Women Deliver and partners around the world are co-creating a Declaration for the international development sector (formerly the “Feminist Playbook”) — a bold, collective declaration that defines our shared vision and sets the course to achieve it. It will articulate the world girls, women, and gender-diverse people need and the actions the international development sector will take to get there.

Fascism and authoritarianism have been on the rise globally. The institutions that have long supported our sector are in crisis, and hard-won progress achieved by feminist movements over the last decades is at risk. States are increasingly abandoning their obligations to the people within their borders, including the provision of essential public services such as health care. Fundamental human rights are under threat — including sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and bodily autonomy — all against a backdrop of climate collapse, war, and even genocide.

We – the international development sector – also bear responsibility. We have created, sustained, and grown a sector that replicates colonial power dynamics, keeps power and decision-making in the hands of the few, centers Global North headquartered organizations, and relies on funding from a small pool of centralized donors. This ultimately left our sector built upon a house of cards that fell far too easily and quickly in the face of opposition. We have also increasingly oriented our work around donor expectations, meaning that social justice has not been defined by local political priorities but rather indicators, deliverables, and reporting cycles.

We are at a turning point, and we need to come together around a shared strategy for change. Because we want to see a world that is no longer ruled by oppressive power dynamics — and because building that world also requires our sector to completely revisit how we work, share power, and commit to practices that align with feminist values. This means embedding accountability into everything we do, learning from the past and not clinging to old ways of working, and taking concrete steps to create the change we envision. 

Launching at the Women Deliver 2026 Conference (WD2026) in April 2026, the Declaration will outline a feminist vision for action: a unifying roadmap for the sector toward gender equality, rooted in care, solidarity, and intersectional justice. How are we building it? Through global consultations, plenaries, workshops, and strategy sessions. The shared commitment of all involved will be expressed through concrete pledges — real, actionable steps toward change.

As of March 2026, we have held more than 30 consultations together with partners, engaging more than 600 participants across all regions of the world. Ultimately, this work is about returning social justice to the hands of people — recentering the relationship between people and the State, while repositioning iNGOs, funders, and multilateral agencies as allies and supporters rather than actors taking on roles that should rest with governments.

We recognize that meaningful change cannot happen overnight. We know it will take years — even decades — to achieve a profound transformation of our sector, and perhaps just as long to agree on a shared direction. Launching the Declaration at WD2026 does not mark the final step, but the beginning of a longer journey. We offer WD2026 as a key moment in that process: the start of a conversation, one of many that will unfold over the years to achieve real change, with the understanding that this is only the beginning of the work to come.

This is our opportunity to offer a truly transformative vision for the future girls, women, and gender-diverse people deserve: one that unapologetically rejects narratives of hate and discrimination, and instead champions hope, care, and collective joy.