2021 GLOBAL WOMEN'S ASSEMBLY FOR CLIMATE JUSTICE
Solutions from the Frontlines and the Protection and Defense of Human Rights and Nature
SEPTEMBER 25 - 30, 2021
Every day from 1:00pm — 5:30pm Eastern Time, USA
We are not waiting!
In the context of diverse peoples' movements continuing to organize and rise-up in advance of the UN Climate Talks in Glasgow and other international gatherings over the next critical years, the Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN) International is organizing the ‘Global Women’s Assembly for Climate Justice: Solutions from the Frontlines and the Protection and Defense of Human Rights and Nature’, a free, gender-diverse, public forum to take place virtually September 25-30, 2021, in parallel to the UN General Assembly.
During the Global Women’s Assembly for Climate Justice, grassroots, Indigenous, Black, Brown, and frontline women leaders, global advocates, and policy-makers will join together in solidarity to speak out against environmental and social injustice, draw attention to root causes of multiple interlocking crises, and present the diverse array of visions, projects, policy frameworks and strategies with which they are working to shape a healthy and equitable world. The Assembly is an inclusive space across identities and the gender spectrum.
The climate crisis, the Covid-19 pandemic, and socio-ecological injustices have emerged from interconnected systems of capitalism, racism, the commodification of nature, colonialism, imperialism, and patriarchy. To confront these deepening crises and accelerate a path forward, we need to have collective coherence to address the protection and defense of human rights and nature, and uphold community-led solutions.
Within this struggle, women and feminists must stand at the forefront of policy-making and action. Due to unequal gender norms globally, women are simultaneously the most adversely impacted by climate change and socio-ecological degradation, and yet are indispensable actors and leaders of just and effective solutions Assembly topics will include the intersectionality of gender, racial and environmental justice; Indigenous rights and resistance efforts; the just transition to renewable, regenerative energy; feminist global policy; women and forest protection and regeneration; fossil fuel resistance campaigns; agro-ecology/farming/soils; environmental racism; feminist care economics and policy agendas; rights of nature; challenging corporate power; and women and feminist leadership across all sectors.
The Assembly will call for urgent action within a climate justice framework with a formal Call to Action and produce an online collection of actions, policy frameworks, and solutions presented at the Assembly to be delivered to global governments, financial institutions and media outlets.
The voices, analysis and leadership of global women and feminist leaders are critical to the years ahead, and as we head into one of the most important climate negotiations since the Paris Climate Agreement, the UN Climate Talks in Glasgow. Please join us for this high-level assembly to learn more about how to get involved in ongoing climate actions and solutions as we work collectively and urgently to build the resilient and just future we know is possible.
Recordings
Please find recordings for each day of the Global Women's Assembly for Climate Justice available on YouTube and Facebook at the links below:
DAY 1 - SEPTEMBER 25, 2021 - Watch on YouTube or Facebook
DAY 2 - SEPTEMBER 26, 2021 - Watch on YouTube or Facebook
DAY 3 - SEPTEMBER 27, 2021 - Watch on YouTube or Facebook
DAY 4 - SEPTEMBER 28, 2021 - Watch on YouTube or Facebook
DAY 5 - SEPTEMBER 29, 2021 - Watch on YouTube or Facebook
DAY 6 - SEPTEMBER 30, 2021 - Watch on YouTube or Facebook
Please see the full assembly schedule below. Speakers to date are included in the schedule.
