A Women’s Congress for Future Generations will gather in Moab, Utah September 27th-30th, 2012, to celebrate and express gratitude for the Earth’s wondrous bounty, and to fulfill the special responsibility that women hold as the first environment for future generations. They will map possibilities and pathways toward achieving whole health and justice in this generation and for all generations to come. Inspired by our environmental foremothers, their hope is to craft a dynamic articulation of the pressing rights future generations have to a livable world and the responsibilities of present generations to uphold those rights.
Questions that will be addressed include:
What are the sacred rights of future generations and the responsibilities of present generations?
How might we most powerfully write, craft, sing, pray, dream, speak, and legislate these rights and visions into being?
What might a civil rights movement for future generations look like? What does such a movement need?
What does reclaiming power as women look like? How might women organize on behalf of future generations in ways that transcend traditional strategies of action/resistance, and that honor, embody, and translate the sacred feminine spirit into the realm of direct political and social action?
This Congress is for those called to stand for Future Generations. They seek solidarity with those working for environmental justice, for Climate Justice, for indigenous sovereignty, for the health of women and children, and with those living on the frontlines of the struggle against industrial pollution and climate change.
Women from across the diverse spectrum of womanhood are welcome—women of all ages and cultural groups, women from all places, backgrounds, and walks of life, women with diverse talents and interests, vocal leaders, and those still finding their voice. They invite men to participate in the Congress, too, as Sacred Witnesses who honor and empower women’s voices.
Their commitment is to work that is firmly rooted in Radical Inclusion, in all of its forms — not as an afterthought, but as a framework for how we come together and organize. They recognize the double layer of oppression for women of color, Indigenous women, lesbians, transgender individuals, and women living on the frontlines of the environmental and social struggle. This is our inquiry and the exploration we intend to deepen with the launch of our Congress. They endeavor to foresee and address barriers that might otherwise diminish the fullest and most diverse gathering of women, and they welcome creative strategies to overcome these barriers and, in the coming months, to carry forward this work in ways that draw strength and wisdom from an ever-widening circle of women.
In this vein, all are welcome, but they recognize that only a fraction of those who feel called to this gathering are privileged enough to mobilize the time and resources to convene in Moab. Women who need assistance and support to attend are encouraged to register and apply for scholarships to defray travel expenses. Young women, students, women of color, indigenous women, women from low income communities, and women from fence-line communities are especially encouraged to attend. They encourage those who can donate funds, airline miles, or accommodations to do so, in an effort to support those for whom it is financially difficult to travel to Moab.
They hope all of you who feel called to speak for Future Generations will join them in their broader work to uphold their rights, even if you cannot make the trip to Moab. They invite you to gather wherever you may be, creating, drafting a declaration in parallel and acting from within your own community. They also encourage you to send testimony or its equivalent ahead of the Congress to be folded into the proceedings, and to participate in the declarations and actions to follow. Also please consider sharing what has already been written or created by kindred women or organizations, or at previous gatherings where the right of Future Generations and the responsibilities of present generations has been deliberated.
This Congress is but one conversation in a continuum — one that we wish to deepen through word, art and action. Women have long cast their concern forward. Conversations about Future Generations preceded this Congress. And there are important conversations going on in parallel. They hope to begin the process of mapping and knitting together this wisdom, and in the future, harnessing crowdsource technology to connect, to continue these conversations, and to ammend and ratify a living Declaration of the Rights of Future Generations. Their offerings will be open-ended, striving to map and knit together the wisdom of all of those who feel called to take a stand for Future Generations. They will be released into the world like seeds on the wind, where we hope they might intermingle with ongoing dialogues about our relationship to future generations, and be adapted and amended and then, again and again, cast into the world. Their sincerest hope is that we play a role in transforming public dialogue and collective action to ensure that those who come after us inherit a just and livable future.
Schedule:
Each day will hold opportunities for designing and participating in workshops to empower leaders and organizers in their respective communities; for art, music, and performance; and to convene and converse as a whole Congress. One main event will be held each day.
Wednesday, September 26th*
5:00 – 7:00 pm
Registration and Gratitude Social, for volunteers and those who arrive in Moab early. The Congress officially opens Thursday.
*Please note: shuttles and registration will also be available on Thursday, to accommodate those who will be observing Yom Kippur and cannot travel on the 26th.
Day One: Thursday, September 27th
Registration
1:30 PM Formal Welcome
3:00 PM Conversation between Present and Future Generations (led by Joanna Macy)
Day Two: Friday, September 28th
Caucus of All Beings, Places, and Elements to identify the responsibilities of present generations and the rights of future generations in words, images, and other art.
Day Three: Saturday, September 29th
Congress convenes to hear and confirm the caucuses’ offerings
Day Four: Sunday, September 30th
The offerings created by the Congress (our declaration and affirmation of rights and responsibilities, and its expression as image, art, and performance) are ceremonially released into the world
To register click here.
Related Posts
Women are More Environmentally Friendly
Green Economy Guide for Women
WAGE: Women and the Green Economy
Renewable Energy Education for Women
Women at Work on Earth Day
Rio+20 Corporate Sustainability Forum Supports Women
