Inspiring stories of climate champions

On this page we want to provide space for the stories of inspiring champions in the field of gender equality and the fight against climate change and environmental pollution.

ClimAct/Spark A Change

As an ecofeminist network we want to provide space for the stories of inspiring champions in the field of gender equality and the fight against climate change and environmental pollution. We believe that a sustainable future and environment needs feminist solutions reflecting the lives of people on the ground. That is why we work on transformative gender equality and women’s human rights in interconnection with sustainable development and climate justice.

We want to provide space for the stories of inspiring champions in the field of gender equality and the fight against climate change and environmental pollution.

With this in mind, we organize, together with the Women and Gender constituency, an annual Award ceremony during the global climate negotiations, the Gender Just Climate Solutions Awards, where we identify the most outstanding grassroots climate actions that have women leadership and promote gender-equality. We know the solutions to a more sustainable future already exist – and it is time to showcase them and demand change!

Ernestine

Ernestine has been involved in regeneration and livelihood improvement in the Kilum-Ijim forest area since 2012. Together with her organization Cameroon Gender and Environment Watch (CAMGEW) she strengthens female leadership by providing training on agroforestry, soil conservation, tree planting, and forest governance.

In 2019, Ernestine was one of the winners of the Gender Just Climate Solution Award. This is a yearly event at the UNFCCC Climate Summit , organized by WECF International and the Women & Gender Constituency.

Read Ernestine's story

Jamila

Jamila Idbourrous is the director of the Union of Argan Women’s Cooperatives. She represents 1200 women argan farmers in the south of Morocco who have united in cooperatives to produce arganoil in a fair and sustainable way.

In 2016, Jamila was one of the winners of the Gender Just Climate Solution Award. This is a yearly event at the UNFCCC Climate Summit , organized by WECF International and the Women & Gender Constituency.

Read Jamila's Story of Change here

Pauline

Pauline is an environmental scientist, graduated in environmental engineering and biology, with a strong antenna for international solidarity. As an environmental scientist, she was associated with research institutes in Sweden, India, Cambodia and France until she accidentally ended up at UNIVERS-SEL. She worked in the salt marshes of Guérande, in southern Brittany, as a seasonal worker to harvest fleur de sel, a slightly moist sea salt with a crystalline structure. There she got to know the organization UNIVERS-SEL and heard about their work in Guinea-Bissau. Coincidentally, a position became available. She then spent two years in Guinea-Bissau working with female salt producers.

Read Pauline's story of change

Karen

The gender just climate solution winner FUNDAECO, partly led by Karen Dubois, benefits from a unique development model. It is grounded on forest conservation by indigenous peoples, while ensuring the sexual and reproductive health and rights of adolescent girls in 100 Maya and Q’eqchi communities in Guatemala.

In 2019, Karen was one of the winners of the Gender Just Climate Solution Awards. This is a yearly event at the UNFCCC Climate Summit, organized by WECF International and the Women & Gender Constituency.

Read Karen's Story of Change

Trupti

Pauline is an environmental scientist, graduated in environmental engineering and biology, Trupti Jain from India is the co-founder of Naireeta Services. She invented an innovation called Bhungroo, that has been developed with the help of women farmers, where traditional knowledge and wisdom help us to innovate this technology at the ground level. Women’s participation in technology is very important.

In 2018, Trupti was one of the winners of the Gender Just Climate Solution Award. This is a yearly event at the UNFCCC Climate Summit, organized by WECF International and the Women & Gender Constituency.

Watch Trupti's Story of Change

Dorothée

Dorothée Marie Lisenga won a Gender Just Climate Award in 2018. For an equal world, she identifies “the need to address the legal system which is rooted in colonial and patriarchal thinking.” Her winning project, CFLEDD, started in 2016 and has since passed new land and forest laws in eight provinces of the Democratic Republic of Congo that allow women to become landowners. In addition, the project trained 480 women and supports peasant women who are now working towards climate justice solutions. This represented a breakthrough in the existing barrier for women to participate in climate action.

Read Dorothée's Story of Change

Svitlana

Svitlana is the Chair of BSWC, a Ukrainian NGO established in 2007. BSWC is a regional network of women leaders and environmental NGOs working on the protection of the main rivers, Danube, Dniester and Dnipro flowing into the Black Sea. But Svitlana suddenly became a refugee 5 weeks ago. When Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24th Svitlana along with her grandchildren fled to a safe place in Romania, where she created a volunteers network with Ukrainian NGO activists, organising help to defenders of the southern Ukrainian cities.

April 5 was an important day for Svitlana Slesarenok, environmental expert and activist from the NGO Black Sea Women’s Club from Odesa, Ukraine, as she gave the opening speech for the Civil society forum ahead of the Regional Sustainable Development Forum of the UNECE region in Geneva.

Read Svitlana's Story of Change

Fatou

Fatou Ndoye is a sociologist and gender, climate and development expert. She has been working since 1997 for Enda Graf Sahel, an NGO dedicated to the social and economic development of disadvantaged populations in Senegal. As the coordinator of the Food Security Pole of Enda Graf Sahel, Fatou supports sustainable value chains in agriculture, fishing and small-scale livestock farming, as well as women’s entrepreneurship. With her organisation, she is supporting fisher women to restore and develop sustainable fishing, and energy efficient processing practices of mangrove shellfish and small fish. Her work for environmental protection and women’s empowerment in the Saloum Delta has been praised by many. In 2016, Fatou’s work was awarded a grant from the Gender Just Climate Solution Awards. The grant was used to acquire 45 improved stoves and to create a revolving fund. The new equipment also lightens the women’s work and reduces the incidence of respiratory diseases caused by smoke.

Read Fatou's Story of Change

Kateryna

Located in the city of Dnipro, Ukraine, Kateryna, one of the leading experts in our joint TEAD programme, and the CEO of an energy service company “EnergoEngineering,” was faced with a daunting proximity of conflict and witnessed numerous instances of war crimes around her, but chose to stay and assist in the defence of her country.
Like most Ukrainians, after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia, Kateryna set her daily responsibilities aside and interrupted her work, which, up until the invasion, predominantly consisted of performing energy audits and issuing energy efficiency certifications, and was, thus, essential for sustainable development in the area. Instead, in order to support those joining the fight, she began to utilize her connections to gather a range of essentials. The list first included military clothing and simple equipment such as backpacks, thermostats, and binoculars, but soon began to centre around tactical first aid kits and other humanitarian aid that local organizations could no longer cover.

Watch Kateryna's Story of Change