On the occasion of the International Women’s Day, marked on March 8, every year, the Arab Renaissance for Democracy and Development (ARDD) came up with the motto “She is the Earth; she is the Green Future” as an umbrella title for its activities that pay tribute to women who had a pioneering role in facing climate challenges.
The entire planet is affected by the consequences of climate change. Some merely complain, some take action.
Many women and girls have assumed a leadership role in mitigating and adapting to climate change through initiatives that address the challenges posed by climate change and sustainability in the Arab region and the world.
As part of its various activities to celebrate International Women’s Day, ARDD is launching a video on the efforts and achievements of eight pioneering Arab women who contributed through various initiatives to taking on environmental, agricultural and urban challenges in the Arab region.
Initiatives were often the first of their kind in the field of environmental development, renewable energy and environmental health; they also involved preparing studies on the optimal use of irrigation water, and launching initiatives that develop the local environmental movement and protect the fragile pastoral environment, visionary work, designing schools and green buildings, and implementing agricultural projects to confront desertification and drought and rehabilitate agricultural lands that were destroyed due to settlement, as well as waste recycling projects.
ARDD will also hold, on Tuesday, March 8, an online dialogue session at 6:30 pm to celebrate the efforts and leadership of women to build a sustainable future. The session will include the launch of the report “Green Economy and Circular Economy: The UN as a Catalyst of Change for Refugees?”, prepared by researchers Francesca Albanese and Ciara Patterson, the report tackles circular economy, green economy, and the intersectionality of humanitarianism and sustainable development in the Levant. It seeks to motivate United Nations agencies such as UNRWA, to work alongside civil society, to play a leading role in promoting an effective environmental culture, and to urge governments to adopt, participate in and benefit from the findings in the report.
The session will shed light on the contributions of women in the Levant, Tunisia and Indonesia in the field of circular economy and green economy. Speakers at the session are: Partnership Manager and Treasurer at Tunisie Recyclage-Tunisia Reingard Breteche, , Eco Project Coordinator, Greenisiatif-Indonesia Maria Bianca Vega, and Migration, Forced Displacement, Statelessness Senior Advisor at ARDD Al Nahda Centre Francesca Albanese. The session will be moderated by Gender Justice Senior Advisor at ARDD Al Nahda Centre Sana Jelassi.
ARDD joins its voice to that of the international community, specifically civil society organizations in the region, to call on stakeholders, decision makers and policy makers to include women in their work and benefit from their experience in building a sustainable future.
ARDD also calls to strengthen the work of local organizations to ensure adherence to policies that promote the environmental sustainability agenda, knowing that the most vulnerable groups, of which women and girls constitute the majority, will bear the brunt of climate change and natural disasters that may arise, which should make governments urgently adopt sound policies and strategies to confront the consequences of climate change.
