Women leading united action on climate change. “As holders of a great and universal desire to look after the young, we raise our voices, confident in the potential of women to lead positive change” [from Women’s Climate Congress vision and values statement]. In 2020, humanity stands at a crossroads. Climate scientists warn that we have only one more decade to get our house in order before we suffer the consequences of Earth’s fury. Our children are calling for action to secure their future and our country has been ravaged by fire. But our political system has resulted in deadlock. We have all enjoyed the benefits that the industrial revolution has brought to the developed world, and we must all work together to transition our economy and lifestyles to a sustainable and just future.
Picture what could be done if all parties worked through the issues around climate change with genuine multiparty intent to make our planet a safer sustainable home for our children, grandchildren and all life on Earth. This is the compelling and audacious proposition at the heart of the Women’s Climate Congress. We believe that it is a time for women’s leadership to help turn the tide of political culture from polarised discord to collaboration and cooperation. We propose that nurture of life in the natural world and care for the Earth must be at the centre of every policy government decision.
We firmly hold a future focused philosophy of taking joint responsibility and working together to achieve meaningful climate action. And we believe that the arts have a vital role in public discourse about issues of great concern for humanity – connecting head and heart. We already have big plans to build a network across Australia to start a dialogue with our political representatives. We will also reach out to like-minded women’s groups overseas. Call to the women …Now is the moment to network together, form women’s circles to amplify our voices to support the young people who have been bravely speaking out. We call out to women who share our vision to join us to lead the way to united action. For our children, grandchildren and all of life on Earth, it is the natural thing to do.
The Women’s Climate Congress is a network of women from all walks of life and political views. We have come together now because we cannot stay silent while the unfolding climate emergency threatens the future of our children and all life on Earth. We will work with open minds to inspire mediation and collaboration across political parties to overcome current roadblocks to a just and sustainable future. We accept the scientific consensus expressed in the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports and incorporated into the Paris Accord. As beneficiaries of the industrial age, we suspend judgment on the leadership decisions that have brought us here. Our mission is future-focused and will be a catalyst for united and creative change to restore climate balance and a renewed commitment to care for life on Earth.
We believe that it is time for women to lead the cultural change needed because their leadership style can help rebalance our currently stuck system towards compassion, inclusion and collaboration. To bring women’s voices to the fore, we will design processes that suit women’s schedules and ways of working together – through local groups, workshops and national congress as required. Through these gatherings, we will develop and model principles for the cultural shifts we seek to prioritise nurture of life and custodianship of the Earth in policy decisions. We will progressively promote these principles across all genders and parties to build trust that collaborative processes can serve the common good, and allow mediation of currently blocked policy pathways.
Background
This initiative is based on a discussion paper, Independent mediation for united action on climate change, first circulated by Janet Salisbury in late 2019. The paper was inspired by the actions of women in 1915 in response to the unprecedented suffering and loss of young lives in WW1. It also grew out of many years of leading a culture of conversation in Canberra, as well as creatively giving voice to citizen concerns with A Chorus of Women. The paper proposes that to break the deadlock, we need thinking minds from all perspectives to come together to consider the issue of climate change. Such a national (and indeed world) ‘thinking organ’ could offer to the currently opposing political forces an opportunity to collaborate in finding a just and sustainable way to stabilise the climate and secure a safe future for our children without renouncing their overall convictions.
Our logo
August 2020 — we are proud to launch our logo ! It combines original artwork by Rhiannon Glasser and graphic design by Helen Ferguson (artspirit). The overall image is a flower. This relates to our vision for the nurture of life to be at the heart of all important decisions. We also want women’s voices to bloom, for individuals to cultivate their strengths, and for conversations and connections to grow in the rich soil of communities. At the heart of the logo flower is the globe – our precious planet Earth. The natural world is threatened by the changing climate, and the vast weight of scientific opinion tells us we humans are bringing about this change. Our congress of women wishes to protect the planet by bringing the climate back into balance. We advocate for nurture of life and care for the Earth to lie at the heart of all important decisions so that today’s children and future generations have the opportunity to wonder at the beauty of the world and marvel at its diversity and complexity. The petals of the flower are women. They are of different shapes, sizes and colours. They face in different directions but they are all standing on the Earth. This reflects the diversity that we aspire to in our membership, our common grounding, and our joint responsibility to protect the natural environment for future generations.