A Global Multi-Faith Women-Led Climate Action Network

The purpose of a proposed Network is to provide coordination and resourcing support to implementing radical climate action collaborations. Participants worked together to envision (dream) this Network, and from there define its scope, commitments and specific priorities. In the following brief overview, key features of the Network’s proposed characteristics are summarized, and the agreed upon action priorities to launch the Network are listed.

The Statement (shared in the Annex), captures an expression of “who we are” at the moment of the birth of the Network. A birth midwifed so well by women – and a handful of male allies – in what was described as a “revolutionary gathering”. It is important to note that this document is seen by the group as a work in progress and not a definitive statement.

Envisioning a Network

Setting up a Network requires dreaming together – or at least listening to one another’s dreams – of what climate change activists and policy makers alike, ultimately, aspire to see happen with this Network. To that end, a session specifically dedicated to ‘dream the Network’, yielded varied and rich inputs pertinent to seeding it, growing it, and using it to effect the changes needed to safeguard the climate.

Seeding the Network entails collecting stories of meaningful and inspiring women-led multi-faith and multi-stakeholder partnerships, preserving and archiving women-led Indigenous faith systems, as well as mapping women-led actors and organisations, and enabling access to information and resources. Seeding the Network also requires “building and pouring into a river of hope and making it visible to the world” as women seek to teach and learn from one another, and members host regular check-ins either through virtual calls or a newsletter (or both). Being committed to the Network’s success, and espousing values such as solidarity, radical honestly, thinking outside the box, and looking out for each other are constant features of the seeding, growing and using of the Network.

Growing the Network included an aspiration to build a database of women led faith inspired climate action networks and initiatives, as well as developing a common mission and key messages (especially with COP 30 as a destination) to be shared with the world. This would also require both identifying advocacy priorities, as well as a media strategy which would lead to policy changes. Inviting secular CSOs – including academia, legal, media, Unions; youth, animal rights’ organisations, economists – and seeking to localise it by nurturing regional hubs, is also part of growing the Network

Using the Network to effect changes required developing approaches aimed at ultimately fulfilling peoples’ basic needs. In the process, the Network would build genuine relational connectivity, including by looking at difficult issues, and not only having difficult conversations, but creating spaces for radical voices and considering disruptive conversations which challenge structures and worldviews, as well as hosting and facilitating dialogues on reconciliation. Carrying out internal reviews of respective institutions, building mentorship programmes, learning to invest in relevant technologies, and seeking resources while being “mindful of what we put in as well as what we take out”, are all also part of using the Network to effect change.

What to avoid

The multi-tasking instinct most women take for granted, can also result in harm unto oneself and one’s mission – “we can be the essence of scatter: doing too much in too many directions”. Focusing on too many Sustainable Development Goals may give a façade of engagement and progress, but the outcomes could fall short of expectations and leave a trail of exhaustion for many climate activists, young and older. This means that another Network requiring several “add-ons” of work, is unwise. Instead, focusing the intentions and activities, on specific, doable and scalable actions, which enable respective Network members to link up to, and strengthen respective commitments, facilitate the work by “joining forces and resources”, and above all, by harvesting knowledge, experiences and outcomes – including through telling and documenting the stories of work done and being done together– makes strategic sense.

The emerging shape of the Global Multi-Faith Women-Led Climate Action Network

A Network designed to “build a collective strength”, rooted in (but not limited to) sister-to-siter connectivity, working as equals with male allies, is appealing. As is a vision which describes the Network as “holistic, inclusive and capable of transforming power structures or as a potent force to fight climate change”.

At the same time, a Network which recognises the harm done – and mindfully avoids – centuries of colonialism, and its lingering institutionalised forms of racism, sexism, classism and misogyny, is a sine qua non. Simply put: a Network “committed to colouring out the [white] box” and colouring it with diverse women leaders, including from the global South.

But the Network also identifies and works with interconnected climate and gender policies at all levels; and is brave enough to seek to hold and nurture difficult conversations within its own safe space(s), which is also designed to be self-reflective (and constructively critical) of how we work within our respective organisations. All while being mindful of the need for wellness and healing of its members.

The Network is and will seek to remain deliberately multi-religious in its form, as well as the actions it takes. Jointly writing and submitting to seek resources, and deliberately not competing with its own members, but intentional in building on and supporting existing efforts.

The Network, while working remotely and cohesively, will adopt a methodology of outcome harvesting and using radical communication within and without. This will be designed with a view to bridging several divides, including the disconnect between global work and grassroots women’s work, and honouring the wisdom of all climate change related work led and enacted by women.

Commitments

Reflecting the general aspirations for the network discussed above, the Network members – including all those who gathered in Frascati – identified, discussed and agreed several individual commitments, which are also action points, albeit requiring different timelines, and internal discussion with their home institutions. It is important to note that COP 30 was identified as the first moment in time to which the Network members intend to leverage their outcomes.

• Scale up knowledge sharing, grassroots work, and the visibility of different generations and types of women’s work for climate justice.
• Lift women’s voices and narratives globally, as it is holding its members accountable to one another, with mercy and grace.
• Profile the wealth of best practices, particularly from the global South, and bring this wealth of stories to COP 30 governmental and non-governmental fora.
• Intentionally bridge the wisdom of women of faith climate change activists with those of scientific background, includingscience-backed behaviour change narratives and approaches. Thusbreaking the silos between the world of research, media, marketing and science, art/culture through securing ongoing strategic learning exchanges with these communities.
• Dismantle patriarchal structures, and toxic masculinity mindsets and ways of behaving towards one another, including as women.
• and take pride in the Network’s respective Stories as well as its collective one – the Story of us – built on a holistic multi-faith awareness,as well as an awareness that misogyny is not limited to male behaviour, and therefore needs to be actively avoided and its causes among women healed.
• Shift climate action funding from one which is made available to react to emergencies, to one in which a wide range of donors rely on the Network expertise as they urge all who are managing financial assets (for example, banks) to be more aware, and accountable.
• Train its member organisations on the “how to” of taking legal actions for climate change using tried and tested methodologies.
• Offer its members to serveas mentors and co-creationists alongside younger women and men, while also harvesting both the wisdom of older women and men in the climate change fields, as well as the intergenerational knowledge.
• Share the learning about greening spaces of worship and religious pilgrimages.
• Investigate and understand the complexities of “clean investments” and “greenwashing”, while also appreciating the complexities thereof, so that the perfect does not become the enemy of the good.
• Learn, document and share the capacities of local communities to secure local resources and sustainability, as well as seeking long term financing from larger scale donor institutions.