Join us for a rich and inspiring conversation with Ireen Dubel, author of the recently published book Dutch Transnational Feminist Solidarity Activism across North–South Divides 1975–2018.

The event details at a glance:

• Hosted by: Ellen Sprenger (Spring Strategies, formerly with Oxfam-Novib and Mama Cash)
• Date: January 29, 2026
• Time: 15:00–16:00 CET (Check your time zone here)
• Language: English 

Event details

Ireen Dubel is a lifelong, deeply committed global feminist whose work has shaped generations of activists, organizations, and movements. Throughout her long and distinguished career in Dutch and international development cooperation, Ireen has focused on women’s human rights and gender equality. She has worked with several Dutch NGOs and knowledge institutions, including the Humanist Institute for Cooperation with Developing Countries (Hivos), Mama Cash, the Royal Tropical Institute, and the Institute of Social Studies in The Hague. Across all these roles, she has championed the political and strategic importance of meaningful, well-resourced feminist movements in the Global South and across international contexts.

Last November, her groundbreaking book Dutch Transnational Feminist Solidarity Activism across North–South Divides 1975–2018  was launched in The Netherlands. In it, Ireen documents and analyzes nearly five decades of Dutch feminist solidarity and engagement with women’s rights work, capturing lessons, tensions, evolutions, and the enduring power of transnational connection.

On January 29 at 15:00 CET, Ellen Sprenger (who first met Ireen in Tanzania back when she was still a student!) will be hosting a conversation with Ireen to explore her motivation for undertaking this monumental research effort, her key findings as well as some of the more contentious and illuminating dimensions of these five decades of feminist solidarity.

Please bring your memories, questions, and reflections, and join Ireen and Ellen for what promises to be an engaging and inspiring community event. Because as we know, at the heart of all this history lies a simple truth: Feminist solidarity is the quiet work that reshapes the world, one relationship and one conversation at a time.