The Forum for Women and Development ( no, Forum for Kvinner og Utviklingsspørsmål), often known as FOKUS Kvinner, is a Norwegian

non-governmental organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...

aimed at spreading information on women-centered

development Development or developing may refer to: Arts *Development hell, when a project is stuck in development *Filmmaking, development phase, including finance and budgeting *Development (music), the process thematic material is reshaped *Photographi ...

cooperation and to be a cooperation forum for the Norwegian women's organizations in regard to their development activities in the

Global South The concept of Global North and Global South (or North–South divide in a global context) is used to describe a grouping of countries along socio-economic and political characteristics. The Global South is a term often used to identify region ...

History and work

The Forum for Women and Development has its roots in the 1989 national

telethon A telethon (a portmanteau of "television" and "marathon") is a televised fundraising event that lasts many hours or even days, the purpose of which is to raise money for a charitable, political or other purportedly worthy cause. Most telethons f ...

which supported "women in the third world," and which had been initiated by women's organizations, especially the

Norwegian Association for Women's Rights The Norwegian Association for Women's Rights ( no, italic=no, Norsk Kvinnesaksforening; NKF) is Norway's oldest and preeminent women's and girls' rights organization and works "to promote gender equality and all women's and girls' human rights thr ...

. 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 the

. 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 the Norwegian Agency for Development (NORAD) and the Ministry 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 combating

violence against women Violence against women (VAW), also known as gender-based violence and sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), are violent acts primarily or exclusively committed against women or girls, usually by men or boys. Such violence is often consi ...

. In 2014, the main women's rights organizations in Norway additionally founded the

Norwegian Women's Lobby The Norwegian Women's Lobby (NWL; no, italic=no, Norges kvinnelobby) is a feminist policy and advocacy organization in Norway, and is described as the country's "main, national, umbrella organization" for women's rights. NWL is inclusive, promot ...

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 the customary torchlight parade in Oslo in honor of that year's

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Chemi ...

laureates,

Denis Mukwege Denis Mukwege (; born 1 March 1955) is a Congolese gynecologist and Pentecostal pastor. He founded and works in Panzi Hospital in Bukavu, where he specializes in the treatment of women who have been raped by armed rebels. In 2018, Mukwege and Ir ...

and

Nadia Murad Nadia Murad Basee Taha (; ar, نادية مراد باسي طه; born 10 March 1993) is an Iraqi Yazidis, Yazidi Human rights activists, human rights activist who lives in Germany. In 2014, she was kidnapped from her hometown Kocho, Iraq, Koch ...

, who were awarded the prize for their work to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war.

Presidents

*Olaug Ubøe 1995–? *Ingrid Wisløff Jæger ca. 2005 *Gerd Louise Molvig 2006–2010 *

Ågot Valle Ågot Jorunn Valle (born 26 May 1945 in Levanger) is a Norwegian politician for the Socialist Left Party (SV). She was elected to the Norwegian Parliament from Hordaland in 1997. She worked as a physiotherapist and a county council member in Hor ...

2010–2012 *Rina Mariann Hansen 2012–2014 *

Guro Fjellanger Guro Fjellanger (26 January 1964 – 16 April 2019) was a Norwegian politician for the Liberal Party. She served as Minister of the Environment in the first cabinet Bondevik from 1997 to 2000. She was a private consultant and a board member of s ...

2014–2016 *Elin Ranum 2016–2017 * Sylvi Graham 2017–

References

{{reflist Women's organisations based in Norway

History and work

Presidents

See also

References