The fundamental rights of society’s most vulnerable - women, girls and gender diverse people - are currently under threat as a fascist right agenda continues to rise. In response, Women Deliver has launched the development of a Feminist Playbook, a co-created strategic document that will be finalized at the Women Deliver 2026 Conference to be hosted in Naarm (Melbourne) in April 2026.
“This Playbook is a living, breathing tool of resistance, co-creation, and reimagining,” said Women Deliver President and CEO, Dr. Maliha Khan. “We know our systems are collapsing - they were never built by or for girls and women, and they are failing us today. Anti-rights actors are coordinated, strategic, and emboldened and we must be equally bold, united, and forward-looking.”
Between now and April 2026, Women Deliver will use their vast networks across the globe, including United Nations General Assembly, NGA, COP, Commission on the Status of Women, and other global forums to consult with grassroots leaders, governments, youth activists, and civil society partners.
Community members around the world will also have opportunities to contribute, ensuring the Playbook reflects diverse lived experiences across geographies and generations. The process is as powerful as the outcome,” Maliha added. “Drafting and adopting this Playbook together as a collective is itself an act of resistance. Everyone has a role in shaping the path forward.
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At Women Deliver 2026, the Playbook will be finalized and launched, with partners invited to sign on to its pledges and make public commitments, setting a clear path for collective action. Post-conference, the organisation will work with signatories to turn those commitments into measurable action, supported by ongoing collaboration to ensure progress is sustained.
Women Deliver 2026 will be regionally hosted in the Oceanic Pacific for the first time in its history, and will look to elevate feminist and youth-led leadership, mobilise bold, intersectional policies, reclaim narratives from those looking to roll back progress, and strengthen transnational feminist movements.
“Women Deliver 2026 will see the uniting of leaders from around the globes, including young women through our Emerging Leaders for Change who are sponsored to travel from their country of origin to offer their unique perspective on co-leadership, and to immerse themselves in advocating for gender equality.”
“The launch of the development of this Playbook is the beginning of our work in reversing the gender equity damage already done, but more importantly, reimagining and creating new systems that truly serve girls and women,” Maliha said.
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Registrations are now open for Women Deliver 2026 being held in Melbourne (Narrm) in April next year. For more information visit womendeliver.org/wd2026
