With the Generation Equality Forums Mexico and Paris fast approaching, the Civil Society Advisory Group to the Core Group (CSAG) wanted to ensure you had the latest information about the Generation Equality Action Coalitions and how your organizations can engage with them. Below you will find information about the Action Coalitions and what you can do to help shape them.

What are Action Coalitions?
Action Coalitions will be global, innovative, multi-stakeholder partnerships that will mobilize governments, civil society, international organizations, and the private sector to:
● catalyze collective action,
● spark global and local conversations among generations,
● drive increased public and private investment, and
● deliver concrete, game-changing results across generations for girls and women.They will be launched at the Forum in Paris, with the goal of  kickstarting an effort to achieve transformative change over a five-year period in the following six areas:
1. Gender-Based Violence
2. Economic justice and rights
3. Bodily autonomy and sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR)
4. Feminist action for climate justice
5. Technology and innovation for Gender Equality
6. Feminist movements and leadership
The Action Coalitions will have a cross-cutting focus on adolescent girls and young women and women, peace and security.
Who will Lead the Action Coalitions
UN-Women recently opened the application process to lead the Generation Equality Action Coalitions. The call for applications is available in English, Spanish, and French.
The leaders of each Action Coalition will help shape blueprints that outline:
● Transformative goals for each Action Coalition,
● A set of key actions that governments, civil society and other stakeholders can work together to implement, and
● means for tracking progress and ensuring accountability.
The blueprints will be developed through broad consultation with feminist and women’s rights organizations and advocates, youth-led organizations, and other actors. Feminist leaders of these action coalitions, esepcially those most affected by the issues, will
be critical to ensure their vibrancy, a high level of ambition, and their overall success.

What can you do?
1. Apply! Submit a one-page letter of intent to actioncoalitions@unwomen.org by 21 February. Your organization’s letter of intent can be submitted in English, Spanish, or French, and should highlight the ways in which you meet the criteria outlined in the announcement.In particular, you should outline:
● How your organization works on the theme in question
● One concrete commitment your organization can make to advance women’s and girls’ rights in that area. Your organization’s action could be work on a campaign or strategy to change a law or policy, or pushing for implementation of an existing law or policy; work to support feminist movement building; training of key stakeholders; or other work that will, if successful, lead to a change in the lives of women, girls, and gender nonbinary people.
● What your organization will do to engage others to join action coalitions or work towards achieving change. No organization is too small, or too big, to apply. Frontline advocates, youth-led organizations, and networks and grassroots organizations should be included in the leadership of all action coalitions to ensure that they are responsive and accountable to feminist and women’s movements and, ultimately, women girls and gender nonbinary people.
2. Encourage other feminist groups, especially young feminists and grassroots organizations, to apply to be leaders.
3. If your government is a strong leader on an issue, reach out to your Ministry of Foreign Affairs and your Gender Ministry to encourage them to submit their letter of intent. We need strong, progressive governments leading alongside civil society.
4. If you know a company or philanthropic organization that would be a strong leader, share with them information about the Action Coalitions and encourage them to apply, too.
The CSAG stresses the importance and encourages all organisations, networks,movements or groups to send in letters of intent and encourages especially those, who are often left out of leadership and decisions making spaces.Becoming a leader of an Action Coalition will allow you to be part of and shape a leadership model that is “transformative, adaptive, and inclusive.” We as feminist civil society will have power and influence in designing the outcome and we want to invite you to design it together. We need your input, expertise, and vision.

Other ways to stay engaged in the Generation Equality Forum:
1. If you are a young feminist, join the Mighty Network. If you are not a young feminist, share this opportunity with the young feminists in your life.
2. Join the regular calls of the Advisory Working Group by sending an email to beijing25@ngocsw.org.
3. Follow UN-Women for updates and check out #GenerationEquality.
4. Share information about the GEF on social media. Check out these resources:
a. Generation Equality Forum Trello Board
b. UN-Women Action Packs