The centre

The CADF

Safeguarding memories. Passing on struggles. Inspiring the future.

Our mission

The CADF collects, preserves, shares and circulates the archives and accounts of women and feminist movements.

It forms a living heritage that supports research, education and transmission between generations. What these documents carry does not belong to the past: they are evidence, methods and precedents that today’s struggles need.

Safeguarding memories. Passing on struggles. Inspiring the future.

Dos d’une femme assise, portant peinte en blanc la phrase « A woman’s place is in the revolution ».
  • 6 items preserved
  • 3 collections built
  • 3 places represented

What the centre does

  • Collect

    Gathering women’s archives and accounts, before time or forgetting carries them away.

  • Preserve

    Protecting this heritage for the long term, as originals and as digital copies.

  • Share

    Making these accounts available, for research and for teaching alike.

  • Unite

    Building a committed community around this shared memory.

2026 – 2027 programme

Three paths to keep memories alive

Preserve what exists, pass it on to those who come next, share the stories widely: the centre’s programme reads in that order, from the family cupboard to the cinema screen.

Launched on 20 October 2026

Premiere of the film “Soham Wardini, the first woman mayor”

“Gouverner au féminin” collection, at the Pathé cinema: the official starting point of the centre’s programme.

Read the announcement

  1. Path 1: Preserve

    Call for archives

    Collect, digitise, document and preserve women’s archives, with families, activists, associations and institutions.

  2. Path 2: Pass on

    Call for applications

    “Young people, let us document women’s memories”: training a new generation of archivists, documentalists and creators of feminist stories.

  3. Path 3: Share widely

    Women make memory

    Screenings and talks in Brussels, Lausanne and at the WIC, then in other cities, to carry the stories beyond the centre’s walls.

In pictures

Memories you can watch

The CADF also documents in pictures: testimonies, films, photographs. Women’s stories are read, watched and heard.

Best watched with sound

The centre’s project

A memory written, filmed and studied

The CADF is dedicated to archiving, collecting, showcasing and researching feminist struggles in Dakar and West Africa. It brings together written documentation, audiovisual material — video and imagery — and a strong academic research component.

Video and imagery

  • Collect, preserve and showcase testimonies, photographs, posters and other visual material linked to feminist struggles.

  • Document the events, demonstrations, conferences and actions of the feminist movement in Dakar.

  • Build a modern audiovisual heritage open to all, for research, awareness and education.

  • Promote the collective memory of feminist struggles through digital productions and exhibitions.

What the centre puts in place

  1. Survey and collection

    Identify sources of video and visual archives — associations, NGOs, media, companies, individuals — and gather videos, photographs, posters and illustrations, with filmmakers, photographers and artists.

  2. Digitisation and preservation

    Digitise physical media to secure them for the long term, in a safe and accessible digital storage system.

  3. A multimedia platform

    Archive and consult these resources online, searchable by keyword, theme, date, place and the women involved, with precise categorisation.

  4. Production and outreach

    Make documentaries, testimony videos and short films, and train young feminists in audiovisual production.

  5. Distribution and awareness

    Share online and on partner platforms, screen publicly at exhibitions and festivals, and run series of talks and debates.

  6. Partnerships

    Work with archive centres, film schools, media, artists, universities, museums and public authorities: archive exchanges and co-productions.

Expected outcomes

Video and imagery complement the written documentation. They support academic research as much as civic engagement.

  • A living, accessible audiovisual heritage that illustrates feminist history and struggles.
  • A collective story strengthened by visual and video material.
  • Greater visibility for the feminist struggle in Dakar and the region.
  • Recognition for committed filmmakers and artists.

What the collection documents

  • Memory

    What is remembered, and what was almost forgotten.

  • Archives

    The documents themselves, described item by item.

  • Community

    The women who carried these struggles, together.

  • Transmission

    What passes from one generation to the next.

  • Heritage

    What was left to us, and must be made to bear fruit.

  • Vision

    What these memories make possible tomorrow.

A glimpse of the collection

Explore the archives

Do you hold archives?

A family photograph, a leaflet, a notebook, a recording. What sleeps in a cupboard may be missing from our shared memory. The centre supports donations, deposits and loans for digitisation.

Offer a collection How a donation works

  • You remain the owner of your documents
  • You decide what becomes available
  • Your originals are returned after digitisation