Our Legacies: Youth, Aging and the Cycle of Life
with Fanta Toure, Purity Kagwiria, Kadiatu Konate, Maman Awa Diop
A provocative and deep intergenerational conversation about the importance of memory, legacy, ancestors, and learnings for feminist futures.
In this conversation we acknowledge the gift of legacy. Knowing we have the luxury to dream and we must be intentional about what we will leave behind for those that would bare the flag after us. We honor our foremothers and hold our sisters who struggle in this moment.
How do we include all the parts of who we are in our movements? How do we make spaces to deepen our political analysis and build community where we also get to feel safe, be joyous and co-create beauty? How might we work through generational difference, age hierarchies and move into mutual learning? Remembering we are always undegoing our own evolution and construction as feminist. What is the role of motherhood and auntie-hood in our collective responsibility towards sustaining and growing our movements?
Graphic recording from Feminist Dream Space Retreat in Bangkok (below)
Resources:
An Intergenerational Manifestx from the With and For Girls Awards Week, March 2020 - From Purposeful
Through a series of conversations and convergences with a group of extraordinary girl activists from across the world — as part of the With and For Girls Collective annual awards week — we have documented what it looks like to organise, collectivise, produce knowledge, learn and lead in communities that are intersectional and intergenerational. These conversations have crystallised into an intergenerational manifestx; a set of promises, intentions, commitments and asks — to and of each other — across generations and across borders, co-created by 55 girls, young women and older feminist activists from 25+ countries in 5 official languages.
Critical aunty studies: an auntroduction
this introduction demonstrates how aunties become abundant figures to think kinship, desire, aesthetics, and politics. Examining academic and arts-based discussions of aunties, the special-issue editor connects labor associated with aunties to aesthetics they are known for. In addition to being embodied, fleshy, working figures, aunties offer methodological optics for critical study and strategies for navigating academic institutions.
In this interview, Kadiatou talks about her teenage years, her commitment to girls' rights, the creation of the Club des Jeunes Filles Leaders de Guinée (Young Girls Leaders Club of Guinea), and her first acts of resistance. She also explains the situation of girls in Guinea, the impact of her actions on the community and on herself, the challenges she faces, and her dreams for girls
“You do not need to through stones, we are always feminist that are undergoing our evolution and construction. We need to create sisterhood, understand each other and engage in the intergenerational dialogue”
“How do we do this knowledge / experience sharing when we are always on survival mode? How do we sustain the intentionality to do it?”