Women Leading Solutions on the Frontlines of Climate Change - Marrakech

Presented by The Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN International) www.wecaninternational.org

November 14, 2016 – Marrakech, Morocco

Her Excellency President Hilda C. Heine (President of the Republic of the Marshall Islands) President Hilda Heine is a Marshallese educator and politician, currently serving as the eighth President of the Marshall Islands, the first woman to hold the office. Prior to taking on the Presidency, Hilda served as the Minister of Education, and was the first individual in the Marshall Islands to earn a doctorate degree. President Hilda is the founder of the women's rights group Women United Together Marshall Islands (WUTMI), and previously worked on critical initiatives including the Pacific Islands Climate Change Education Partnership, Leadership Pacific Advisory Board, the Commission on Education in Micronesia, and the Human Resources in Health Task Force.

Honorable Mary Robinson (Mary Robinson Foundation - Climate Justice; Former President of Ireland) The first female president of Ireland (1990-1997), Mary Robinson became the United Nations Special Envoy on Climate Change in 2014, and is president of the Mary Robinson Foundation - Climate Change. A former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary founded and was president of Realizing Rights: The Ethical Globalization Initiative. She was educated at the University of Dublin (Trinity College), King’s Inns Dublin and Harvard Law School, and as an academic (Trinity College Law Faculty 1968-90), legislator (Member of the Irish

Senate 1969-89) and barrister (Irish Bar 1967-90, Senior Counsel 1980; called to the English Bar 1973) has sought to use law as an instrument for social change, arguing landmark cases before the European Court of Human Rights and the European Court in Luxembourg. The recipient of numerous honors and awards throughout the world including the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Obama, Mary is a member of the Elders, former chair of the Council of Women World Leaders and a member of the Club of Madrid.

Neema Namadamu (SAFECO; Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network, Democratic Republic of Congo)

Neema Namadamu is a visionary peacemaker from Bukavu, South Kivu Province in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where she advocates for peace, women’s rights, rights for persons with disabilities, rights for Indigenous pygmy peoples, and Rights of Nature. She is Founder and Director of SAFECO, the Synergy of Congolese Women’s Associations and Maman Shujaa: Hero Women of the Congo, through which she has a

established a media center for Congolese women to make their voices heard on the range of issues affecting their country. Neema also serves as WECAN International’s Coordinator in the Democratic Republic of Congo, leading workshops and trainings with local women to address deforestation, build women’s leadership, support Traditional Ecologic Knowledge, and protect the rich ecosystems of the Itombwe rainforest. In June of 2012 Neema was selected as one of three World Pulse journalists for their annual Live Tour of the U.S., where she spoke before the U.S. Department of State, the Clinton Global Initiative, and was interviewed by CNN.

Rachida Outouchki (Amazigh Peoples, High Atlas Foundation, Morocco)

Rachida Outouchki is a 39 years old Amazigh (Berber) Indigenous woman of Morocco, married with two boys and one girl. She lives in the village Takatert 2, located in the Ourika commune, Al Haouz province. Currently, she’s the President of Aboghlo’s cooperative, where she works to expand the cooperative to benefit more rural

women, and strengthen use of the traditional organic products that have been used across the country since time immemorial. Rachida also works with Ourika tree nursery, advocating for the use of natural organic fertilizers and sustainable farming methods to bear fruits for local communities and the environment.

Amina El Hajjami (Amazigh Peoples, High Atlas Foundation, Morocco) Amina El Hajjami is an Amazigh (Berber) Indigenous woman, born in the Al Haouz Province near Marrakech. She received a Bachelor’s Degree in geography from Cadi Ayyad University of Marrakech in 2010. While studying she began volunteering with associations in Marrakech and Al Haouz focusing on local sustainable

development. After graduating she worked with the association N'fis pour le Développement Economique et Social in the Al Haouz province for three years. Currently, Amina works as the Project Manager for the High Atlas Foundation. She speaks Arabic, French, and Berber.

