A year of unimaginable change

This has been a year of almost unimaginable change. 

As you read our Annual Report 2021, you will see evidence of our commitment to women’s rights and gender justice, peace and democracy, economic justice and food sovereignty. Yet while these concerns remain constant, the pandemic has seen new depths of inequality enmeshed into the fabric of our unequal world. 

At Inter Pares, we hold a heavy load of sharp contradictions as we work to address these injustices. We:

• hold the state accountable with the support of state funding. 
• work with short-term funding to build and nourish long-term relationships with our counterparts. 
• deepen our anti-colonial understanding and practise, while operating in colonial contexts at home and globally.
• use the resources of a Northern state to open dialogue between Southern activists, which requires us to step back while speaking out to raise awareness.

With your support, we are able to navigate these contradictions and work with our counterparts to cultivate change. In 2021, your generosity supported democracy activists in Burma and Sudan, LGBTIQ+ people seeking equality in Colombia, farmers cultivating food sovereignty in West Africa, and many more transformative efforts.   

As an organization—and a country—in dialogue with human rights defenders around the globe, we have a very long road ahead. Last year began with terrible news from Tk’emlúps te Secwe̓pemc, the Indigenous nation on which the remains of 215 children were found on the site of a former residential school. A year of revelations of Canada’s colonial violence followed and continues today. 

 The anti-racist understandings of our work and our commitment to “decolonizing development” has always preoccupied us. Now, more than ever, we see this in the context of Indigenous rights action here at home.  

 Thank you for staying with us on this journey. Together, we are not only surviving, but using this moment of national and global self-reflection to push for more lasting transformation and equality for all.

Amanda Dale Chairperson, 
Inter Pares Board of Directors