“This is a time for us to work together, put resources behind the things that we believe, and recognize how urgent the situation is.”

— Monica Aleman,  
International Program Director, Gender, Racial, and Ethnic Justice International (GREJ-I), 
Ford Foundation

Free Future brings together global organizers, political leaders, poets, journalists, and academics around one urgent issue: the right of women, girls and gender-nonconforming people to live lives free of violence. 

Watch highlights 
from the event

Tarana Burke on sexual violence: “The problem in this country is that we do not see sexual violence as a social justice issue. And it is.

Tarana Burke on the stories the media doesn’t tell, but should

Tarana Burke on sexual violence: “The problem in this country is that we do not see sexual violence as a social justice issue. And it is.

Fatima Goss Graves on how abortion bans cause preventable deaths

Tarana Burke on sexual violence: “The problem in this country is that we do not see sexual violence as a social justice issue. And it is.

Aly Raisman on the power of bodily autonomy for children

Tarana Burke on sexual violence: “The problem in this country is that we do not see sexual violence as a social justice issue. And it is.

Darren Walker on the personal nature of gender-based violence

Tarana Burke on sexual violence: “The problem in this country is that we do not see sexual violence as a social justice issue. And it is.

Farkhunda Muhtaj on orchestrating the evacuation of the Afghan women’s national football team

Tarana Burke on sexual violence: “The problem in this country is that we do not see sexual violence as a social justice issue. And it is.

Sarita Gupta and LaTosha Brown on democracy and the political realities of being a woman

Tarana Burke on sexual violence: “The problem in this country is that we do not see sexual violence as a social justice issue. And it is.

ALOK on becoming the freest version of yourself

Tarana Burke on sexual violence: “The problem in this country is that we do not see sexual violence as a social justice issue. And it is.

Ai-jen Poo on gender-based violence in the lives of caregivers

Tarana Burke on sexual violence: “The problem in this country is that we do not see sexual violence as a social justice issue. And it is.

Niemat Ahmadi on how the women of Sudan became frontline humanitarian defenders

Tarana Burke on sexual violence: “The problem in this country is that we do not see sexual violence as a social justice issue. And it is.

Jaha Dukureh on what fighting FGM costs her and other activists

Watch the Program

See below for timestamps

MORNING PROGRAM

05:14 Opening Remarks 

  • Monica Aleman, International Program Director-Gender, Racial and Ethnic Justice, Ford Foundation

  • Abigail Erikson Chief, UN Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women

10:18 Opening Film

24:05 Gender-Based Violence in 2024: Our New Realities

  • Dr. Emma Fulu, Founder and co-CEO, The Equality Institute

  • Fatima Goss Graves, President and CEO, National Women’s Law Center

  • Anand Giridharadas, Author and Publisher, The.Ink (moderator)

46:35 Free Future Spotlight

  • Mallika Dutt, Program Director, Gender Equity and Governance, Hewlett Foundation

54:30 The New Frontier of Tech-Facilitated Violence

  • Taban Shoresh, Founder and CEO, The Lotus Flower

  • Nina Jankowicz, Co-founder and CEO, The American Sunlight Project

  • Sabrina Javellana, Former Vice Mayor, City of Hallandale Beach, FL

  • Sol, Founding Member, The Meteor (moderator)

01:14:22 Free Future Spotlight: Woman Walking On the Road

  • Terrance Hayes, Poet and Professor

 01:21:07 ‘me too.’ Global: This Is What Power Looks Like

  • Tarana Burke, Founder and Chief Vision Officer, ‘me too.’ International

  • Ornella Steffanazzi, Organizer, Latin American and Caribbean Center of the Global ‘me too.’ Network

  • Djingarey Ibrahim Maiga, Pan-African Coordinator, ‘me too.’ International

  • Nair Belén Castillo, Global Network Coordinator, ‘me too.’

  • Hilary Pennington, Executive Vice President of Programs, Ford Foundation (moderator)

01:48:07 Special Announcement

  • Darren Walker, President, Ford Foundation

  • PeiYao Chen, President and CEO, Global Fund for Women

  • Tarana Burke, Founder and Chief Vision Officer, ‘me too.’ International

01:57:17 Vigilance and Hope: Leaders in Conversation

  • Padma Lakshmi, Author, Model, Activist, and Television Host

  • Darren Walker, President, Ford Foundation

  • Radhika Jones, Editor in Chief, Vanity Fair (moderator)

AFTERNOON PROGRAM

02:29:47 Free Future Spotlight: What Does Climate Change Have to Do With It? 

  • Zainab Waheed, Climate Activist and Journalist

02:35:21 Free Future Spotlight

  • Tatyana Fazlalizadeh, Artist

02:44:03 Free Future Spotlight: The Alchemy of Apology

  • V, Playwright, Author, and Founder of V-Day and One Billion Rising

02:58:00 Gender Violence in Conflict Zones: Let’s Talk About Sudan

  • Danai Gurira, Award-winning actress, playwright, and UN Women Goodwill Ambassador

  • Niemat Ahmadi, President of Darfur Women Action Group 

  • Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda, Deputy Executive Director, UN Women 

  • Nancee Oku Bright, Chief of Staff, Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict (moderator)

03:42:26 Free Future Spotlight: What Does Money Have to Do With It?

  • Sonya Passi, Founder and CEO, FreeFrom

03:58:31 Resisting the Rollback of LGBTQ+ Rights

  • Chase Strangio, Co-Director, ACLU LGBTQ and HIV Project

  • Sophia Bush, Actress, Activist, Producer, and Entrepreneur

04:16:36 Athletes at Risk, Athletes Resisting

  • Aly Raisman, Olympic Medalist and Advocate

  • Farkhunda Muhtaj, Professional Footballer, Social Activist, and Speaker 

  • Hon. Harriette I. J. Chiggai, Advisor to the President on Women Rights, Kenya

  • Soraya Nadia McDonald, Award-winning Cultural Critic and Journalist (moderator) 

04:54:26 The Flip Side of Violence is Care

  • Ai-jen Poo, Executive Director, Caring Across Generations and President, National Domestic Workers Alliance 

  • Chloé Cooper Jones, Professor, Journalist, and Author of the memoir Easy Beauty

 05:12:21 How to Beat a Backlash: The Global War on Gender Rights

  • Dr. Faith N. Mwangi-Powell, CEO, Girls Not Brides: The Global Partnership to End Child Marriage

  • Jaha Dukureh, Author, Entrepreneur, and UN Women Goodwill Ambassador for Africa

  • Alexa Nikolas, Actress and Activist 

  • Cindi Leive, Co-founder and CEO, The Meteor (moderator)

05:32:10 The Defining Struggle of the 21st Century

  • Jimmie Briggs, Principal, Justice and Equity, Skoll Foundation

05:40:00 Detoxifying Masculinity

  • Dr. Salamishah Tillet, Professor, Rutgers University and Co-founder, A Long Walk Home

  • Ted Bunch, Co-founder, A Call to Men 

  • David Hogg, Co-founder, Leaders We Deserve and March For Our Lives 

  • Liz Plank, Best-selling Author and Journalist (moderator)

05:51:47 What Does Democracy Have to Do With It?

  • LaTosha Brown, Co-founder, Black Voters Matter 

  • Vuyiswa Sidzumo, Regional Program Director, Southern Africa Region, Ford Foundation

  • Sarita Gupta, Vice President, US Programs, Ford Foundation (moderator)

06:04:54 Free Future Spotlight

  • ALOK, Poet & Comedian