Ruth Nyambura (African Eco-Feminists Collective; No REDD in Africa Network; Health of Mother Earth Foundation, Kenya) Ruth Nyambura is a researcher and political ecologist based in Kenya, working relentlessly on the intersections of gender and ecological justice. She is currently associated with the No REDD in Africa Network (NRAN), African Eco-feminists Collective and a Fellow of the Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) sustainability academy. Her work challenges patriarchy and colonialism, and advocates for the rights of women across Kenya

and Africa, focusing particularly on the continents Indigenous and rural women. Through the African Eco-Feminist Collective and other networks, Ruth advocates for agrarian justice and women’s land rights, action to halt extractive industries, and much more. Ruth is also strong voice of the global movement for the Rights of Nature.

Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim (Association for Indigenous Women and Peoples of Chad) Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim is from Mbororo pastoralist community of Chad. She is the coordinator of the Association for Indigenous Women and Peoples of Chad (AFPAT) a community based organization. Hindou is a member of the Indigenous Peoples of Africa Coordinating Committee (IPACC) as the Congo Basin regional representative and works to ensure the inclusion of indigenous peoples on international platforms, including within

the three Rio Conventions. She is currently a co-chair of the International Indigenous Peoples Forum on Climate Change, the indigenous peoples' caucus to the UNFCCC.

Alicia Cahuiya (Vice President of the Huaorani Nationality, Ecuador) Alicia Hueiya Cahuilla is Huoarani woman leader, born and living in what is now called Yasuni National Park, Ecuador. Alicia is the Vice President of the NAWE, the Association of the Huaorani Nationality of Ecuador, and has also served as the President of AMWAUE, the Association of Huaorani Women of Ecuador. She is a foremost woman defender of Yasuni, and has received death threats and faced other intimidation for her work.

Alicia believes that action to respect Indigenous rights and keep oil under the ground is the most vital, effective climate solution, and has delivered this message, and the story of her communities poisoning and resistance, with great conviction in front of grassroots leaders, concerned allies, news and media, international governments and policymakers and fellow Indigenous women land defenders across the globe.

Simone Lovera (Global Forest Coalition, Paraguay)

Simone Lovera is the Executive Director of the Global Forest Coalition, a worldwide coalition of 80 Indigenous Peoples’ Organizations and NGOs from 53 different countries striving for rights-based, socially just forest conservation and restoration policies. She also is a guest researcher for the Centre for Sustainable Development Studies of the Amsterdam Institute of Social Science Research of the University of Amsterdam, and works as a

volunteer for Sobrevivencia/Friends of the Earth-Paraguay. She has been an active member of the Women’s Major Group on Sustainable Development since 2011.

Diana Lopez (Southwest Workers’ Union; Global Grassroots Justice Alliance, USA) Diana Lopez is the Directora of the Southwest Workers’ Union based in San Antonio, Texas. The Southwest Workers’ Union, with 3,500 members, works to reframe public policy to protect the community and include the voices of local residents. It has led successful strategic campaigns targeting wages, environmental clean-up, economic revitalization, healthcare and energy policy. Lopez began working with the Southwest Workers’

Union as a high school intern. It was while conducting a health study in neighborhoods near two of San Antonio’s six military bases that she made the connection between birth defects, cancer and other health problems associated with pollution from military installations. Lopez won the 2009 Brower Youth Award from Earth Island Institute and the Urban Renewal Award for her community organizing and for promoting food sovereignty, premised on the belief that people have the right to decide what to eat and that food should be healthy and accessible to everyone in the community. Diana has brought local struggles to three United Nations Conventions on Climate Change. She sits on coordinating committees of the South by Southwest Experiment, and Grassroots Global Justice.

