The 69th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW69) has concluded, and I find myself reflecting on the intense fortnight of engagement, collaboration and advocacy that marked the participation of the Association for Progressive Communications (APC) in this landmark event. From 10 to 21 March 2025, the United Nations headquarters, along with diverse civil society spaces around New York, became a hub of activity, bringing together member states, UN entities and non-governmental organisations from across the world.
This year's CSW held particular significance, as it coincided with the 30th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women and the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action – a milestone for gender equality work worldwide, and a critical moment in APC's own journey of feminist digital advocacy. The anniversary of this milestone represented an opportunity to assess three decades of progress, to identify persistent challenges, and to jointly chart new courses toward gender equality in our increasingly complex digital realities.
Looking back to move forward: APC's journey from Beijing to CSW69
When the Beijing Platform for Action was adopted in 1995, the internet as we know it today was still in its infancy. APC was already working at that nascent intersection of gender and technology, recognising early on that women's access to, control over and participation in communications technologies would be essential to their empowerment. What began as a small but visionary effort has evolved into a robust programme of work that positions gender equality and women's rights at the heart of internet governance, digital policy and technology development.
The journey from Beijing to CSW69 has been marked by significant milestones: APC's Women's Networking Support Programme was present at the 1995 Beijing conference, where it coordinated the online communications for women's organisations participating in the event – quite an innovative approach at the time. This early work laid the groundwork for what would become a comprehensive feminist approach to internet rights and governance. The commitment and contributions did not stop there; in the decades that followed, APC continued to pioneer feminist internet advocacy, conducting research and providing consultative insights about online and technology-facilitated gender-based violence, developing frameworks like the Feminist Principles of the Internet (FPIs), and consistently advocating for policies that recognise and address the gendered impact of digital technologies and communications. Throughout this journey, APC has maintained decolonial, intersectional and grassroots approaches, recognising that digital rights cannot be separated from broader struggles for social and economic justice.
This year's CSW was no exception to APC’s work. The CSW69 programme featured a rich tapestry of events co-organised and supported by APC and partners, addressing different facets of the multidimensional relationship between gender and digital rights. Among the multiple events, I find the following three particularly noteworthy. [1]
Third Global Symposium on Technology-facilitated Gender-based Violence
The symposium, hosted by UNFPA in partnership with Global Affairs Canada and APC, brought together a diverse array of stakeholders, including governments, UN agencies, academics and civil society organisations. The two-day event provided a crucial platform for centring conversations on the growing threat of technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV) and sharing experiences and best practices from different contexts.
The symposium highlighted the challenge of staying ahead of technological developments while ensuring that protective measures don't inadvertently restrict women's access to digital spaces. Perhaps most striking was the palpable sense of urgency regarding artificial intelligence (AI) and emerging technologies. Participants expressed increasing concern about the rapid pace of technological development, emphasising the importance of digital literacy as a protective factor. A key takeaway was that, while we cannot fully predict what will emerge next, we must prepare protective frameworks for possibilities and think ahead now, instead of acting in retrospect after damages occur. These discussions brought to the table the continuing relevance of APC's approach, which has continuously emphasised the importance of balancing protection from harm with the promotion of rights and freedoms online.
OVOF ARTivism for Change: Creative Expressions of Resistance
In the midst of formal discussions and policy debates, the "OVOF ARTivism for Change" space offered a much-needed, refreshing reminder of why we engage in this work in the first place. During this two-day event hosted by the Our Voices, Our Futures (OVOF) consortium, we put together a space where advocacy met creative expression in a setting designed for community care, solidarity and healing.
Through film screenings, interactive workshops and artistic outlets, participants were able to reconnect, with a focus on solidarity, beauty and strength, with the deeper purpose of our collective work: creating conditions where women and girls in all their diversity can thrive. We were reminded of the power of creative expression to communicate complex ideas about gender, technology and justice in ways that technical policy language often cannot, and to recharge in a safe environment that allowed for reflection and connection.
This event represented a type of political work that is often undervalued: the work of regeneration, of nurturing our collective resilience by expressing and flowing with both emotions and ideas. In a political landscape that can feel increasingly hostile to gender justice visions, spaces of creative resistance are not luxuries but necessities.
They offer opportunities for networking, awareness-raising, and self-reflection that sustain our movements for the long term, and the impact of which must not be underestimated.
Feminist Internet eXchange: FPIs in the Midst of Our Current Realities
As an intellectually stimulating event to engage with feminist internet policy, APC hosted the "Feminist Internet eXchange: FPIs in the Midst of our Current Political Realities”. This event facilitated a deep, nurturing discussion about the possibilities and potential of the Feminist Principles of the Internet (FPIs) across different types of work for gender rights.
