GenWest

After the whirlwind of Women Deliver 2026, we were honoured to host a post-conference gathering with our GenWest scholarship recipients. It was a space to breathe, debrief, and translate the energy of a global movement into local action for Melbourne’s west.

The consensus in the group was clear: opened our hearts and minds. In a world that often feels fractured, our recipients spoke of the profound sense of belonging in a truly inclusive movement, where being a person of colour, non-binary, or trans wasn’t just 'accepted' but celebrated. We all felt seen. We all felt heard.

However, we didn't shy away from the weight of the world. We discussed the heavy realities we face as a collective: increasing rates of family violence, the rise of the "Manosphere" and anti-rights movements, bodily autonomy and reproductive justice, the climate crisis, and the responsibility we hold to protect the next seven generations, guided by Indigenous wisdom of long-term stewardship and care.

Women Deliver offered us enrichment and solidarity - alongside overwhelm and questions about how to enact global learnings in Melbourne's west. As a collective, we harnessed our overwhelm with a focused discussion on our 'Circle of Control', asking the question - What can we do right now, in our own communities? Read through the slides to see six powerful visions for a Melbourne’s west shared by the scholarship recipients.
Women Deliver offered us enrichment and solidarity - alongside overwhelm and questions about how to enact global learnings in Melbourne's west. As a collective, we harnessed our overwhelm with a focused discussion on our 'Circle of Control', asking the question - What can we do right now, in our own communities? Read through the slides to see six powerful visions for Melbourne’s west shared by the scholarship recipients.

The conversation is far from over. We left the session reminded that we hold immense collective wisdom. Together, we are building a more connected, safe, and thriving community.

Thank you to our incredible scholars, our commitment to you and our collective work towards gender equality doesn't end here.

National Family Violence Rememberance Day 2026
Today and everyday we remember those lost to family and gender-based violence, those who survived, and the communities who still carry that grief. Every life lost was someone deeply loved and their absence is felt every day.

Family and gender-based violence is preventable. And prevention requires courage from our leaders, our systems, and each of us - the cost of not taking action is measured in lives. Today, we honour those no longer here by demanding change to prevent this violence at every social level - in our systems, our organisations, our communities and our families.

GenWest is proud to be co-hosting a concurrent session at Women Deliver, in partnership with SSI - Settlement Services International and The Sisterhood.

Together, we will explore community-led disruption of sexual and gender-based violence looking at how dispossession, migration, and structural inequality shape harm, and how communities are already leading responses that challenge these systems. The session will move from structural conditions, to lived leadership, and ultimately to what it takes to shift power towards community-led models.

Shweta Kawatra Dakin from GenWest and Nimo Ahmed from The Sisterhood will bring perspectives from Australia and Indonesia, rooted in lived experience and collective leadership. Their conversation draws on a longstanding relationship that began when The Sisterhood was founded on International Women's Day in 2018, with Shweta joining as a supporter, advisor and ally from its inception.

If you’re at Women Deliver 2026, we invite you to join us.