📍 Grand-Popo · Benin · 8–10 July 2026 🗓️ Deadline: 12 June 2026 · 23:59 GMT — only 3 days left

RFLD currently is serving as the co-chair of the SEA-T Programme Advisory Council with the mandate to provide strategic guidance to the SEA-T programme to ensure that its direction, priorities, and resources are meaningfully aligned with the visions of Afro-feminist civil society.

This initiative is funded under the Afrofeminist Initiative for Human Rights Development in Francophone West Africa Project implemented by RFLD. The SEA-T Programme is funded by the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH

• A three-day, fully-funded convergence for thirty women human rights defenders from across francophone West Africa, taking place in Grand-Popo, Republic of Benin, from 8 to 10 July 2026.

• The numbers are simple. Three days. Three thematic axes — digital advocacy, digital and physical security, cross-border networking. Thirty defenders selected from nine priority francophone countries.

• The stakes are not simple. And the clock is ticking — only three days remain to submit an application. Deadline: Friday 12 June, 23:59 GMT.

The Panel of Selection

Our independent Panel of five West African feminists — researchers and experts in gender, gender-based violence, and West African social dynamics.

Seat 01 — Dr Blandine YABI ép. IBRAHIMA. Gender and politics specialist, author on women’s place in the Beninese revolution, women’s land access, and women’s leadership training.

Seat 02 — Dr Karen GANYE GBÉDJI. Expert in gender and social inclusion, GBV prevention, and women’s participation in decision-making.

Seat 03 — Dr Séna Antoinette GBOKLI. More than a decade of empirical research on health, gender and education; author of the 2022 GBV assessment for Benin.

Seat 04 — Dr Christiane Élise Mahoutin HODONOU. Researcher on violent extremism, domestic violence and migration, with operational experience at the WFP.

Seat 05 — Dr Christine Iyabo IKO. Specialist on women’s incarceration in southern Benin, AFD-trained in monitoring and evaluation.

Their full profiles are on the application page.

What the cohort receives

Selected defenders pay nothing. RFLD covers travel, accommodation, all meals, per diem, interpretation, travel insurance, and psychosocial accompaniment.

Who should apply

We are looking for:

• CSO leaders — presidents, executive directors, coordinators of national feminist organisations
• Field defenders — working on GBV, SRHR, land rights, vulnerable groups, indigenous peoples’ rights
• Journalists and communicators — feminist voices in press, radio, TV, or digital media
• Lawyers and paralegals — human rights litigation, survivor accompaniment
• Digital technicians — communications or IT security within their organisation

Plus ten individual activists on transversal profiles: bloggers, podcasters, whistleblowers, doctoral researchers, defenders in exile or at risk in their country of origin.

Geographic distribution: 3 places per country across Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, Togo, plus 6 places for Benin as host country. Total: 30 participants.

Calendar — 3 days to act

APPLY HERE