The Namibian Pavilion and partners at the UNFCCC COP28 being held in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, joined other parties to celebrate and observe the Gender Equality thematic Day with a panel discussion on the Alliances for Women Empowerment: Experiences from the Global South.
At the alarming point of stocktaking and reflecting on actions, policies and decisions made for global climate change adaptation and mitigation, Global Stocktaking equally provides an opportunity to measure the level of gender equality implementation, in the implementation of the Paris Agreement and offers opportunities for parties to strengthen efforts to ensure inclusive climate action and the design of programmes that recognises the role of women and girls in climate movements.
The Alliance for Women Empowerment panel discussion pulled efforts from the global south, to reflect on the support offered to women and girls to participate in climate-resilient initiatives with emphasis on access to finance, opportunities, programmes, research, data and knowledge. The panelists comprised speakers from Africa, Asia and Latin America who showcased how alliances of actors can and must come together for progress in adaptation and mitigation, and women’s and girls’ empowerment and broader social inclusion in climate action.
The panel consist of Ms Margret Angula, a senior lecturer at the University of Namibia and a Climate Development and Knowledge Network, knowledge broker; Ms Laure Tall from the Initiative Prospective Agricole et Rural in Senegal and; Mr Divine Foundjem, CIFOR-ICRAF in Cameroon.
The discussion also focused on strategic partnerships led by community and civil society-based organizations and small and medium enterprises in the Global South, working in concert with subnational and national governments and researchers and was joined by the following commentators, Ms Kanchan Lama from Forest Action Nepal; Ms Margarita Beneke de Sanfeliu from FUSADES El Salvador and; Mairi Dupar from CDKN and ODI.
The main aim was to present cases of such women-led action and discuss how the empowerment of women and girls can become the norm in climate-resilient and low-carbon development, rather than the exception. Ms Constance Okolett, Osukuru United Women’s Network in Uganda, delivered a keynote segment into the discussion drawing attention to her movement, empowering women through knowledge and opportunities to empower their role in climate actions and become change enablers.
The session was moderated by Ms Toini Amutenya who is the Namibian youth delegate at COP28, a climate change champion and, Triple Capital’s Research and Communication Officer.
The panel was organised by the Climate Development and Knowledge Network (CDKN); Gender Equality in a Low Carbon World (GLOW), 2022-2025 programme and, the International Development Research Centre (IDRI-CRDI).