A girlfesto is a declaration of demands, recommendations and commitments that arises from the work of girls and young women. It is best developed at the conclusion of a group’s work together to reflect the discussions that took place during the preceding activities. It is usually outward-facing, directed toward policymakers and other influential changemakers, but can also contain commitments from the participants themselves. The Montebello Girlfesto was the culminating activity of the Circles Within Circles event, Quebec, July 2018.
The Montebello Girlfesto was charged with enthusiasm, optimism, hope and energy. The term ‘girlfesto’ emerged from one of the groups of young people at the Circles Within Circles event, making it the first time that a girlfesto has ever been produced. The activity had initially been described as an exercise to produce a ‘manifesto’, but the young participants’ reframing of the document challenged the centrality of men’s narratives, reflecting the critical feminist energy that characterized much of the event. Before starting on the production of the small group girlfestos, the groups of participants took ‘gallery walks’ to review the artwork produced during the previous days of the Circles Within Circles event. They visited the art exhibition and looked through the collages, photovoice, international stakeholder discussions, and other artwork and research products that were developed in the preceding days and in the lead up to Circles Within Circles, including artwork from participants who were not able to be present at Circles Within Circles. In this way, the Montebello Girlfesto drew from the knowledge and experiences of not only the girls and young women in the room, but also from others who had contributed from afar.
The girlfesto is a living document that will develop over time as more girls and young women engage and add their voices to address SGBV in their communities. To ensure these voices are heard, the original Girlfesto is now available in Afrikaans, English, English Dyslexie font, French, Inuktitut, Isizulu, Kanien’kéha, Mi’kmaq, Portuguese, Russian, Swedish and Xhosa.