In October 2025, we held the Partners’ Meeting, «Hope, Common Ground,» as part of Acento’s fifth anniversary. We convened it to create a space for strategic dialogue in the face of an increasingly restrictive financial, political, and regulatory environment for social movements.

A Diverse and Grounded Space

Sixty-seven people from different regions of the country came together, representing diverse agendas in human rights, citizen participation, and social justice. Organizations with established track records and others in their early stages participated alongside Indigenous, peasant, and Afro-Mexican leaders, women’s collectives, organized youth, and territory defenders. It was also an intergenerational space that allowed for the cross-pollination of experiences, learning, and perspectives.

For three days, we created the conditions to think together — beyond the urgency of the everyday.

Three Arenas for Reflecting on the Present

The conversations were organized around three priority areas:

• Self-care, collective care, and safety.
• Financing and sustainability.
• Strategies for activism and advocacy.

In each, we shared diagnoses, tensions, and concerns — but also emerging practices and possible paths forward. The exchange confirmed that this moment calls for revisiting work models, rethinking the relationship between organizations and funders, and building connections less centered on resource oversight and more oriented toward shared responsibility and collaboration.

A Political Community in the Making

The Gathering was also an experience of collective affirmation. We celebrated the achievements made, acknowledged the sustained resistance, and reinforced our conviction that the work for justice is not done alone.

We concluded with a shared certainty: that solidarity is not merely a symbolic gesture — it is a strategy for survival and transformation. What was strengthened there went beyond a network; it was an entire political community grounded in care, shared learning, and active solidarity.

Lessons Learned and What We Carry Forward

The Meeting produced shared insights and concrete commitments.

1. A Common Turning Point

We confirmed that philanthropy and social movements are undergoing a moment of profound reconfiguration. Resource scarcity persists — but what has emerged as central is the need to revisit models of organization, sustainability, and alliance.

2. The Urgency of Weaving Real Networks

We identified the need to channel energy and resources — economic, technical, and political — toward building solidarity networks and spaces for exchange that are not yet fully realized. Coordination cannot remain mere intention; it demands deliberate investment.

3. Innovation is also a philanthropic responsibility

It became clear that many of the ideas needed to sustain these movements have not yet been tested. For these ideas to emerge, they need support. Philanthropy must take on the role of funding experimentation and supporting new forms of collaboration.

4. Political Energy and Strengthened Ties

The participating organizations noted that the Meeting was a fertile ground for recharging emotional and political energy. Relationships were strengthened, common ground was identified among diverse struggles, and concrete ideas emerged that each organization can take back to its work.

Our Commitment

Acento assumes the responsibility of promoting and accompanying some of the initiatives that emerged from these days. The Meeting was only the beginning of processes that require follow-up, resources, and continuity.