Schedule
DAY 1 - SEPTEMBER 25, 2021
1:00 PM — OPENING COMMENTS & WELCOME
Indigenous-led Welcome by Casey Camp-Horinek (Ponca Nation), Environmental Ambassador and Board Member, WECAN, USA
Opening Comments by Osprey Orielle Lake, Assembly Convener, Executive Director, Women's Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN), USA
1:20 PM — NO GREENWASHING: REJECTING FALSE SOLUTIONS TO THE CLIMATE CRISIS
Speakers:
Kandi White (Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara) | Native Energy & Climate Campaign Director, Indigenous Environmental Network, USA
Silvia Ribeiro | Latin America Director, ETC Group, Mexico
Åsa Larsson-Blind (Saami) | Saami Council Vice President, Samerådet, Sweden
Rita Uwaka | Forest & Biodiversity Program Coordinator, Friends of the Earth Africa (FoEA), Nigeria
Cindy Wiesner | Executive Director, Grassroots Global Justice Alliance, USA
2:30 PM — WOMEN FOR FORESTS: PROTECTING FORESTS, CLIMATE AND COMMUNITIES
Speakers:
Sônia Bone Guajajara (Guajajara) | Executive Coordinator, Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (APIB), BrazilNeema Namadamu | SAFECO and WECAN Democratic Republic of Congo Coordinator, DR CongoKari Ames (Tlingit) | WECAN Indigenous Representatives in the Tongass Forest, Alaska, USA
Helena Gualinga (Kichwa) | Climate and Indigenous Rights Youth Activist, Sarayaku, EcuadorDevi Anggraini | President, PEREMPUAN AMAN, IndonesiaIsis Alvarez | Colombian Biologist and Senior Gender Advisor and Unsustainable Livestock Campaign Coordinator, Global Forest Coalition (GFC), Colombia
3:50 PM — FEMINIST FRAMEWORKS FOR GLOBAL CLIMATE JUSTICE
Speakers:
Noelene Nabulivou | Co-founder/Director, DIVA for Equality, Fiji
Rosa Moiwend (Member of the Malind Anim tribe from Merauke, West Papua) | Co-Founder, Make West Papua Safe Campaign (MWPS), Feminist and Human Rights Defender, West Papua, New Guinea (she/her)
Lucy Mulenkei (Maasai) | Executive Director, Indigenous Information Network, Kenya
Sascha Gabizon | Executive Director, WECF, Netherlands Dipti Bhatnagar | International Program Coordinator for Climate Justice and Energy, FoE International, MozambiqueBridget Burns | Executive Director, WEDO, USA
4:50 PM — IN CONVERSATION: DR. JANE GOODALL
Join Dr. Jane Goodall, Conservationist, Humanitarian, and Founder of the Jane Goodall Institute in conversation with Helena Gualinga (Kichwa),Youth climate activist from the Ecuadorian Amazon, and Osprey Orielle Lake, Assembly Convener and WECAN Executive Director.
DAY 2 - SEPTEMBER 26, 2021
1:00 PM — OPENING COMMENTS & WELCOME
Opening Comments by Osprey Orielle Lake, Assembly Convener, Executive Director, Women's Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN), USA
1:10 PM — DIVESTMENT MOVEMENTS FOR STOPPING FOSSIL FUELS AND DEFORESTATION
Speakers:
Michelle Cook (Dine'/Navajo) | Human Rights Lawyer, Founder, Divest Invest Protect, USA
Hannah Greep | Human Rights Campaigner, BankTrack, NetherlandsCasey Camp-Horinek ( Ponca Nation) | Environmental Ambassador, WECAN Board Member, USALeila Salazar-López | Executive Director, Amazon Watch, USA
Natalie Isaacs | Founder, One Million Women, Australia
2:20 PM — BUILDING A HEALTHY & THRIVING FUTURE: FOOD SOVEREIGNTY
Speakers:
Ernestine Leikeki | Founding Member, Board Chair, and Women Empowerment Officer, Cameroon Gender and Environment Watch (CAMGEW), Cameroon
