Women Lead Climate

“Climate change is already having a devastating impact on the African Continent and there is an urgent need for African women to take the lead in galvanizing all stakeholders in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors to develop and implement innovative policies and interventions to mitigate the negative impact of climate change on food systems, farmer livelihoods, and the entire agriculture ecosystem.”Ndidi Okonkwo Nwuneli - Founder, LEAP Africa and Co-Founder AACE Foods

"As a pastoralist woman I have seen changing climatic conditions over the years and shrinking natural resources thereby. Women and children have been affected immensely. However I have also seen and experienced firsthand resilience from the women who have to travel for very long hours to get water and firewood for their families thereby decreasing their hours of doing any other productive hours. This being the situation women have had to hang on to their traditional knowledge to mitigate and adopt to extreme whether conditions. Women are the holders of knowledge and nurturers of society"Agnes Leina - Founder and Executive Director, Il’laramatak Community Concerns.

“Now is the time for all women, no matter their focus, to re-imagine themselves as also climate leaders. The participants at the Forum have done just that, and will support all women and girls to step forward at this vital moment to take up leadership of the climate movement globally. We call on all other women and men in positions of power and privilege to do the same.”Pat Mitchell and Ronda Carnegie - organisers of the Connected Women Leaders Forum

“Women, from the grassroots to the corridors of power, are best placed to create the political will necessary to transform the underlying systemic causes of climate change and interlinked crises, including the spread of war and the highly profitable and corrupt military industrial complex, which is one of the largest users of fossil fuels.”Karin Ryan - The Carter Center

“From centuries past to present day, women have and continue to lead and support monumental revolutions. As connected women leaders, we will stand up for Mother Nature: for her preservation, for her restoration and for her right to thrive. We will endeavour to raise the voices of those who are perpetually left out of these conversations, to ensure that the planet and the most vulnerable, are at the centre of our efforts. We forge forth with determination and hope: it is possible and we can do it. For Mother Nature!”Angela Gichaga - CEO, Financing Alliance for Health

“Two powerful phenomena are simultaneously unfolding on Earth: the rise of the climate movement and the rise of women and girls. More than concurrent, the two trends are deeply connected. Women and girls are digging in and stepping up, leading on climate justice with courage, creativity, compassion, and collaboration. This leadership is where possibility lives – possibility that we can turn away from the brink and move towards a life-giving future for all.”Dr. Katharine Wilkinson -  Author and Vice President of Communication & Engagement, Project Drawdown

“As women, we know we need to channel imagination, energy and urgency towards a transformed future…and one that is built on a bold determination to unite our future well-being with that of the planet. For women to make systemic change, we can’t be siloed; we must join forces, learn from each other and with each other.” Jude Kelly CBE - Founder, The WOW FOUNDATION

“Too often, the fight to combat poverty, social injustice and climate injustice are seen as different and isolated. We must change this if we hope to succeed at truly winning any of these battles. Women have always been the warriors who come together and enable the connective tissue of history in order to carry humanity to new heights. Let us come together and do that now. We continue to seek a world where gender, climate, and economic systems no longer need to be carried by the hope of justice.”English Sall

“The leadership that women and girls exercise when they are connected is more than inspiring: it’s revolutionary and exactly the kind of leadership we need to address climate change.” Lucina Di Meco - Director of Girls’ Education at Room to Read and Global Fellow at The Wilson Center

“In our fight to reverse the harm, let’s ensure that we preserve those communities that still practice best practices, as a key strategy in the fight. As an African, I believe that many countries in the Global South may still hold the key to reversing the monumental damage. Focus and resources must be directed towards educating and amplifying the voices of women in those communities as well as highlighting the best practices in these communities globally. This will ensure that we don’t lose the fight in places where timely interventions can make a huge difference before the most harm is done.”Juliet Yaa Asantewa Asante - Board Chair, The National Film and Television Institute, The Black Star International Film Festival and Yaa Asantewa Library Project

“Each day, across some of the most climate challenged locations in the Global South, I see how much power and influence our Barefoot Solar Mamas have after being trained. I realise that we have largely failed to include the very grassroots agents of change who actually ARE the ones who build movements and catalyze revolutions of thought into action. We cannot be arrogant and underestimate their power to shift behaviour and ideas, when they are invested in, with knowledge and skills. Inclusion must extend to those without a formal education. Technology must be leveraged to put ALL women at the heart of the climate justice revolution the planet now urgently needs. It’s time to invest ourselves as connected women leaders, in making sure ALL women are maximizing their influence and potential, time to take risks, time to trust each other and most importantly time for us to work together, unlocking the resources that now must flow directly to communities through women.”Meagan Fallone - CEO & Director, Barefoot College International

“The growing leadership of women and girls is central to solving today’s most critical problems, and the climate crisis is now at the core of them all - both the causes and the effects on women and girls amplify the need for our urgent action.”Carla Goldstein - President, Omega Institute

"Girls and women will be more affected by water and food scarcity, deforestation, and displacement, and these challenges will exacerbate the inequity that girls and women already endure in every country - from early and forced marriage to poor sanitation and health. But it would be a grave mistake and a lost opportunity to assess girls and women as merely passive and helpless if the face of our climate crisis. Instead, the skills and strengths of our global family of girls and women are necessary to confront this crisis – in their communities and in their capitals."Michelle Milford Morse - Vice President for Girls and Women Strategy, UN Foundation