In celebration of Earth Day 2023, The Climate Conscious Podcast and The Breadfruit Collective
have partnered to host their second annual virtual Caribbean Women for Climate Justice Conference
(CW4CJ) from Wednesday (April 19) to Sunday (April 23).

In the conference’s inaugural year, the theme for Earth Day was ‘Invest in Our Planet.’ The event team thought it fit to examine the theme through a gender-sensitive lens, expanding the theme to ‘Invest in our Women, Invest in our Planet.’ They have carried that into 2023 as they believe the integration of gender equality will help them achieve a resilient and sustainable future envisioned for the Caribbean.

This year, the five-day event aims to lead with a Caribbean focused lens by highlighting climate change issues faced by women and girls in the Caribbean using an intersectional framework.

In the 2022 conference report, the event team shared that “gender inequality continues to be a major concern in the Caribbean” and it shows, particularly, where “women and girls remain highly susceptible to gender-based violence and socio-economic imbalances”. It points out that data shows that gender inequality is intensified by climate related issues. Based on those realisations, “adapting to climate change is paramount for the region and it is extremely important that all adaptation measures to use a gender responsive lens”.

This year’s conference will focus on solutions and facilitate active dialogue on advancing gender and climate justice in the Caribbean. This has the potential to feed into the Collective Advocacy Agenda being developed for the region.

This year, CW4CJ will feature a keynote address from Keithlin Caroo, executive director of Helen’s Daughters, an organisation working in St. Lucia to support, mobilise, and empower rural women in agriculture. The conference agenda also includes three panel discussions: ‘Different Boats, Same Sea: Gender & Climate Advocacy in the Caribbean’; ‘Gender Sensitive LeadHership for a Resilient Caribbean’; and ‘Inclusive by Design – Creating Resilient & Equitable Communities’. Additionally, there will be workshops covering ‘Smart Solutions to collect Gender Disaggregated Data’ and ‘Photo Journalism through a Gendered Lens; along with a Solidarity Circle.

A little about ‘The Climate Conscious Breadfruit Collective ‘

Hosted by, Derval Barzey, ‘The Climate Conscious Podcast’ amplifies the Caribbean perspective on climate change and sustainable development. It features conversations with guests while advocating for inclusive, resilient, and sustainable development through dialogue. The podcast aims to create awareness and tell authentic stories of resilience.

‘The Breadfruit Collective’ is an emerging gender and environmental justice non governmental organisation (NGO) in Guyana that operates with the mindset that a society cannot be functional until it forms a healthy and positive relationship with its women, girls, and the environment. They believe that the issues are interconnected and an intersectional approach must be used.

Additionally, the Breadfruit Collective aims to work with women and girls to eliminate gender-based violence by pushing for policy change, aiding in self-healing, as well as providing, leadership training and mutual aid support. They work to highlight the current state of affairs for women in Guyana and provide resources and support through building connections and partnering with community organisations.

More on CW4CJ

Panellists will be featured from across the Caribbean and diaspora. Each panel will discuss issues
critical to the overarching theme, share ongoing work related to climate justice, and identify
recommendations or corrective actions for advancing gender-sensitive climate action. Emphasis
will be placed on including representation from Indigenous peoples, women, youth, and persons
with disability. The conference aims to have an intergenerational, inclusive and intersectional
approach. Translation will be available in Spanish, French and Sign Language.

Registration is free and open to all interested persons and can be accessed at the link below.

Register for The Caribbean Women for Climate Justice Conference 2023

The Caribbean Women for Climate Justice Conference 2023 is made possible with the support of the Caribbean Natural Resources Institute (CANARI) and the Open Society Foundations.

Connect with the conference team via email at [email protected] or @theclimateconscious on Instagram. Connect with the Breadfruit Collective @thebreadfruitcollective on Instagram.

Read stories related to climate justice at the links below:

Urgent action needed to fight climate change -IPCC

SIDS need $2 trillion annually to address climate change

Climate justice gets harder as world population passes 8 billion

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