Monique Verdin (Houma Nation) | Director, The Land Memory Bank & Seed Exchange; and Indigenous Food Sovereignty Program Coordinator, WECAN, USA Yoon Geum-soon | Former Member, International Coordinating Committee of La Via Campesina (LVC), and Advisor and Former President, the Korean Women Peasants Association (KWPA), Republic of Korea
Eugenia Vigil Escalera | Field team, Social and Economic Development of Indigenous Mexicans (DESMI), Chiapas, Mexico
Kahea Pacheco (Kanaka 'Ōiwi) | Co-Director, Women's Earth Alliance (WEA), USA
Leonida Odongo | Coordinator, Haki Nawiri Afrika, Kenya
3:40 PM — IMPLEMENTING THE ESCAZU AGREEMENT: WOMEN FOR HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE DEFENSE OF NATURE IN LATIN AMERICA & THE CARIBBEAN
Speakers:
Patricia Gualinga (Kichwa) | Indigenous leader from Sarayaku, Spokeswoman, Mujeres Amazónicas Defensoras de la Selva, EcuadorAndrea Sanhueza | Public Representative for the Escazú Agreement, Chile To be confirmed
María Luisa Rafael (Quechua) | Indigenous Leader and Human Rights and Environmental activist, Bolivia
Patricia Madrigal Cordero | Former Vice-Minister of Environment and Energy of Costa Rica, Costa Rica
Ruth Spencer | Deputy Chair, Marine Ecosystems Protected Areas (MEPA) Trust, Antigua and Barbuda
Taily Terena (Terena Nation) | Indigenous rights activist, Brazil To be confirmedCarmen Capriles | Founder, Reacción Climática, WECAN Coordinator for Latin America, Bolivia
DAY 3 - SEPTEMBER 27, 2021
1:00 PM — OPENING COMMENTS & WELCOME
Opening Comments by Osprey Orielle Lake, Assembly Convener, Executive Director, Women's Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN), USA
1:10 PM — INTERSECTIONAL MOVEMENT BUILDING FOR CLIMATE JUSTICE
Speakers:
Ruth Nyambura | Kenyan Activist, African Ecofeminist Collective, Kenya
Dalia Fernanda Márquez Añez | Founder, Juventud Unida en Acción (JUENA), VenezuelaColette Pichon Battle, Esq. | Executive Director, Gulf Coast Center for Law & Policy, USATetet Lauron | Advisor for the United Nations Programme, Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung, The Philippines
2:00 PM — GENDERED AND RACIAL IMPACTS OF THE FOSSIL FUEL INDUSTRY IN NORTH AMERICA AND COMPLICIT FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS
Speakers to date:
Rosanna Esparza | Community Organizer and Environmental and Public Health Researcher, Kern County California/USA
Tara Houska (Couchiching First Nation) | Founder, Giniw Collective, USA
Sharon Lavigne | Environmental activist and Founder and President of RISE St. James, USA
Dr. Adrienne Hollis PhD, JD | Principal and Founder, Hollis Environmental Consulting, USA
2:50 PM — NOURISHING SYSTEMIC CHANGE: FUNDING AT THE NEXUS OF GENDER AND CLIMATE
Speakers:
Melanie Allen | Co-Director, Hive Fund, USA
Alejandra Helbein | Women and Territory Program, Urgent Action Fund, International, Colombia
Sandile Ndelu | Interim Co-Manager, Communications & Advocacy Lead, FRIDA Fund, South AfricaTamara Toles O’Laughlin | President and CEO, Environmental Grantmakers Association, USA
Justin Winters | Co-Founder & Executive Director, One Earth, USA
Moderation by Nina Simons, Co-Founder & Chief Relationship Strategist, Bioneers, USA
4:00 PM — REGENERATIVE AND JUST ENERGY FOR ALL
Speakers:
Dr. Aytakin Asgarova | Founder, Indigenius Global LLC, Azerbaijan
Olasimbo Sojinrin | Nigeria Country Director, Solar Sister, Nigeria
Suzanne Singer (Diné) | Director, Native Renewables, USA
Margaret Kwateng | National Green New Deal Organizer, Grassroots Global Justice Alliance, USA
4:45 PM — KEYNOTE: NAOMI KLEIN
