Durban, South Africa- November 27th 2011

The final session of the 2011 UNFCCC negotiations, COP17, commences tomorrow in Durban, South Africa. At the conference, Parties must find areas of convergence in order to ensure that women, men, girls and boys can fully adapt to and mitigate the ever-more prevalent and severe impacts of climate change.

Some of the main issues still to be addressed include:

In Durban, WEDO will be monitoring all aspects of the negotiations with the support of our international advocacy team. The advocacy team is comprised of gender advocates from all over the world; this year advocates are from Costa Rica, Suriname, Ghana, Mexico, Philippines, Netherlands, Togo and the U.S. The team strives to advance progress on the women and gender references secured [see article on outcomes at COP16] in Cancun in the LCA as well as SBI and SBSTA. Specific focus will be given to mainstreaming gender in the operationalization of the Adaptation Committee and the Climate Technology Center and Networks; monitoring the developments of the Green Climate Fund; as well as following the progress on REDD+ to ensure women’s rights and gender considerations are an integral part of the mechanism.

WEDO is also coordinating the Women Delegates Fund (WDF), a program funded by the Government of Finland, which supports women from least developed and developing countries to attend the negotiations as part of their national delegations. AT COP17, the WDF is supporting 10 women from Ghana, Haiti, Kenya, Cook Islands, Liberia, Tanzania, Nepal, Bangladesh, Vietnam, and Kyrgyz Republic and delivering a program of capacity building over the course of the two week meeting.

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November 30, 2011, 15:30-17:00, Rio Pavillion

WEDO’s Andrea Quesada will speak at a session on “Gender and the Art of Implementation”. Click here for a full program of events at the Rio Pavillion. For more information, contact [email protected]

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November 30, 2011, 6:30-8pm, Rex Room

WEDO and CARE will be hosting a joint event on “Addressing the Gender Dimension of Vulnerability: An Adaptation Framework that Works for Everyone”. For more information, contact [email protected]

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December 1, 2011, 1pm – 2pm, TBD

WEDO, CARE and GGCA will be hosting a lunchtime Q & A on gender and adaptation. For more information, contact [email protected]

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December 4, 2011, 1:30-5:15, Olive Convention Center

“Addressing gender considerations in climate change adaptation and REDD+ efforts“. CIFOR, IUCN, WEDO, CARE, WOCAN, hosting/participating in Gender and REDD+ marketplace and session at Forest Day. For more information, contact [email protected]

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December 8, 2011, 6pm-8:30pm, EU Pavilion II

“Gender and Climate Changes: Actions, Results and Lessons Learned” hosted by the Government of Finland and the GGCA Secretariat from 6:30-7:30pm; immediately followed by the Women Delegates Fund Networking Reception from 7:30-8:30pm. For more information, contact [email protected]

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To view all the side events of GGCA partners as well as a factsheet on gender and climate change, click here.

Follow updates on the negotiations and our activities at Facebook.com/WEDOworldwide and on Twitter @WEDO_worldwide. Use the hashtag #climatewomen for more information on women’s leadership at the UNFCCC. Also follow @GGCA_Gender for updates from our partners in the Global Gender and Climate Alliance!

IISD Earth Negotiations Bulletin (daily coverage of meetings)

Global Gender and Climate Alliance (GGCA)