Tuesday was Gender Day at COP18. I went to a talk, Gender and Climate: Moving beyond the Rhetoric, where the panel was filled with all very intelligent influential women that held powerful leadership positions!
The lady speakers included (pictured from the top left to right):
Ms. Christiana Figueres, UNFCCC Executive Secretary
H.E. Sheikha Mayassa bint Hamad Al-Thani, Chairperson of the Board of Trustees - Qatar Museums Authority
Ms. Mary Robinson, Former President of Ireland, President, Mary Robinson Foundation – Climate Justice
Ms. Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, Minister of International Relations and Co-operation of the Republic of South Africa
Ms. Elena Manaenkova, Assistant Secretary General of the World Meteorological Organization
Ms. Julia Marton-Lefèvre, Director-General of the International Union for Conservation of Nature
Ms. Nawal Al-Hosany, Director of Sustainability, Masdar
All of these women were able to rise above, take leadership positions, and make an impact on their part of the world for the better. These women spoke of how they think women should and can move beyond rhetoric (practical action). They gave examples of their experiences and spoke from their hearts motivating and encouraging the women in the audience. They talked about why still in the 21st century we are still dealing with gender issues at the conference ( 90% of the chief negotiators are men). What is holding women back? And how can women try to move forward into leadership roles so there is a balance?
These women all agreed that women need to have great role models. These women are some of the best I have seen (besides my mom). They also said that at an early age women need to be allowed to choose any course in their education and encouraged to do so. Women should have a supportive framework behind and should be challenged and motivated. Women will rise and are empowered by challenge.
And this reminds of an article called Solar Mama Shines as Beacon of Hope for Her Community’s Future that I read recently. This article was about an amazing woman, Rafea Anadi, in the film Solar Mamas. She made a journey to Barefoot College in India to be trained in 6 month program to become a solar engineer. This was a program was created by Bunker Roy for illiterate and semi-literate grandmothers from remote villages. Knowledge during the program was transferred by using sign language, repetition, and visual aids because many of the women also did not speak the same language as the instructors. The plan was to teach these women so they could take the knowledge back to homes and they did that and more. In the articles states “Ms. Anandi was also trained in the installation of solar cookers and water harvesting technology, making the town even more independent and sustainable” (1). These women were able to bring much back to their communities that will have long last effects because their knowledge will be able to be passed from generation to generation. These women rose to the challenge and became leaders in their communities and became inspirations to us.
1) http://www.cop18.qa/en-us/News/SingleStory.aspx?ID=158
*and pictures thanks to google images
The lady speakers included (pictured from the top left to right):
Ms. Christiana Figueres, UNFCCC Executive Secretary
H.E. Sheikha Mayassa bint Hamad Al-Thani, Chairperson of the Board of Trustees - Qatar Museums Authority
Ms. Mary Robinson, Former President of Ireland, President, Mary Robinson Foundation – Climate Justice
Ms. Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, Minister of International Relations and Co-operation of the Republic of South Africa
Ms. Elena Manaenkova, Assistant Secretary General of the World Meteorological Organization
Ms. Julia Marton-Lefèvre, Director-General of the International Union for Conservation of Nature
Ms. Nawal Al-Hosany, Director of Sustainability, Masdar
All of these women were able to rise above, take leadership positions, and make an impact on their part of the world for the better. These women spoke of how they think women should and can move beyond rhetoric (practical action). They gave examples of their experiences and spoke from their hearts motivating and encouraging the women in the audience. They talked about why still in the 21st century we are still dealing with gender issues at the conference ( 90% of the chief negotiators are men). What is holding women back? And how can women try to move forward into leadership roles so there is a balance?
These women all agreed that women need to have great role models. These women are some of the best I have seen (besides my mom). They also said that at an early age women need to be allowed to choose any course in their education and encouraged to do so. Women should have a supportive framework behind and should be challenged and motivated. Women will rise and are empowered by challenge.
And this reminds of an article called Solar Mama Shines as Beacon of Hope for Her Community’s Future that I read recently. This article was about an amazing woman, Rafea Anadi, in the film Solar Mamas. She made a journey to Barefoot College in India to be trained in 6 month program to become a solar engineer. This was a program was created by Bunker Roy for illiterate and semi-literate grandmothers from remote villages. Knowledge during the program was transferred by using sign language, repetition, and visual aids because many of the women also did not speak the same language as the instructors. The plan was to teach these women so they could take the knowledge back to homes and they did that and more. In the articles states “Ms. Anandi was also trained in the installation of solar cookers and water harvesting technology, making the town even more independent and sustainable” (1). These women were able to bring much back to their communities that will have long last effects because their knowledge will be able to be passed from generation to generation. These women rose to the challenge and became leaders in their communities and became inspirations to us.
1) http://www.cop18.qa/en-us/News/SingleStory.aspx?ID=158
*and pictures thanks to google images
RSS Feed