3.10 Funding a Feminist Future

Rita Thapa has over 35 years of experience as a feminist educator and a community activist in Nepal and internationally.  She is the founder of Tewa, the innovative philanthropic Nepal women's fund, and Nagarik Aawaz, a NGO engaged in conflict transformation and peace-building in Nepal. She's also the former Chair of the Executive Board of the Global Fund for Women and former Vice Chair of the Executive Board of the Urgent Action Fund. She currently serves as Chair of the Executive Board of the Global Fund for Community Foundations. Rita was named an Ashoka Fellow in 1998 and was included in the 1000 Women for Peace nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005.  She speaks to us about:overcoming aid dependency in Nepalan alternative model of fundraising and grantmakingdismantling hierarchies in work cultures fostering community ownershipchallenging patriarchy, caste and class divisionspolitics of developmentregional feminist solidarity - and much more!She joins us from Kathmandu, Nepal. 

Om Podcasten

Long-form, personal conversations with international development and humanitarian aid practitioners, thinkers, activists, academics and more. Conversations center on lived experiences and reflections on ethical issues, power dynamics, systemic challenges and lessons learnt. Common themes: redistributing power, working with diverse stakeholders, negotiating partnerships, measuring impact, learning from mistakes, doing no harm, building trust, ensuring accountability, rejecting saviour complexes, racism, sexism and other forms of discrimination, and much more.