For Shema, a young environmental leader from Antigua and Barbuda, it was the opportunity to represent her country at the global negotiations on climate change.
In September, just after her sister island of Barbuda had been devastated by Hurricane Irma, Shema attended a WEDO-organized training to build skills to be a climate negotiator, together with 20 other women from the Caribbean, as part of the Women Delegates Fund program. Networking, sharing and building strategies together to achieve climate action and build resilience for their island nations, all the women engaged in the training expressed a fierce determination to be a voice at the global level – for their countries, and for people most affected by climate change.
With support from the Women Delegates Fund, Shema was able to take those skills and represent her country at the 2017 climate negotiations, COP23, in Bonn, Germany.
At the climate negotiations, Shema spoke up and stepped up – determined to address inequality in access to opportunities for women in the renewable energy field. She sought out engagements, meetings and events with key stakeholders working in this field, and was inspired by the cases of other developing countries making the transition to renewables. She is now leading a renewable energy project back in Antigua and Barbuda– making her mark and inspiring others.
People like you gave WEDO the resources to be the bridge between where Shema was and where she wanted to go, and to ensure that women’s needs and experiences, particularly from the Global South and countries most vulnerable to climate impacts, are centered in global policy-making.
Shema is one of the many women around the world who are raising their voice and claiming their rights to make change, connecting the local to the global. WEDO is one of the organizations that aims to make that possible by providing capacity, mentorship and financial support to current and future women leaders.
In the year ahead, WEDO plans to expand these opportunities for hundreds of other women around the world, to build skills and exchange transformative solutions on environmental and climate justice. To be a voice for their countries, cities and communities.
This is possible with the support of people like you. With you, these women can be the ambassadors for countless others, ensuring that the next generation of women has impact at every negotiating table in the world.
Will you consider a gift of $50, $100, $500 or more to make this work possible in 2018?<
In Solidarity,
WEDO
