Intergenerational Dialogue on Feminist Climate Justice

Opening Remarks

Mahnaz Afkhami | Founder and President of Women's Learning Partnership

Mahnaz Afkhami (Iran/USA) is Founder, President, and CEO of Women’s Learning Partnership. Former Secretary-General of the Women's Organization of Iran, was the first woman in the MENA region to serve as Minister for Women's Affairs. She was a professor of English literature at the National University of Iran, where she founded the Association of University Women. She is Executive Director of the Foundation for Iranian Studies. Afkhami participated in the establishment of the United Nations Asia and Pacific Centre for Women and Development (APCWD) and the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW). Her numerous publications include Faith and Freedom: Women's Human Rights in the Muslim World; Victories Over Violence; Women in Exile, and Beyond Equality: A Manual for Women’s Human Rights Defenders.

Keynote Speaker

Mary Robinson | Former President of Ireland, Chair of The Elders 

Mary Robinson (Ireland) served as the first woman President of Ireland from 1990-1997 and the former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights from 1997-2002. Throughout her career, she has advocated for gender equality, women’s participation in peace-building, and climate justice. Robinson served as UN Envoy on Climate Change from 2014- 15 and UN Special Envoy on El Nino and Climate. The Mary Robinson Foundation for Climate Justice works to secure global justice for groups vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and emphasizes the critical role women play as agents of change within their communities. Her publications include Climate Justice: Hope Resilience, and the Fight for a Sustainable Future, Everybody Matters: My Life Giving Voice, Global Health and Global Aging, and A Voice for Human Rights.

Moderator

Musimbi Kanyoro | Board Chair of Women's Learning Partnership

Musimbi Kanyoro (Kenya) is the Board Chair of Women’s Learning Partnership and the United World Colleges. She is a trustee of Homeward Bound Projects, an initiative that seeks to inspire and equip women scientists to embrace leadership in climate change. She is the immediate past President and CEO of the Global Fund for Women. She served as the General Secretary (CEO) of the World YWCA and as the Executive Director of the Women’s department of the Lutheran World Federation. Musimbi served on the international steering committee for the Beijing World Conference on women and led delegations to five United Nations World Conferences. She currently is a member of the Civil Society Advisory Group to support the work on UN Women. She has delivered numerous keynote speeches throughout the world and published articles, chapters in books, and written and edited 10 books.

Comments on 17th Annual Youth Tech Conference

Asma Khader | Chief Executive Officer of Solidarity Is Global Institute-Jordan

Asma Khader (Jordan) is Founder and CEO of Solidarity is Global Insitute- Jordan. She has over 40 years of experience as a specialized lawyer in human rights and legal protection of victims of human rights violations. Khader is a member of the Royal Commission for the Drafting of the Jordanian National Charter. She played an important role as a member of the Royal Commission for Human Rights and was appointed as a board member of its successor, the National Centre for Human Rights. Khader's national appointments include Minister of Culture (2003-2005); Minister of State and the official spokesperson for the Jordanian Government (2013); Member of the Jordanian Senate (2013); Secretary-General of the Jordanian National Commission for women (2007-2014); and Commissioner at the Independent Election Commission (2014-2016.)

Panelists

Ellen Acioli | Co-founder of the Suraras do Tapajós Indigenous Women Association in Brazilian Amazon

Ellen Acioli (Brazil) is an indigenous and climate activist. As a project coordinator at Conservation International, she worked on projects in the Amazon in the areas of land use, environmental protection and conservation, governance and organizational strengthening, and sustainable community-based production. Ellen works to strengthen partnerships between the government, the private sector, and local civil society organizations, to build sustainable production chains used by local residents. Ellen is co-creator, co-founder, and associate of the Suraras do Tapajós Indigenous Women Association, which combats violence and racism against indigenous women, through economic and political empowerment.

