The Feminist Edge programme is ready for the sixth edition
8 October 2024
August 10th 2024 marked the end of the fifth edition of the Feminist Edge, a 6 months professional development programme for gender trainers offered by the KIT Institute and the UN Women Training Centre. Since 2017, a number of highly committed and passionate professionals from across the globe come together every year, both virtually and in person, to sharpen their training skills and deepen the conceptual understanding underpinning training for gender equality.
The programme has the ambition to reposition the training for gender equality as feminist knowledge transfer and creation within a broader political feminist process of transformation. In a true feminist spirit, this is a space where knowledge and understanding circulates from the facilitators to the partcipants to the guest lecturers and back, in a process of constant co-creation, learning and unlearning, that cut across conceptual and theoretical understanding, training skills and methods, and feminist practices.
Applications are now open for the next cohort starting in February 2025 untill the 11th of November. The programme is delivered through blended learning, and include two modules of virtual classes, assignments and mentorship, and the third module (1 week) face-to-face at KIT Institute in Amsterdam. Next year edition will start on February 10th 2025 and run until August 8th 2025. More information about the programme can be found here: https://www.kit.nl/institute/programme/feminist-edge/, or in the course brochure here: https://www.kit.nl/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/KIT_Feminist-Brochure.pdf
Testimonial
The Feminist Edge alumni network now comprises a cadre of 127 passionate and active feminists, living ambassadors of a revolutionary way to do training for gender equality that centres on the principles of participatory learning; validation of personal experience; encouragement of social justice, activism and accountability; and development of critical thinking and open-mindedness. Hear from some participants about their experience at Feminist Edge here:
"The six-month gender training program provided by Feminist Edge is unparalleled! In this period, Feminist Edge invited me to reflect on how I previously approached gender trainings, rethink my approach going forward and ultimately view gender trainings as a social transformation tool, as opposed to a technical process where information is disseminated. The course itself is the typification of feminist pedagogy principles that are now deeply embedded in my consciousness. I cannot imagine conducting a gender training outside of these principles. I am deeply appreciative, and now a strong advocate of the fact that gender trainings should go beyond the enhancement of knowledge; and should belabour to invite participants into spaces of self- reflection with a hope of triggering change in attitudes, critical thinking, innovation and open mindedness while embracing resistances. The goal of gender trainings should not be to persuade, but rather to invite participants to be sympathetic and reflect on the training content beyond the life of the training. Participants should be invited to reflect on their biases and should be given an opportunity to course correct during a training if they so wish. The possibilities of gender trainings that are infused with feminist pedagogical principles and grounded in feminist epistemology are infinite. Indeed, Feminist Edge has provided a robust foundation and plenty of food for thought for my continuing professional development. I remain optimistic about the outcomes of future gender trainings. I am now inviting my colleagues to consider taking on this learning adventure!"
