2025 MNN Conference Workshop
Building Bridges, Creating Change: Community-Centered Approaches to Multi-Sectoral Movement Building
DATE: October 22, 2025 from 2:45 – 3:45pm
LOCATION: DCU Center in Worcester, MA
This interactive workshop explores how to build multi-sectoral coalitions that authentically center community voices while driving meaningful systems change through movement building. Using the Massachusetts Coalition to End FGM/C (Holistic Partnerships to End FGM/C in MA – HOPE MA) as a case study, participants will learn practical strategies for creating a collaborative infrastructure that scaffolds interventions to meet diverse stakeholder needs while maintaining a unified center that holds the movement together. The session addresses how to engage diverse sectors-including healthcare, education, law enforcement, social services, and community organizations-while dismantling traditional power imbalances that often exclude those most impacted by the issues. Participants will examine how community-centered coalitions can create lasting change through coordinated resource mobilization, policy advocacy, and inclusive movement building. Key topics include designing coalition structures that distribute decision-making power among community members, developing culturally responsive intervention strategies across multiple sectors, and creating sustainable systems. The workshop emphasizes how survivor and community leadership in the FGM/C context offers transferable lessons for other social justice movements – housing justice, educational equity, healthcare access, and beyond. This approach is particularly valuable for organizations addressing issues that require both grassroots community solutions and institutional change across multiple sectors.
Presented by: Mariya Taher, Sahiyo, and Dr. Crista Johnson-Agbakwu, UMass Chan Medical School, Collaborative in Health Equity.
Register HERE