ABOUT | Girlfesto

we are uncompromising.

we will end gender-based violence.

a manifesto

made by girls, for girls.

Manifestos are protest texts that expose social failures and demand change for more just communities. The term "Girlfesto" was coined at the 2018 Circles Within Circles conference, and acts as a tool of change. Indigenous and non-Indigenous girls and young women from around the world reflected on the issue of gender-based violence in the lives of Indigenous women and girls.

It reflects the desired affective and behavioural practices to end gender-based violence and puts girls and young women central in this process. This message is addressed to policymakers, organizations, community members, and other girls.

The Cirlces Within Circles conference, in addition to the Girlfesto, are under McGill's Participatory Cultures Lab (PCL). The PCL is organized around the study and use of visual and other participatory approaches to research and social action, and involves the work of collaborators and research students engaged in the study of participatory research.

This virtual exhibition of the Girlfesto was created by Sabrina Gill, a McGill Global Health Scholar and an intern under the Participatory Cultures Lab.

For updates from the PCL, follow us on social media!

The Girlfesto

a new circle within the circle

The Girlfesto comes out of Circles Within Circles: Transnational Perspectives on Youth-led Approaches to Addressing Gender-Based Violence, a gathering held at Montebello, Canada, from 8 – 11 July 2018.

The aim of this intergenerational, international gathering was for Indigenous and non-Indigenous girls and young women to share knowledge and practices to address gender-based violence using participatory visual and arts-based approaches.

many thanks

The Girlfesto is supported by the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation, the Participatory Cultures Lab, Networks for Change and Well-being (through SSHRC and IDRC support), More Than Words, and McGill University.

The 2018 Circles Within Circles conference brought together Indigenous girls and young women from across Canada and South Africa, along with young women from Sweden, and researchers and activists from Canada, South Africa, Russia, Kenya, and the United States.

Now two years later, the spirit of the Girlfesto is alive and growing as part of the activities of the Participatory Cultures Lab.