We are very proud to announce that Rita Morbia, co-manager at Inter Pares, has won this year’s Karen Takacs Award. 

The Karen Takacs Award is presented annually by Cooperation Canada to recognize feminist advocacy and collaborative leadership in global cooperation. 

As an integral part of our co-management organization, Rita not only exemplifies, but is an architect of Inter Pares’ collaborative leadership and commitment to promoting gender equality. She has always advanced open, approachable and frank dialogue on power relations, anti-racist feminism and 2SLGBTQ+ rights. In Rita’s 20-year tenure – and counting! – at Inter Pares, she has supported and continues to contribute to social movements in several countries.  

In Burma, she has worked among movements for peace and democracy, women’s rights and Indigenous self-determination. Early on, she built Inter Pares’ relationships with local activist organizations to amplify and support their work in Burma materially and politically.

In Sudan, her work with our counterpart, the Sudanese Organization for Research and Development (SORD), involves supporting conversations among young women oppressed by a corrupt regime, as well as local women’s rights organizations engaged in the uprising and calling for women’s political, social and legal rights.  

In the Philippines, her work assists Likhaan, our counterpart, in promoting reproductive justice and the leadership of impoverished women. As a result of these efforts, women in the Philippines now have legislative and budgetary support that promotes equity and seeks to reduce maternal and child mortality.  

To each endeavour, Rita brings the collaborative skills that are part of who she is: listening to her peers, engaging thoughtfully, being attentive to inclusive process, putting in the hard work and drawing out everyone’s best.  

Please join us in congratulating Rita on this very well-deserved recognition!