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In our ideal world women will

• Make their voices heard;
• Always speak freely and powerfully;
• Express themselves artistically;
• Have the necessary skills to affect change;
• Use their voices, art, talents and skills to build just and inclusive communities.
  

To make this world a reality, mothertongue

• Provides opportunities for women in the Washington, DC metro area to write, present and listen to spoken word performers;
  
• Creates a local community that supports and promotes women's voices;
  
• Fosters relationships with local women and girls' organizations in order to provide financial support and visibility for their work. mothertongue will always
  
• focus on the voices of women in the local DC area;
  
• be grounded in and committed to improving the local DC community;
  
• believe in the creation of a just and inclusive DC area community where everyone has adequate resources, access and opportunities;
  
• work towards a world free from marginalization, including racism, sexism, homophobia, classism, discrimination and bigotry.
  
• welcome lesbian,bisexual, and questioning women and their allies;
  
• define women as woman-born or woman-identified and embrace the transgender community;
  
• believe in and honor the value of artistic development as a transformative force on an individual and community level;
  
• value spoken word performers/writers of all different styles and levels of experience;
  
• support the efforts of organizations that better the lives of women and girls, and work to publicize and support the work of such organizations.