August 13, 2014
Earlier this month, over 80 female environmental activists from more than 37 countries gathered in Bali, Indonesia for the “2014 Summit on Women and Climate,” hosted by Global Greengrants Fund, the International Network of Women’s Funds and Greengrants Alliance of Funds.
The four day conference, which took place August 3-7, sought to bring women together to share strategies, address common environmental challenges, build alliances and raise the profile of female environmental leaders around the world.
2013 Goldman Prize winner Mama Aleta Baun attended the conference as a guest speaker, where she discussed her own campaign to stop marble mining on the Molo people’s sacred sites by conducting peaceful “weaving protests.”
Last April, Baun won a seat in the East Nusa Tenggara regional parliament. “I will be adhering to the mandate of the indigenous communities who have asked me to represent them in parliament. And part of that means showing that the indigenous culture is important to us,” she said of her new position.
Other Goldman Prize women in attendance at the conference included 2008 Goldman Prize winner Marina Rikhvanova and Natasha Lisitsyn, wife of 2011 Goldman Prize winner Dmitry Lisitsyn.
Rikhvanova was awarded the Prize for her work to protect Siberia’s Lake Baikal, one of the world’s most important bodies of fresh water, from environmental devastation brought on by these polluting industries.
Dmitry Lisitsyn fought to protect Sakhalin Island’s critical endangered ecosystems while also demanding safety measures from one of the world’s largest petroleum development projects.
