 We have been busy on multiple fronts. As Memria continues to attract new users such as libraries, historical societies, and museums, we have also been developing new ways to tell stories and make people and communities more visible. At the Visibility Initiative, for example, we highlight changemakers of all genders and sexual identities, with a primary focus on women. This was an editorial choice; women’s contributions are often overlooked more frequently than men’s. By centering women’s stories, we discover new approaches to leadership that challenge common perceptions. Leadership is often imagined as an individual pursuit of a singular vision yet the women featured in this edition of Squeaky Wheel bring about change through deep integration with their communities, not by standing above them. Consider Filipino-American nurses Luisa Blue and Zenei Triunfo-Cortez. They brought their nursing skills—compassion, resilience, and patience—into union activism to push for better working conditions. Rather than pursuing personal ambition, they lead by collaborating, caring for fellow advocates, and prioritizing collective well-being. We also share the stories of three remarkable Senegalese women transforming their communities through the arts and public policy. Christiane Agboton Johnson, for example, has shown that women bring unique strengths to peace negotiations, bridging divides and conveying messages in ways that men often can’t. This edition also includes the work of a Viva Voz fellow from our Colombian program, who navigated the Pacific rivers to explore the connection between these waterways and Black communities—preserved by midwives, elder women, and healers. In these communities, women safeguard essential knowledge. These women’s stories offer new models of leadership and ways to address today’s most pressing issues. – Miguel BoteroEditor in Chief, The Visibility Initiative  Photo: RN Luisa Bluo in front of a picket line. Positively Filipino.Healing and Advocacy: How Filipino-American Nurses Transformed Healthcare Through ActivismAs Filipino-American History Month wraps up, we looked into an overlooked story: the activism of Filipino-American nurses in the U.S. We may have heard about their essential role in healthcare, but their impact goes much deeper. Leaders like Zenei Triunfo-Cortez and Luisa Blue have fought tirelessly for fair wages, better working conditions, and equal rights, challenging discrimination head-on. Their journey from patient care to union leadership shows how their compassion and resilience extend beyond the bedside and into the fight for systemic change. Their inspiring work is part of Filipino Americans’ long legacy of social justice.Read More  Oshúm and the shades of water in the COP16COP16 will take place from October 21 to November 1, 2024, in Cali, Colombia. This biodiversity summit gathered representatives from 196 countries to discuss global efforts to protect nature and stop biodiversity loss. The International Forum on Women and Biodiversity featured clips from Oshúm and the Shades of Water, a project Memria co-produced through the Viva Voz Fellowship, our program with the Ford Foundation’s Bogota office and other partners to support Colombian storytellers. For this project, fellow Lyann Cuartas and her team from the Las Jaibas Collective navigated three rivers on Colombia’s Pacific coast. There, they interviewed women and queer individuals who hold deep spiritual connections to the rivers. Their stories blend childhood memories, songs, and firsthand accounts of environmental crimes against one of the most biodiverse places on earth. This photo and audio project offers an intimate look at communities that have lived by these rivers and jungles for centuries.You can read more about the project on Global Voices WEDO will celebrate the 11th Anniversary of Women’s Entrepreneurship Day on November 15th at the United Nations Delegate Dining Room in New York City. The event will be live-streamed Among the event’s remarkable changemakers is Angeline Zimbwani Mikiri, a pioneering African publisher dedicated to making storytelling across the continent more accessible and diverse. She founded Zimbabwe’s award-winning publishing house Tariro Books, which has become known for amplifying African voices and perspectives in children’s literature, educational materials, and adult fiction. Committed to fostering a culture of reading in Africa, Mikiri has emphasized stories that reflect the unique experiences, traditions, and challenges African communities face.Join the event to hear from her and other inspiring entrepeneurs who have transformed their communities.Follow this link for more information  Read about some of the most remarkable women in SenegalStarting in September, we began translating and republishing stories from our partner, Géantes Invisibles, on The Visibility Initiative. These stories mark our origins, as the initiative grew from our alliance with Coumba Toure, Senegalese feminist activist and Géantes Invisibles founder. She started this storytelling project to honor the women of Africa and its diaspora who have transformed their communities—often silently, without much recognition from governments, media, or philanthropic organizations. We joined forces because we share a mission: to shine a light on changemakers whose impactful stories deserve more attention. These stories are rich with lessons on how leaders develop, think, and make things happen in their communities against great odds. These stories highlight well-known figures, like Germaine Acogny, the mother of modern African dance, and Madeleine Devès Senghor, a key architect of Senegal’s post-independence state. They also feature lesser-known giants like Christiane Agboton Johnson, an advocate for disarmament, who emphasizes women’s critical role in peacebuilding. These stories create a vibrant mosaic of West African women’s activism. |
Karin Ryan, the Carter Center’s senior policy adviser for human rights, said the narratives often get muddled. “The Carter Center has the ability to amplify the stories of human rights defenders, and the Carter Center has a reputation of speaking out and speaking truth to power,” Ryan said. “President Carter believes that we should be doing more and has challenged us to have a more comprehensive plan to get it done. When defenders start dying, what happens to society?”
About 50 activists, peacemakers and community leaders from 28 countries participated in the forum, which focused on “Building Solidarity toward Equality for All.” The group talked about global protection for activists, challenges faced by women fighting for human rights, and the best ways to support civil, economic, political and social rights. “Events like this are special because it makes us appreciate other agents and agencies that are doing good work around the world,” said Bashir Y. Mundi, a native of Nigeria and the director of the Development Initiative of West Africa. “This work can be under-appreciated and challenging, as evident by the stories you hear about the people who paid the ultimate sacrifice and lost their lives and freedom.”
Carter Center Statement from the 2019 Human Rights Defenders Forum:
Forum participants call on local and national governments and international organizations to:
1) Increase efforts to protect activists who are threatened and attacked. Offer activists political, moral,band physical support in times of crisis. Create robust programs to support women activists. Stop impunity for violators—hold accountable those who attack human rights and peace activists.
2) Increase meaningful long-term support for their work. Activists report that the difficult work of movements and civil society organizations is hamperedbydrastic funding cuts by previously reliable sources. In addition to issuingstrong statements about human rights abuses,governmentsshould also provide needed resources and other support. Philanthropic foundations also should increase flexible, long-term support. The Carter Center’s Human Rights Program has created a web-based platform to facilitate ongoing discussions and community building for human rights defenders and peacebuilders at forum.cartercenter.org
Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards 