'Our activism shows that feminism is at heart movement of hope and optimism,' says Catherine Redfern, kicking off this panel on activism.

'I put on Facebook this morning, I'm going to this go feminist conference and I've been doing this for 30 years,' says Orna Ross, author and abortion rights activist

Dorothea Smartt, was involved in black lesbian feminism in the 1970s and 80s. A lot of experience of feminist activism in the room!

Women's activism has taken many forms over the decades but has been under recognised and seen largely through the experiences of those who are able to write. This panel showcases activists and movements in feminist activism over the last fifty years.

Chair:

Catherine Redfern (Reclaiming the F word: The new Feminist Movement)

Catherine Redfern founded The F-Word and was editor from 2001-2007. She is from Tameside, Manchester and has been living in London for about ten years, much to her parents' annoyance. She is co-author, with Kristin Aune, of Reclaiming The F Word: The New Feminist Movement, a book about the resurgence and reclamation of feminism over the last ten years, today's issues and today's feminist activism. The book was published in June 2010 by Zed Books.

You can follow the F Word's latest articles and activities here.

Speakers:

Orna Ross (Abortion rights activism in Ireland since the 70's)

She worked for 20 years in writing and publishing in Dublin, as journalist, editor, novelist, creative writing lecturer and literary agent.In  2009, She moved to London to write fulltime.

You can find out more about her latest activity here.

Hannana Siddiqui (Domestic violence and the provocation defence in the 90's)

Hannana Siddiqui is a Joint Co-ordinator for Southall Black Sisters. Prior to this, she has worked in other voluntary and statutory agencies, as well as campaigned, on issues concerning race, gender and human rights. She has been working in this field for 25 years.

You can read more about Southall Black Sisters latest campaigns and news here.

Dorothea Smartt (Black lesbian feminism in the 70's and 80's)

Dorothea Smartt, born and raised in London, is of Barbadian heritage. Dubbed “Brit born Bajan international” by Kamau Brathwaithe, (Poet), her poetry appears in several journals and ground-breaking anthologies, including IC3: The Penguin Book of New Black Writing in Britain (2000), and A Storm Between Fingers (Flipped Eye, 2007). Dorothea’s first collection, Connecting Medium (2001) features a Forward Prize award winning poem.

You can find out more here.

Women are visible within popular culture but are only represented in certain ways.This panel looked at how we can move from perpetuating stereotypes to looking at realities and achievements. Bidisha led a discussion around what media stereotypes are being perpetuated and what action we should take.

Kealy Hastick, Platform 51

Young Mother of 2 under the age of 5, talking about Platform 51 and what actions we should take to change attitudes to women in the media.

Platform 51 "Girls and women today face problems that are often subtle or misunderstood. Despite shifts in attitude and changes in the law, women are often unheard, isolated and face discrimination. This is costly both to women and to society.

Girls and women are at the heart of all we do. Our activities, services and campaigns are about things women need and want. We give them a platform to have their say and challenge discrimination.

We want a world where women are in control of their own lives."

Joana Burigo, Guerreiras Project.

Joana spoke about the challenges of the stereotypes being pushed by the advertising industry where ahe works and how hard it is to work here and feels hamstrung by the power of the lobby of the industry.

The project delves under the surface and raises questions around athletic femininities, the regulation of bodies, the significance of empowerment, and possibilities for resistance. These themes are then explored in relation to the theme of ‘nation’ and Brazil’s broader role in the global economy. Ultimately, Guerreiras aims to encourage dialogue around the meaning of privilege, justice and change—an understanding that can be applied to countless other realms.

Paris Lees, Trans Media Watch and META magazine, which is dedicated to promoting positive self esteem and connectivity within the trans community, and aims to generate creativity, motivation and aspiration through inspiring imagery and positive ethos

Paris is a Journalist, editor of META mag and Channel 4's first transgender presenter.

• Writer and activist, who campaigns for better media representation of transgender people

• Paris is the Editor of META – a new digital publication aimed at the trans community, published by the people behind Gaytimes and DIVA

During the lunch break there were the following sessions.

Open Forum

Connecting Movements: Deaf Feminism

Connecting Movements: Refugee Women's Rights

Connecting Movements: LGBT Rights

Connecting Movements: Anti Racism

Seemed that all the delegates enjoyed spending time connecting and meeting.

Catherine Donovan, University of Sunderland spoke and shared some of the research findings as she is a Reader in Sociology in the Department of Social Sciences, within a team that provides degrees in Sociology, Health and Social Care, and Criminology.  Her teaching interests involve families of choice, gender relations, reproductive technologies, sexuality and domestic violence.  She was in the Research Assessment Exercise (2008) as part of the Primary Care submission.

You can find out more about her and her work here