Keynote by Naomi Klein, Award-winning Journalist and New York Times Bestselling Author, Canada
DAY 4 - SEPTEMBER 28, 2021
1:00 PM — OPENING COMMENTS & WELCOME
Opening Comments by Osprey Orielle Lake, Assembly Convener, Executive Director, Women's Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN), USA
1:10 PM — GLOBAL VOICES AND INITIATIVES FOR CLIMATE JUSTICE
Speakers:
Hilda Heine | Senator and Former President of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Marshall IslandsMary Robinson | Former President of Ireland, Ireland
Dessima Williams | Grenadian Diplomat and Former Ambassador to the United Nations from Grenada, Grenada
Jody Williams | Nobel Peace Laureate, Co-founder, the Nobel Women’s Initiative, USATzeporah Berman | Chair, Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty, Canada
Moderation by: Antonia Juhasz, Author, Investigative Journalist, Analyst, USA
2:30 PM — OCEANS, FRESHWATER AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Speakers:
Aya M Rahil Naseem | Marine Biologist, Co-Founder and Vice President, The Maldives Coral Institute, The Maldives
Charlene Aleck (Tsleil Waututh Nation) | Elected Councillor for Tsleil Waututh Nation, Canada
Fadoua Brour | Co-Coordinator for the Middle East/North African Region, WECAN, MoroccoMaude Barlow | Founding Member of the Council of Canadians, Co-Founder, the Blue Planet Project, Turtle Island/CanadaVasser Seydel | Deep Sea-mining Campaign Manager, The Oxygen Project, USA
Kisha Muana | Ocean Campaigner, Biologist, Researcher, Greenpeace Philippines, The Philippines
3:40 PM — ON FIRE! YOUNG ACTIVISTS LEADING THE WAY
Speakers to date:
Mitzi Jonelle Tan | Convenor and International Spokesperson, Youth Advocates for Climate Action Philippines (YACAP), The Philippines
Rosario Diaz Garavito | Founder and CEO, The Millennials Movement, Peru
Brianna Fruean | Samoan Climate Change Activist, Pacific Climate Warriors, New Zealand
Ruth Łchav’aya K’isen Miller (Curyung Tribe of Dena’ina Athabaskan) | Climate Justice Director, Native Movement, USA
Moderation and comments by Niria Alicia Garcia, UN Young Champion of the Earth 2020, Run4Salmon Prayer, USA
4:50 PM — KEYNOTE: KATHY JETÑIL-KIJINER
Comments and Poetry Performance by Kathy Jetñil-Kijiner, Poet, Performance Artist, Educator, and Climate Envoy for the Marshall Islands, Marshall Islands
DAY 5 - SEPTEMBER 29, 2021
1:00 PM — SPECIAL OPENING: DR. JULIA KIM
Musical Performance by Dr. Julia Kim, Program Director, Gross National Happiness (GNH) Centre, Bhutan
Opening Comments by Osprey Orielle Lake, Assembly Convener, Executive Director, Women's Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN), USA
1:10 PM — FEMINIST AND CARE ECONOMIES FOR PEOPLE AND PLANET
Speakers:
Titi Soentoro | Executive Director, Aksi! for gender, social and ecological justice, Indonesia
Dr. Julia Kim | Program Director, Gross National Happiness (GNH) Centre, BhutanRauna Kuokkanen (Sápmi) | Research Professor of Arctic Indigenous Studies, The University of Lapland, FinlandJackie Fielder (Two Kettle Lakota and Hidatsa) | Co-founder, San Francisco Public Bank
Coalition, USA
Dr. Shalini Grover | Research Fellow for Global Economies of Care, International Inequalities Institute, London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), London, United Kingdom
Irene HongPing Shen | Trade Unions for Energy Democracy (TUED), USA
2:25 PM — LEADING FOSSIL FUEL RESISTANCE AND PROTECTING WATER
Speakers:
Kanahus Manuel (Secwepemc and Ktunaxa) | Tiny House Warriors, Canada
