Adebayo Okeowo is no ordinary human rights lawyer. In this emotive talk given at TEDxPretoria, he shares his

Adebayo Okeowo is no ordinary human rights lawyer. In this emotive talk given at TEDxPretoria, he shares his idea around using visuals to make the law less complicated and more relatable. Adebayo says that we should never underestimate the power of a picture to communicate critical issues like human rights. Adebayo is a human rights lawyer with vast experience working for African and international organizations including SERAC, Global Rights, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, and Global Integrity, amongst others. He currently works as Advocacy Coordinator for the Centre for Human Rights based in Pretoria, South Africa and is a research fellow with the Center for Human Rights Science, Pittsburgh USA.  In 2013, Adebayo started an organization called White Code Centre, which uses audio- visuals to reshape how human rights are perceived. He is also part of the global team working with Amnesty International on its open source investigation project called the Digital Verification Corps (DVC). Adebayo continues to create riveting visuals because he believes in their ability to challenge stereotypes and change status quo. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at TEDxPretoria

The panel “Building a Healthy & Thriving Future: Food Sovereignty” was held on Tuesday, June 24th, during the Global Women’s Assembly for Climate Justice: Path to COP30 and

The panel “Building a Healthy & Thriving Future: Food Sovereignty” was held on Tuesday, June 24th, during the Global Women’s Assembly for Climate Justice: Path to COP30 and Beyond hosted by Women’s Earth and Climate Network (WECAN), June 23-28, 2025.

PANELISTS:
— Kahea Pacheco (Kanaka 'Ã…Å’iwi), Co-Executive Director, Women's Earth Alliance (WEA), Hawaii, Turtle Island/USA
— Mariann Bassey Orovwuje, Deputy Executive Director of ERA/FoEN and Coordinator, Food Sovereignty Program, Friends of the Earth Nigeria and Africa
— Monique Verdin (Houma Nation), WECAN Food Sovereignty Program Coordinator in the Gulf South, Turtle Island/USA
— Wilma Mendoza (Mosetén), President of the National Confederation of Indigenous Women from Bolivia (CNAMIB), Bolivia
— Yasso Kanti Bhattachan (Thakali), Vice Chair of the National Indigenous Women’s Forum (NIWF), and founding member and advisor of the National Indigenous Women's Federation (NIWF), Nepal

Organized by the Women’s Earth and Climate Network (WECAN), the Global Women’s Assembly for Climate Justice: Path to COP30 and Beyond brought together over 125 grassroots and frontline women leaders in all their diversity, global advocates, thought leaders, and policymakers representing 50 countries from around the world. During 25 unique panels, speakers showcased a diverse array of visions, projects, policy frameworks, campaigns, and movement strategies with which we can accelerate a bold and transformative path to a healthy and just world.

The panel “Global Voices for Climate Justice in a Time of Uncertainty” was held on Tuesday, June 24th, during the Global Women’s Assembly for Climate Justice: Path to COP30 and

The panel “Global Voices for Climate Justice in a Time of Uncertainty” was held on Tuesday, June 24th, during the Global Women’s Assembly for Climate Justice: Path to COP30 and Beyond hosted by Women’s Earth and Climate Network (WECAN), June 23-28, 2025.
PANELISTS:
—Mary Robinson, Former President of Ireland; Member, The Elders; Co-Founder, Project Dandelion, Ireland
— Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, Coordinator of Indigenous women and peoples association of Chad, Co-chair of International Indigenous Peoples Forum on Climate Change, SDGs Advocate, Chad
—Rachel Kyte, UK Special Representative on Climate, Professor of Practice in Climate Policy, University of Oxford, Dean Emerita, Tufts University, United Kingdom
— Alice de Moraes Amorim Vogas, Program Director at the COP30 Presidency Team, Brazil
—Susana Muhamad, Former Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development of Colombia, Colombia
— Fleur Newman, Action Empowerment Unit Lead (ACE, Gender and Youth), UNFCCC, Germany
— Christiana Figueres, Former Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (2010 to 2016), Founding Partner, Global Optimism, Costa Rica
Organized by the Women’s Earth and Climate Network (WECAN), the Global Women’s Assembly for Climate Justice: Path to COP30 and Beyond brought together over 125 grassroots and frontline women leaders in all their diversity, global advocates, thought leaders, and policymakers representing 50 countries from around the world. During 25 unique panels, speakers showcased a diverse array of visions, projects, policy frameworks, campaigns, and movement strategies with which we can accelerate a bold and transformative path to a healthy and just world.

Global Voices and Women-Led Calls to Action in Response to COP27

Around the world, peoples’ movements are responding to the escalating climate crisis and rising to address the

Global Voices and Women-Led Calls to Action in Response to COP27

Around the world, peoples’ movements are responding to the escalating climate crisis and rising to address the urgency and needs of people and the planet. During this event, we heard from women and gender-diverse leaders on the ground at #COP27 to report out on negotiations, share highlights, report releases, calls to action, demands from women globally, struggles, and solutions.

