COP 23 Day 9 - Katie

Gender Day at COP 23

Like Julia, I appreciated to opportunity to delve deeper into the interconnections of gender and climate change on COP 23 Gender Day. It was great to see so many events focusing on this critical issue. After the morning session in the Talanoa Pavilion about women leading the climate agenda I started to think more critically about the dynamics that I have seen so far at the conference. I started to realize how many events have been dominated by “manels” (as one speaker put it), focusing on the voices of men and often including only one or very few women. I was inspired by the women who spoke not only because of the amazing work they have done, but because of their willingness to criticize organizers of the conference and challenge them to do better. It was clear that we have to move from conceptualizing women as the first “victims” of climate change to thinking about women as the first leaders and innovators in climate change solutions. Women have the power, they simply must be enabled to exercise it.

We closed out our day at the U.S. Climate Action Center - a pavilion funded by Michael Bloomberg after the U.S. federal government refused to fund a country pavilion leaving the U.S. without while many other countries such as Germany, France, U.K., Fiji, Thailand, Mali, Senegal, and many others showcased their efforts. We met and chatted with many other college students participating at this COP at the Higher Ed Reception. We also met up with fellow Minnesotans including Minnesota House of Representatives Minority Leader Melissa Hortman over dinner. It was a great way to connect with students across the country and within Minnesota about what they hope to learn from attending the COP and their perspective on climate action.

Julia note: People were wondering if Bloomberg himself showed up at the conference. A film-maker from the virtual reality (VR) pavilion told me that indeed Bloomberg showed up one day—briefly tried a VR headset and was rushed to a next event.