History
MATCH International Centre was created in 1976 by two Canadian women, Dr. Norma E. Walmsley and Ms. Suzanne Johnson-Harvor following their attendance at the United Nations Conference for Women held in Mexico City in 1975. The first centre of its kind anywhere in the world, MATCH was created "to match the needs and resources of Canadian women with the needs and resources of women in the South"?. It is an international development agency run by women working in partnership with women in the South.
From its beginnings, the focus of MATCH's work has been on initiatives developed by women for women. MATCH supports initiatives identified by women in the global South, led and implemented by the women, and innovative in their context. This approach is based on MATCH's belief that women's development must be considered within their own context, and for strategies to succeed, women's views and agendas must be taken into consideration. Social change and women's development must happen from within and must empower those most directly affected. MATCH's programmes are based on the understanding that women must identify their own priorities and be supported to address these on their own terms.