Speakers included:
- Noelene Nabulivou | Co-founder/Director, DIVA for Equality, Fiji;
- Carmen Capriles, Founder of Reacción Climática, WECAN Coordinator for Latin America
- Patricia Gualinga (Kichwa), Indigenous Leader from Sarayaku, and Spokeswoman, Mujeres Amazónicas Defensoras de la Selva;
- Mitzi Jonelle Tan, Convenor and International Spokesperson for Youth Advocates for Climate Action Philippines (YACAP);
- Jacqui Patterson, Founder and Executive Director, The Chisholm Legacy Project;
- Leila Salazar-López, Executive Director, Amazon Watch;
- Geraldine Patrick Encina, Indigenous Relations Advisor, One Earth Member of Grand Council of the Eagle and the Condor, and member of Earth Timekeepers;
- Adriana Calderón, Youth Climate Activist, USA & Mexico; Advocate with Fridays For Future, Fridays For Future MAPA (Most Affected People and Areas) and Fridays For Future in Mexico (Viernes Por El Futuro Mexico);
- Osprey Orielle Lake, Executive Director, Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN)

As humanity faces escalating climate and ecological crises, we seek to articulate a vision toward a new legal framework and economy based on living in balance with Earth’s natural systems;

As humanity faces escalating climate and ecological crises, we seek to articulate a vision toward a new legal framework and economy based on living in balance with Earth’s natural systems; where the rights of humans do not extend to the domination of nature. The Rights of Nature, one of the fastest growing global environmental movements in history, offers a systemic framework for change.

During the press conference, we heard from Rights of Nature advocates on how this framework can protect biodiverse ecosystems, Indigenous sovereignty, and human rights.

Press conference speakers included:
— Casey Camp Horinek (Ponca Nation), Ponca Nation Environmental Ambassador and WECAN Board Member and Movement Rights Board Member
— Osprey Orielle Lake, Executive Director of Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN)
— Nnimmo Bassey, Director of Health of Mother Earth Foundation, an ecological think tank; Steering Committee Member of Oilwatch International, Nigeria

At the press conference we also released a White Paper on the Legal Rights of Nature Framework co-authored by WECAN, Movement Rights, and the Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature - GARN. Read the report here: https://www.wecaninternational.org/ron-report

Climate is the trip wire for every other foundational ecological and biological system, as well as the basis for human civilization. As we face the long climate emergency, fortunately, skillful

Climate is the trip wire for every other foundational ecological and biological system, as well as the basis for human civilization. As we face the long climate emergency, fortunately, skillful pathfinders are banding together to transform our ways of living and bring resilience from the ground up into widespread practice. With Berkeley’s Chief Resilience Officer, Timothy Burroughs, Professor David W. Orr, and financial adviser Tom Van Dyck.

One of the Southeast U.S.’ and Gulf South's most renowned veterans of climate justice struggles as an activist, community organizer, coalition-builder, and award-winning litigating

One of the Southeast U.S.’ and Gulf South's most renowned veterans of climate justice struggles as an activist, community organizer, coalition-builder, and award-winning litigating environmental and human rights attorney, Colette Pichon Battle, born and raised in Bayou Liberty, Louisiana, focuses on creating spaces for frontline communities to gather and advance climate strategies that help them steward their water, energy, and land responsibly. She draws from her decades of experience fighting for equitable climate resilience to unearth historic lessons and exposes the root causes of the inequities and imbalances that characterize our relationships to the natural world and to each other. Colette argues that we must expand our understanding of what a genuine Climate Justice movement needs to encompass if we are to succeed in innovating a better future, and why such struggles as gender and migrant justice are inextricably connected to human rights for clean air, clean water, sovereign land, and community control of justly-sourced sustainable energy.

This keynote talk was delivered at the 2024 Bioneers Conference.

Come join the conversation about groundbreaking new developments in the effort to recognize the legal rights of nature, including in Indigenous communities now drafting and adopting such laws. We

Come join the conversation about groundbreaking new developments in the effort to recognize the legal rights of nature, including in Indigenous communities now drafting and adopting such laws. We will discuss why communities and countries around the globe are considering this bold step and why treating nature as a living entity with legal rights can revolutionize life on Earth in a system in which courts can be used to enforce rights of rivers, mountains, and forests. Come listen to stories from communities on the front lines, as they mobilize to build a new environmental law system that actually protects the planet.

With: Mari Margil and Thomas Linzey of the Center for Democratic and Environmental Rights; Guy Reiter, Executive Director of Menikanaehkem – Community Rebuilders.

A talk by William Mitchell titled "Portland: A Black Perspective" hosted by the