Nada al-Ahdal | Chairman of Nada Foundation for Child Rights Protection

Nada Al Ahdal (Yemen) is a human rights activist known for her advocacy around ending child marriage. Nada escaped two different child marriage pacts, which her parents had arranged.  In 2013, she posted a YouTube video decrying child marriage showcasing her story and her experience in being forced into marriage contracts. The video quickly went viral and prompted coverage of Yemen’s continued practice of child marriage. Through her advocacy, she influenced the comprehensive National Dialogue Conference in Yemen to pass and apply a law that criminalizes the marriage of minors under the age of 18. Nada was a nominee for the 2018-2019 Nobel Prize for Children.

Safa’ Al Jayoussi | Climate Justice Advocate

Safa’ Al Jayoussi (Jordan) is an award-winning environmental justice advocate. She has been engaged in climate justice efforts since 2008. She served as an official climate change negotiations observer under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. She has supported efforts around the Arab World to implement responsible climate policy.  She headed an Arab civil society delegation at COP21 in Paris and organized an advocacy and media campaign that successfully led to the Arab League signing on to the agreement. Safa’ is a public speaker; and has presented her work in many international and sub-regional events in over 20 countries. In 2017 she addressed the United Nations General Assembly as a keynote speaker.

Amani Aruri | Member of Generation Equality Youth Task Force

Amani Aruri (Palestine) is passionate about increasing support to women and youth peacebuilders. She works to increase young people’s civic engagement and democratic participation, particularly in a high-risk contexts. She manages programs that serve marginalized groups, especially youth and women in Palestine, with a special focus on gender issues in the Palestinian society. She was elected for the Youth Local Council of Eastern Bani Zaid in Palestine, is a member of the assembly of the UN Women gender innovation program-AGORA, and a member of the Global Youth Task Force on Beijing +25. She was selected as a member of the task force on the Generation Equality Compact on Women, Peace, and Security and Humanitarian Action. She holds a master’s degree in Economics from Birzeit University.

Bridget Burns | Executive Director of Women’s Environment and Development Organization

Bridget Burns (USA) specializes in policy advocacy, research, and movement building at the intersection of gender equality, women’s rights, and environment/climate justice. She has been particularly focused on integrating gender equality into the decisions and outcomes of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Prior to WEDO, Bridget worked at LEAD International. She has a Masters from the London School of Economics in Gender, Development, and Globalization, where the focus of her research was on eco-feminism. Bridget Burns has also worked on a variety of development issues in several countries including renewable energy infrastructure in Beijing, global health issues in Tunisia, disaster risk, and resilience in Bangkok, and women’s economic development in Costa Rica.

Sarah Costa | Executive Director of Women’s Refugee Commission

Sarah Costa (USA) is the Executive Director of the Women's Refugee Commission (WRC), a global organization advocating for the rights and protection of women, children, and youth displaced by conflict. Costa has over 25 years of experience in the field of women’s rights, reproductive health, and global philanthropy and is a member of World Learning’s Global Advisory Council. Before joining WRC, she served as regional director of Global Fund for Women and program director for the Ford Foundation.  Sarah was Professor of Women's Health at the National School of Public Health, Brazil from 1980 to 1994 and was active in the women's movement in Brazil, where she was a member of the Advisory Committee to the National Council on Women's Rights. She is currently a member of World Learning's Global Advisory Council.

Leela Hazzah | Co-founder and Director of Lion Guardians & Women for the Environment Africa

Dr. Leela Hazzah (Egypt) obtained her PhD and MSc from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and is an affiliate faculty member at Colorado State University and the University of Cape Town. She is the Executive Director and Cofounder of Lion Guardians, Founding Member and Leadership Council of Women for the Environment Africa (WE Africa) and Cofounder of PRIDE Lion Conservation Alliance. Leela, has worked on conservation issues in East Africa for over 20 years. She works hand-in-hand with local communities to further environmental goals and put more women at the head of decision-making, and at the heart of the African environmental movement. Leela has been awarded the the Rolex Awards for Enterprise (Finalist), CNN Heroes, Future for Nature Award, St. Andrews Prize for the Environment, Young Women in Africa Conservation Award, and a Fulbright Fellowship.