Odeh, PALESTINE 🎨 Mafoya, BENIN 🎨Nu Misra, INDIA 🖊️Shonel Reanah Lunkuse, Uganda 🎙️Tere TJ Marcial, MEXICO 🎨Umadevi Ketha, India 🎙️Victoria Equihua, Mexico Learn more about their transformative work: https://lnkd.in/gRWj4AVV