Jacqueline Patterson (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People - Environmental and Climate Justice Program, USA) Jacqueline Patterson is the Director of the NAACP Environmental and Climate Justice Program. Since 2007 Patterson has also served as coordinator & co-founder of Women of Color United. Patterson has worked as a researcher, program manager, coordinator, advocate and activist working on women‘s rights, violence against

women, HIV&AIDS, racial justice, economic justice, and environmental and climate. justice. Patterson served as a Senior Women’s Rights Policy Analyst for ActionAid where she integrated a women’s rights lens for the issues of food rights, macroeconomics, and climate change as well as the intersection of violence against women and HIV&AIDS. Previously, she served as Assistant Vice-President of HIV/AIDS Programs for IMA World Health providing management and technical assistance to medical facilities and programs in 23 countries in Africa and the Caribbean. Patterson holds a master’s degree in social work from the University of Maryland and a master’s degree in public health from Johns Hopkins University.

Thilmeeza Hussain (Former Deputy Ambassador to the UN from the Maldives; Climate Wise Women; Voice of Women, Maldives)

Thilmeeza Hussain is a human rights and climate activist and educator from the island nation of the Maldives. She is the founder of Voice of Women Maldives, her country’s only non-government organization addressing women and climate change. She is also a member of Climate Wise Women, a global platform promoting women’s leadership on climate change. Thilmeeza served as Deputy Permanent Representative of the Republic of the

Maldives to the United Nations from 2009 to 2012 when the first democratically elected government was toppled. During her term at the UN she had the sustainable development portfolio and led the Maldives on environmental and climate change issues. Prior to serving at the UN, Thilmeeza was Minister of State for Home Affairs - North Province, and was among the team of young enthusiastic members of her country’s first democratically elected government. She worked extensively with the decentralization process, was charged with establishing the North Province Office, and managed the administration of the island of Dhuvaafaru, a previously uninhabited island that was settled by Maldives after the 2004 tsunami.

Kalyani Raj (UNFCCC Women and Gender Constituency Representative, India) Kalyani Raj is a representative of the UNFCCC Women and Gender Constituency, and a Member In Charge of the All India Women’s Conference. Upon returning to India after a decade living in Hong Kong, Kalyani began her career in social work, and as a volunteer with the All India Women’s Conference. Over the years, she has initiated and completed several projects focuses on holistic socio-economic empowerment of women through

advocacy, awareness, workshops and capacity building trainings. In recent years, Kalyani has focused on the sustainable development goals (SDG’s); integrated Climate Change initiatives; propagation of renewable energy as a viable mitigation endeavour as well as income generation opportunity; creating awareness about climate change impact on women in various fields; and disaster preparedness. She had been actively engaged with the Women and Gender Constituency (WGC), and currently serves as the Co-Focal Point of the WGC for the Global South.

Nicole Oliveira (350.org Latin America, Brazil) Nicole is a consultant and expert in the area of Law, Project Management, Climate Change and International Sustainability. She has two master's degrees in International Law and Conflict Resolution at the UN University for Peace in Costa Rica, and the University of Innsbruck in Austria, MBA in people management and is a doctoral student in project management by FUNIBER. Nicole has a wide range of professional experience,

having served as a climate change and project management consultant for international non-governmental organizations such as the Humane Society International, Vitae Civils, Oxfam Brazil and Foundation Cooperlivre Arayara. She is the team leader of the 350.org team in Latin America, Irai Basin Committee member and various other committees of environmental protection. She is also the national coordinator of the Coalition No Fracking Brazil. She has a bachelor's degree in Law (University Mackenzie, Brazil).

Natalie Isaacs (One Million Women, Australia) Natalie Isaacs is the founder and CEO of 1 Million Women, the movement of women and girls who act on climate change through the way they live. Natalie, a former cosmetics manufacturer, chose to leave behind the over-packaged world of skin and beauty care when she realised that how we live day-to-day as individuals is critical to how society can transition to a zero carbon pollution future.

She set out to create an organisation that inspires and empowers women to act. Under her leadership, 1 Million Women is now a community of over 500,000 women and girls. 1 Million Women focuses specifically on sweeping lifestyle change - especially for privileged world citizens in developed economies. Natalie's own climate journey from apathy to real action cuts through complexity and delivers a simple message that resonates with women and girls of all ages.