The discussions revealed both the enduring relevance of the FPIs and the need for their continued evolution. Participants emphasised the importance of investing in disseminating practical skills and knowledge regarding tech infrastructure, noting that principles without practical application risk remaining aspirational rather than transformative. The exchange highlighted that truly intersectional inclusion can only be possible by enriching the FPIs with diverse perspectives. There was a strong call to learn from existing projects – particularly those emerging from the Global South – and to decentralise from Western paradigms that are exclusionary, profit-based and limiting.
What comes next? As usual, challenges and opportunities
The rich discussions at CSW69 took place against a backdrop of concerning trends worldwide. We are witnessing increased backlash against gender equality in many regions, with coordinated anti-gender movements specifically targeting feminist digital rights advocacy. The rise of authoritarianism, coupled with the increasing power of Big Tech companies at a global level, presents significant challenges to the vision of a feminist internet.
These challenges manifested even within the CSW space, where negotiations on the agreed conclusions revealed deep divisions among member states on issues related to gender equality, and where opposition interventions were not held back at both high-level and side events.
At the same time, the digital landscape itself continues to evolve at such a rapid pace that it means even deeper, more complex implications for gender equality. The rapid development of AI presents both opportunities and risks that we are only beginning to understand. As advocates at the intersection of gender and digital rights, we find ourselves in a constant state of adaptation, developing new strategies and updating approaches to address emerging technologies while staying true to our core principles.
Yet, amidst these challenges, CSW69 also revealed significant opportunities. The strong presence of feminist digital rights organisations at this year's Commission demonstrates the growing recognition of the importance of digital issues to gender equality. Conversations that might once have been relegated to the margins are now taking place in main events, with increasing acknowledgement from UN agencies and member states of the need to address the gendered impacts of technology.
Moreover, we are no longer simply calling for women's access to technology, but articulating comprehensive visions for feminist technological futures grounded in principles of care, justice and sustainability. We increasingly understand the need to steadfastly demand whole cakes, instead of settling for crumbs for the sake of obtaining “something”. This evolution reflects APC’s legacy, and the impact of sustained work in building capacity, developing frameworks, and nurturing a global community of feminist internet advocates, as APC and its partners have done and continue to do.
Reflecting on APC's journey from Beijing to CSW69, we can identify key achievements that provide a foundation for future work. Through its consistent advocacy, research and network building, APC has contributed to establishing the recognition of online gender-based violence as a serious human rights concern requiring specific policy responses. We led the development the Feminist Principles of the Internet as a framework that has influenced thinking and practice far beyond APC's immediate network. We nurtured a global community of feminist internet advocates equipped with the knowledge and tools to engage effectively in digital policy spaces, while centring the experiences and perspectives of women from the Global South in international conversations about internet governance and digital rights. We integrated feminist analysis into broader digital rights advocacy, ensuring that gender equality is recognised as a core component of internet freedom.
These achievements have positioned APC as a reference point and relevant actor in diverse issues related to the work and advocacy at the intersection of human rights and technology access and development. What distinguishes APC's approach – and what has enabled its sustained influence over three decades – is its commitment to consistently questioning dominant narratives about technology and development, centring the experiences of structurally marginalised groups, and challenging the commodification of digital spaces. APC's community has offered alternative visions of what our digital futures could, and can, be.
As CSW69 concludes, we carry forward the energy, insights and connections generated during these two weeks. The conversations begun here will continue in other forums, informed by APC's three decades of feminist digital advocacy (and the contributions to come!) and driven by our collective commitment to a world where technology serves as a tool for liberation rather than oppression, of inclusion and possibilities and never as factors that deepen gaps among us. The path ahead may not be smooth, but as APC's journey from Beijing to CSW69 demonstrates, persistent, principled advocacy can indeed build toward meaningful change.
Francia Baltazar is originally from Tijuana, Baja California. She holds a master’s degree in Political Biopsychology and Public Policy from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and International Relations from the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM). She specialises in applied behavioural science. She has worked as a consultant, analyst and researcher in various sectors, designing and implementing strategies for social impact, commercial expansion and communication.
Notes:
[1] APC's engagement extended to other key events with the co-hosting of other critical discussions (plus the brilliant participation of APC members as invitees in yet more panels!), including "Seeking Just Futures: Reflecting on Criminalisation and Gender Justice at Beijing+30", "AI for Social Equality" and "Dialogue on Advancing Protection of Minoritised Groups against Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence".
Featured image: Scenes from the UN Secretary-General's annual consultation with women's and feminist civil society on the margins of the 69th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. Photo: UN Women/Ryan Brown