We were proud to create two moments of (eco)feminist strategizing and networking on the sidelines of the Summit of the Future, United Nations General Assembly and the Climate Week in New York. First up on Monday the 23rd of September, we co-organized a Feminist Fishbowl during the Global People’s Assembly, followed by our 30-year anniversary event for global partners and allies later that evening.

Feminist Fishbowl 

Right across the UN Headquarters in New York, the Global People’s Assembly brought together members of marginalized and excluded communities, along with civil society to discuss critical issues of global justice. In our dynamic event, we aimed to outline what feminists want to see happen beyond the Summit of the Future and how we can ensure our feminist demands are reflected in upcoming policy processes. The space served as a platform for civil society to engage and connect with each other in an interactive “fishbowl” format, moderated by WECF’s Rebecca Heuvelmans. 

Topical experts were invited to take part in the initial panel discussions, sharing their critical insight on where we currently stand with the Pact for the Future and what work lies ahead, including in different upcoming processes. We held three different sessions focusing on: 

• 30 years of Women’s Rights: Beijing+ 30 & ICPD+30 

• Climate, Biodiversity and Gender-justice: UNFCCC COP29 & CBD COP16 

• Feminist Financing: FfD-4 & SDGs 

To allow the audience to feel comfortable with becoming an active participant, we started the session with a playful exercise to get used to the fishbowl method and shared with them the following policy brief as a cheat sheet, which explains policy processes linked to gender, climate and the Summit of the Future: Policy processes linked to gender, climate and the Summit of the Future – WECF.

For our first discussion, we invited Mabel Bianco, Founder and Director of FEIM Argentina, to give her reflection on the issue of gender equality in the current Pact for the Future. We were soon joined by several civil society members and engaged in a beautiful discussion on the importance of intergenerational exchange. We were joined by several feminists who had joined earlier Beijing anniversaries as well as younger members eager to learn about how to engage a new generation on this important process.

For our second discussion round, we were first joined by Trupti Jain, Founder and co-director of Naireeta Services in India and Carmen Caprilles from Reaccion Climatica from Bolivia, to discuss the upcoming climate and biodiversity conferences. We reflected on why the climate crisis and biodiversity loss are feminist issues. It became clear from our conversation that we needed to bring back the discussion from a policy level to discuss in closer detail the lived experience of women on the ground and ensure our advocacy caters to their reality and needs.

Our last discussion on Financing for Development and the Sustainable Development Goals, built on a session earlier that day at the Global People’s Assembly, where feminist financing demands were clearly laid out. To start our discussion, Zoneziwoh Mbondgulo-Wondhieh from Women for a Change, Cameroon joined the panel and kicked us off on a discussion about the future of feminist financing.

We were truly touched by the response from participants who mentioned that they felt heard in this feminist space. In return, we want to thank all participants for making it a space of collective learning, openness and respect, and we hope participants were able to connect and strategize for these upcoming events beyond this meeting.

Ecofeminists Want…

We continued to connect with fellow feminists that evening with a celebration in honor of our 30-year WECF anniversary at the rooftop of the Allerton.

We were joined by many feminist, environmental, climate and LGBTQI+ rights organizations who are all engaging in New York to push for structural change and uphold equal rights for all. 

In line with this Summer’s Ecofeminist Fair and Reception which we organised in The Netherlands back in June, we asked our allies, partners and new friends to join the campaign “Ecofeminists Want…” and write down their ask for a more just and healthy future for all.

Have a look at the amazing compilation video here: https://www.facebook.com/reel/2050190618712264 

 

These events were co-funded by the European Union. The content of these events are the sole responsibility of WECF and should not be read to interpret the view of the European Union.