Indigenous Peoples and Human Rights

April 3, 2018

Join WECAN for 'Women for Forests' online April 4, 2018

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Dear Friends and Allies,
Please be invited to join the Women's Earth and Climate Action Network  for 'Women For Forests', a free, online WECAN Education and Advocacy Training, to be presented this Wednesday April 4th, 2018 
at 11:00 am PT/2:00 pm ET (call-in details below).

During the training, outstanding presenters from the Philippines, Ecuador, the Democratic Republic of Congo and different regions in the USA, will share powerful testimonies, struggles, and solutions from their work internationally and in their home regions - as well as ideas for how you can take action as a forest protector.






WHO:

Wanda Culp (Indigenous Tlingit artist and forest defender of Alaska, and WECAN Tongass Coordinator, USA)

Mary Lou Malig (Global Forest Coalition, Campaigns and Communications Coordinator and Researcher, the Philippines)

Nina Gualinga (Indigenous Kichwa leader from the community of Sarayaku, Ecuador)

Neema Namadamu (Founder of Hero Women Rising, SAFECO, and WECAN Democratic Republic of Congo Coordinator, DR Congo)

Clare Dubois (Founder of TreeSisters, USA)

Ayana Young (Restoration ecologist and Founder of For The Wild, USA)

Osprey Orielle Lake (Executive Director of WECAN International, USA) - Moderator

HOW: This event is free and open to all worldwide. To join, please use the instructions below to dial in by phone, or download the free Zoom application and join via internet.

Option A - Join via your internet connection:
OR Option B - Join by phone: 


Through their work, they are protecting and restoring irreplaceable biodiversity and the sources of community life and livelihoods - while also spearheading efforts that sequester massive amounts of carbon, and thus help mitigate against the worst effects of global climate change.

During the 'Women For Forests' training, we will explore various topics including - the link between forests and climate change; the need to defend women's land rights as a forest protection strategy; inspiring examples of women planting trees and regenerating damaged lands from Indonesia to the Democratic Republic of Congo; and stories and lessons from Indigenous women's work to stand for global forests, including the Sarayaku Living Forest Proposal from the Ecuadorian Amazon.
As part of our commitment to a climate justice framework, this training will not promote any of the false solutions often associated with climate-forest programs, including carbon offsets and other market mechanisms. Rather, speakers will focus on the grassroots, community-driven, and rights-based strategies and solutions being demonstrated by women around the world.
Updates From Indigenous Women 
Forest Defenders In The Ecuadorian Amazon 
The strong coalition of Indigenous women leaders from across the Amazon Rainforest region of Ecuador, who are standing for the forest, and opposing oil extraction and violations of their rights, was recently granted their meeting with the president of Ecuador, after holding a large International Women's Day march, traveling long distances from their communities, and stationing themselves outside of the presidential palace for five days demanding their right to be heard.

During their meeting, the women leaders presented the president with a list of collective demands to stop oil extraction and rights abuses - and have promised to return to Quito in the coming weeks if they do not receive a sufficient reply.

To learn more, JOIN the April 4th 'Women For Forests' online training -during which we will hear from Nina Gualinga, prominent leader from the Kichwa Pueblo of Sarayaku, surrounding her experiences, and the latest updates and calls for action from on the ground in Ecuador.

More information is also available via the GuardianTeleSur, and WECAN live-stream videos from the march and subsequent days of action.
For the Earth and All Generations,
The Women's Earth and Climate Action Network 
(WECAN) International Team

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