Type NGO Head of secretariat Gro Lindstad | President Elin Ranum Website fokuskvinner.no | |
Formation 14 October 1995; 21 years ago (1995-10-14) | ||
The Forum for Women and Development (Norwegian: Forum for Kvinner og Utviklingsspørsmål), often known as FOKUS Kvinner, is a Norwegian non-governmental organization aimed at spreading information on women-centered development cooperation and to be a cooperation forum for the Norwegian women's organisations in regard to their development activities in the Global South.
It was founded in 1995. Its primary goal according to its bylaws is to contribute to the improvement of women’s social, economic, and political situation in the Global South. FOKUS only has other organizations as members, and does not have individual members. Member organisations are required to have at least 50 female members and aim to promote women's interests. FOKUS currently has around 50 women's organizations and women's committees in political parties, trade unions, and solidarity and aid organizations as members. FOKUS receives financial support from the Norwegian Agency for Development (NORAD) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (UD) through framework agreements on development and information activities.
The political leadership, the Executive Board, is elected by the member organisations. Since 2015, Elin Ranum is President of FOKUS. FOKUS has a small secretariat in Oslo which supports the Executive Board in their work. The head of the secretariat is Gro Lindstad.
In 2005, FOKUS was the beneficiary of the Norwegian national television’s Telethon, whose funds have gone to combating violence against women.