Advancing Women Leadership and Inclusion in the Climate Space

Women in Climate seeks to provide a space to connect, engage and form strategic partnership among women leaders within the climate and social justice space by creating a convening body that leverages on strength of women-led networks such as Women in Africa Initiative, Connected Women Leaders, She Changes Climate and so on. 

The flagship event took place in Nairobi, Kenya, on the sidelines of the Africa Climate Summit. We brought together 25 women, who are champions in their own field, known for addressing issues that cut across policy, movement building, storytelling, leadership, entrepreneurship and so on. 

The program started off with introductions, so participants can get acquainted, and it then moved on to a round of work overviews, where individuals voluntarily took the space to explain what they are doing and how it is driving change. This evolved to having breakfast and loose exchange among participants. 

After breakfast, there was a provocateur, instigated by one of the participants to drive discussion towards challenges women face within the space, and how opportunities can be created in platforms such as Women in Climate. The discussion also moved to some practical lessons from the field, different experiences in different contexts where things were difficult to navigate, and some insightful and inspiring stories of people who have achieved success. 

The program lasted four hours, two hours longer than the stipulated time. Which signaled the importance of the space, and the need to grow it further. In the end, the Women in Climate breakfast event was highly commended by the participants.