By Mariana Brandeburgo, Co-Chair of the Board of Trustees at LAWRS
Today we find ourselves in a moment of enormous global and local complexity. The advancement of authoritarianism, disinformation, and polarisation is evident, and we constantly speak about living in times of crisis, fracture, and setbacks.
And yes: political tensions, economic inequalities, structural racism, and the multiple forms of violence that affect women, gender-diverse people, and migrants are real. But so is our determination.
If the history of feminism teaches us anything, it is that there is no context too hostile for those who decide to transform reality. Women, migrants, workers, survivors, caregivers, those who have crossed borders and those who have resisted being forgotten, we have all built the foundations on which LAWRS stands today as an indispensable organisation.
From the suffragists who opened the way to fuller political participation, to the activists who fought for laws against violence, to the feminists who today challenge institutional racism and dehumanising migration systems: the thread is the same. It is not only about conquering rights, but about reimagining the world from our own experiences, from solidarity, dignity, and justice.
LAWRS was born from that conviction: that our lives matter. That migrant women have voice, strength, memory, and a future. And that future is something we weave together: in networks, in trust, and with conviction in our shared vision.
Today, more than ever, we need to reclaim something feminists throughout history have safeguarded: political imagination. Not as a naïve dream, but as the capacity to envision what does not yet exist. To believe that we can inhabit different institutions, more just relationships, and more caring communities. Our leadership is measured not only by the services we provide or the policies we influence, both vital, but by how we ignite hope and creativity in times when fear and exhaustion seem to dominate everything.
To lead today may mean offering a horizon. Inviting others to believe that another way of living, caring for one another, and making decisions is possible. If something distinguishes LAWRS, it is precisely this: that we not only accompany, but mobilise. That we not only denounce, but propose. That we not only respond to urgency, but also imagine tomorrow.
So today, I propose that we commemorate what we have achieved—yes—but above all that we ask ourselves what kind of life we want to live, and what legacy we want to leave. What new forms of leadership, care, and power we want to plant for those who come after us.
The feminists of the past taught us how to claim space in the public sphere. Now, let our task be to rebuild trust in the common good. On that path, LAWRS has an essential role: to be a beacon, a refuge, and a driving force.