Moira Ivana Millán (Mapuche and Weychafe) | Founder and Coordinator, Indigenous Women's Movement for Good Living, Argentina
Tania Aubid (Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe) | Water Protector fighting to stop the Line 3 Pipeline, USA
Mie Asaoka | President, Kiko Network, Japan
Simone Senogles (Anishinaabe) | Food Sovereignty Program Coordinator, Leadership Team, Indigenous Environmental Network, USA
3:40 PM — RIGHTS OF NATURE: PROTECTING AND DEFENDING THE PLACES WE LIVE
Speakers:
Shannon Biggs | Co-Founder, Movement Rights, USA
Jacinta Ruru (Maori, Raukawa, Ngāti Ranginui) | Faculty of Law, University of Otago, New Zealand
4:25 PM — REMATRIATING THE LAND: INDIGENOUS SOVEREIGNTY AND THE LAND BACK MOVEMENT
Speakers:
Jade Begay (Diné / Tesuque Pueblo) | Climate Justice Campaign Director, NDN Collective, USA
Corrina Gould (Lisjan Ohlone) | Co-Founder and Co-Director, Sogorea Te’ Land Trust, USA
Jennifer Wickham (Gidimt’en, Cas Yikh) | Media Manager for Gidimt'en Checkpoint, Canada
Moderation and Comments by Nadya Tannous (Palestinian) | LANDBACK Organizer, NDN Collective
DAY 6 - SEPTEMBER 30, 2021
1:00 PM — OPENING COMMENTS & WELCOME
Opening Comments by Osprey Orielle Lake, Assembly Convener, Executive Director, Women's Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN), USA
1:10 PM — MEDIA VISIBILITY OF WOMEN'S CLIMATE LEADERSHIP
Speakers:
Amy Goodman | Host and Executive Producer of Democracy Now!, USA
Andrea Ixchiu Hernández (Mayan, K’iche’ Territory) | Filmmaker and Journalist, Guatemala
Antonia Juhasz | Author, Investigative Journalist, Analyst, USAKarina Gonzalez | Women Speak Programs Coordinator, WECAN, USA
Rachel Ramirez | Climate Writer, CNN, USA
Moderation and Comments by Markeya Thomas, Communications Strategist, WECAN, USA
2:10 PM — WE ACT FOR CLIMATE JUSTICE NOW | PART 1
Speakers to date:
Monica Atkins | Co-Executive Director, Climate Justice Alliance (CJA), USA
Bindu Bhandari | Program Associate, Climate Interactive, NepalIndia Logan-Riley (Ngāti Kahungunu ki Heretaunga) | Co-Founder, Te Ara Whatu, New Zealand
Alexandra Narvaez (Sinangoe) | Kofan Leader, EcuadorSunita Narain | Director General, The Centre for Science and Environment, India
Diana Duarte | Director of Policy and Strategic Engagement, MADRE, USA
3:20 PM — WE ACT FOR CLIMATE JUSTICE NOW | PART 2
Speakers:
Eriel Deranger (Dënesųłiné, Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation) | Executive Director, Indigenous Climate Action, Canada
Josefina Skerk (Sami) | Advocate for Sami rights and former Vice President of the Sami Parliament, SwedenJacqui Patterson | Founder and Executive Director, The Chisholm Legacy Project, USABhumika Muchhala | Decolonial and Feminist Political Economist, Political Economist & Policy Analyst, Third World Network, Brooklyn, USA
Thilmeeza Hussain | Ambassador, and Permanent Representative to the United Nations, The Maldives
Casey Camp Horinek (Ponca Nation) | Environmental Ambassador and Board Member, WECAN, USA
4:50 PM — CLOSING SESSION
Closing Comments by Osprey Orielle Lake, Assembly Convener, Executive Director, Women's Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN), USA
4:50 PM — MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
Musical Performance by Niria Alicia Garcia (Xicana Indigena), UN Young Champion of the Earth 2020, Run4Salmon Prayer, USA and Desirae Harp (Mishewal Wappo), Run4Salmon Prayer, USA
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