End FGM/C social change campaign: mobilising a Global movement

On 6 February 2014, International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C), the UK Government announced the appointment of a consortium of leading anti-FGM/C campaigners and development communications experts, coordinated by Options, including FORWARD, to deliver a global campaign to end FGM/C.

The campaign will support increasing momentum within Africa to end FGM/C and will work at international, regional, national and community levels across Africa to bring about a cultural transformation in attitudes towards FGM/C by:

• Mobilising a critical mass of people, leaders, organisations and networks to unite under a global movement to end FGM/C

• Promoting increased political will and funding in affected countries to tackle FGM/C

• Supporting a network of grassroots activists across Africa to support social change in communities to end FGM/C

• Strengthening and supporting national coalitions against FGM/C within 10 focal countries providing them with expertise needed to bring about social change

• Working with the diaspora in the UK to mobilise people to contribute skills and resources to support efforts to end FGM/C in their countries of origin.

Who we are

The campaign is being implemented by a consortium including:

• Leading campaigning organisations FORWARD and Equality Now

• Africa’s foremost communications and advertising agency, Ogilvy & Mather Africa

• The international advocacy agency, Advocacy International

• Options Consultancy Services, providing management and technical oversight

The team will be based in Nairobi and London, and is led by Efua Dorkenoo, OBE, former Advocacy Director and current Senior Advisor of Equality Now’s FGM programme, and former technical expert for the WHO, where she assisted the organisation in introducing FGM/C onto the agendas of the Ministries of Health of Member States. The programme will work closely with the United Nations Joint Programme against FGM/C, governments and civil society in focal countries.

What next? The campaign is currently in its design phase, with a public-facing campaign due to be launched in the second half of 2014. We encourage any individual, organisation or network who shares the vision of an end to the practice of FGM/C in a generation to join the global campaign. Email [email protected] or [email protected] for more details or to join our mailing list.

Be part of forward