Pacific Feminist Fund secures $3 million from Australia and NZ

Diverse women’s groups and organisations in the Pacific feminist and women’s movements will now be able to access funding through the newly established Pacific Feminist Fund.

The Pacific Feminist Fund which was officially launched in May this year, will assist 22 Pacific island countries and territories and will focus on grant-making, ‘accompaniment’ or capacity building, lobbying and advocacy, and investment with a gender lens.

New Zealand High Commissioner to Fiji, Charlotte Darlow and Acting High Commissioner to Fiji of Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Sophie Temby, officially signed partnership agreements with the Pacific Feminist Fund at the New Zealand High Commission Official Residence today.

The partnership with Australia and New Zealand is valued at approximately $3 million of which the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is contributing AU$1.171 million and the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade is contributing NZ$1 million to the Pacific Feminist Fund over the next three years.

Pacific Feminist Fund Co-Lead - Strategic Planning and Resource Mobilisation, Michelle Reddy says the Pacific Feminist Fund is flexible enough to meet the needs on the ground for Pacific women’s organisations and is considerate of their lived realities.

She says the presence of women’s funds in the Pacific is something that each of us should be proud of and celebrate, and it’s groundbreaking.

Australian Ambassador for Gender Equality, Stephanie Copus Campbell, is pleased that Australia is partnering with the Pacific Feminist Fund and the contribution this partnership is making towards Australia’s Amplify-Invest-Reach and Pacific Women Lead investments.

She says Australia values its partnership with the Pacific Feminist Fund, which is playing an important role in accelerating progress towards gender equality by increasing the level of investment in women’s organisations, including in remote and marginalised communities across the Pacific region.

The Aotearoa New Zealand Ambassador for Gender Equality (Pacific)/ Tuiā Tangata Louisa Wall also noted that social inclusion is a key principle that underpins Aotearoa New Zealand’s approach to development.

She says they are excited to be partnering with the Pacific Feminist Fund to support grassroots women’s organisations, which can play a crucial role in achieving transformative change at the local level for women and girls in all their diversity.

Wall says as a Pacific women-led regional movement, this has a unique potential to advance gender equality, human rights and resilience in the Pacific.

The Pacific Feminist Fund is registered as a Charitable Trust Board in New Zealand and will also register in Samoa later this year.