Media Artist + Activist Residency Grants

The United States Department of State's Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs (WHA) is offering a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) through its Caribbean United for Women's Economic Empowerment (CUWEE) project. The core mission of this grant program aligns with WHA's commitment to advancing gender equity and equality in the Caribbean economy. The program seeks to dismantle systemic barriers and challenge socio-cultural attitudes that hinder women's economic participation and security, directly contributing to WHA's strategic priorities in the region. The primary target beneficiaries of this initiative are women and adolescent girls aged 16 and older in the Caribbean. The overarching impact goal is to enhance their economic resilience and skills capacity, enabling them to successfully enter the labor force and achieve economic security. This project aims to empower a critical demographic, fostering inclusive economic growth and stability across the Caribbean. The CUWEE project prioritizes strengthening local civil society support actors engaged in advancing women's economic security. This includes identifying problematic country-specific and/or regional systemic barriers and socio-cultural attitudes, and then collaborating with local Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) to address these obstacles. A key focus is to support a competition that will encourage local CSOs to develop and implement pioneering solutions tailored to overcome these local systemic barriers. Expected outcomes include a strengthened regional Caribbean network of local CSOs focused on women's economic security, as well as the implementation of innovative solutions to local economic barriers. The project also anticipates improved economic resilience and skills capacity among women and adolescent girls, leading to increased labor force participation and enhanced economic security. The measurable results will be tied to the successful identification and mitigation of barriers, the effective training curriculum provided to CSOs, and the demonstrable progress in women's economic empowerment within the specified project period. WHA intends to issue one award not exceeding $1,973,359 in FY 2023 Gender Equity and Equality Action (GEEA) Economic Support Funds (ESF) for a project period up to three years. The project, administered by WHA's Office of Policy Planning and Coordination (PPC), is anticipated to start in October 2024 and will be executed through a cooperative agreement. This investment reflects WHA's theory of change, which posits that by empowering local civil society and addressing root causes of inequality, sustainable economic development and gender equality can be achieved in the Caribbean.