Diana Donlon (Center for Food Safety, USA) Diana Donlon is the Director of Center for Food Safety's Cool Foods Campaign – a solutions oriented program, empowering the public to make the critical connections between food and climate. Before coming to work for CFS, Diana worked for a variety of family foundations supporting youth and sustainable agriculture programs and was one of the founders of Roots of Change, a state-wide collaborative transitioning California’s food system. As a program executive at the Goldman Environmental Prize, she helped elevate the critical causes of environmental activist around the world. Diana is the Board Secretary of Watershed Media, award-winning publishers of action-oriented titles. She

served in Peace Corps, Morocco and speaks French and Spanish. She lives amidst an abundance of fruit trees in Marin County with her husband, teenaged sons, Maine Coon cat and three chickens. Cecilia Flores (Aymara Peoples, Abya Yala Women Messengers, Chile)

Kayla DeVault (Shawnee/Anishinaabe Peoples, SustainUS Delegation, the Diné Policy Institute, USA) Kayla DeVault (Shawnee/Anishinaabe peoples) is a resident of Window Rock, Navajo Nation. She is a SustainUS COP22 delegate who works as a research assistant for the Diné Policy Institute while pursuing a Masters in Mechanical Engineering and tribal energy policy. She works under both the US federal and Navajo tribal governments. Her passions include sustainability, learning other cultures and languages, and interfacing

social and environmental justice. This year, Kayla was appointed to the NEJAC/EPA Youth Perspectives on Climate Working Group where she provides recommendations to national policy.

Kathy Jetñil-Kijiner (Climate Change Activist / Poet, Marshall Islands) Kathy is a Marshall Islander poet, spoken word artist, and a full-time instructor at the College of the Marshall Islands. She received international acclaim through her inspirational poetry performance at the opening of the United Nations Climate Summit in New York in 2014. Her writing and performances have been featured by CNN, Democracy Now, Mother Jones, the Huffington Post, NBC News, National Geographic, Vogue Magazine, Nobel Women’s Initiative, and more.

Kathy also co-founded the youth climate change NGO Jo-Jikum dedicated to empower Marshallese youth to transform from passive victims of climate change to active navigators of their complex future. Kathy has been selected as one of 13 Climate Warriors by Vogue in 2015 and the Impact Hero of the Year by Earth Company in 2016. She received her Master in Pacific Island Studies from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.

Yamna Oulamine and Nejma Ait Mansour (traditional Amazigh singers of Morocco to open the event)

Nejma is a 73 years old Tamazight (Berber) Indigenous woman, married with three boys and four girls. She is from Takatert 2, located in the Ourika commune of the Al Haouz province. Nejma is illiterate, and is the caretaker for her sick husband. Nejma is a member of the Aboghlo Women's Cooperative and works in one of the High Atlas Foundations organic nurseries in Ourika, where she speaks up for natural fertilizers and sustainable farming as a key method for maintaining the health of plants, communities and the environment.

Yamna is a 60 year old Tamazight (Berber) Indigenous woman and widow with four daughters. Yamna is from the Takatert 2 village in the Ourika commune of Al Haouz province. Yamna is a member of the Aboghlo Women's Cooperative and works in a High Atlas Foundation organic nursery, growing trees and medicinal plants without chemicals. Yamna and Nejma are both musicians and singers, sharing the traditional music of the Tamazight peoples of North Africa.

Osprey Orielle Lake (Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network, USA) Osprey Orielle Lake is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN). She works internationally with grassroots and Indigenous leaders, policy-makers and scientists to mobilize women for climate justice, resilient communities, systemic change, and a just transition to a clean energy future. Osprey is Co-chair of International Advocacy for the Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature and the visionary behind the International Women's Earth and Climate Summit, which brought together 100 women leaders from around the world to draft and implement a Women's Climate Action Agenda. She teaches international climate trainings and directs

WECAN’s advocacy work in areas such as Women for Forests, Rights of Nature and UN Forums. She is the author of the award-winning book, Uprisings for the Earth: Reconnecting Culture with Nature.