HOW CAN WOMEN RISING TRANSFORM OUR RESPONSE TO CLIMATE CHANGE?

The Women’s Climate Congress (WCC) calls the women of Australia to a National Congress of Women to address the question ‘How can women rising transform our response to climate change?’

The National Congress of Women (NCW) has comprised two online days (30 Nov 2021 and 28 April 2022) and will conclude with a 2-day gathering in Canberra (11–12 Sept 2022).

Over these four days, the Congress provides an opportunity to participate in a women’s movement for collaborative, nonpartisan action on climate change. Together we can lead the imperative for a collaborative national plan for action on climate change — a plan that will bring the nation together and restore care for the Earth and nurture of life to the centre of all of our actions on climate.

And we will bring our voices to a public declaration from participants - A Women's Charter for Change - setting out what is needed to restore climate balance and protect life on Earth for current and future generations.

UPCOMING EVENT

RENEWAL: How can we save the Earth for ourselves and future generations?
Canberra, 11-12 September 2022, in person (and online)
Albert Hall, 100 Constitution Avenue, Yarralumla, ACT 2600

This 2-day face-to-face gathering in builds on the two 1-day online events held in November 2021 and April 2022. Attendance at these earlier events is not a prerequisite for attending in September. While the themes are linked, the programs are standalone.

These gatherings include deep conversation and learning, authentic connection and community building, artistic expression, collaborative action planning and interaction with elected representatives.

At our September gathering we will weave the threads from our work and our conversations with women from all over Australia in the past 2 years into our Women's Charter for Change about the collaborative action we want to see on climate change and how we plan to achieve it.

The event will be participatory and include women who have taken part in our online conversations, other thought leaders, First Nations women, parliamentarians and diverse women from across communities. Updates on the program and guest speaker details are on our National Congress of Women website.

OUR INVITATION AND OUR APPROACH TO FEES

We warmly invite women from all walks of life (cis, trans) and gender diverse people who feel drawn to our movement, to participate in this nonpartisan event. This includes those who may have limited capacity to pay the full fee. Online attendance is also an option for those who prefer not to travel.

We know that these are tough times financially for many people . In the interests of transparency, we have explained our philosophy for setting registration fees.

There are of course significant costs to running an event like this including venue hire, catering and audio-visual systems. The WCC is run by volunteers and we depend on donations to function. In our financial decisions we have tried to consider equity, cost-effectiveness, environmental impact and other WCC values. We operate from the principle of: 'offer what you can and ask for what you need'.

In this spirit, we invite you to decide what is within your capacity to pay. If you can, we invite you to offer the higher rates suggested in the registration site and/or give a donation. This helps to support other women to attend at lower cost. If you prefer, we invite you to pay either the lower fee, or if that is still too much, please use the flexible fee options and offer what you can.

We would love you to attend the whole 2 days but if this does not work for you, there are 1-day options. There are hotel discounts available (see the registration site) and we can also offer free billeted accommodation. Please let Lyn know if you would like to take up this offer.

We I hope that we have provided enough options for everyone to feel welcome at the event. The venue is wheelchair accessible and we will make every effort to help you if you have special requirements.

Too complicated? Need help?

Contact Lyn Stephens on lyn_s@iinet.net.au for further info and assistance.

FEES AND INCLUSIONS

We offer the following rates as a guide for you to consider your contribution.

Generosity fee - $500
Full fee (2 days)- $295
Supported fee (2 days) - $175

Full fee (1 day) - $175
Supported fee (1 day) - $100
Online only (2 days) full fee - $90 (or there is an option to pay what you can afford)
Reception only (11 Sept, 5.30 pm) - $25
Flexible fees (in person and online participation) - pay what you can afford.

For face to face attendees these fees include morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea on both days and a reception from 5.30-7.00pm on 11 September. For those attending the Reception only the fee is $25.

A donation option is also available if you are able to pay a little more than any of the above rates.

ACCOMMODATION OPTIONS

We have negotiated a 15% discount for Congress attendees at these local hotels which are located within a couple of kilometres of Albert Hall:

Brassey Hotel - a 3.5 star hotel
Little National Hotel - 4 star hotel with very compact modern rooms
Burbury Hotel - a 4.5 star hotel
Hotel Realm - a 5 star hotel

Please read the Terms and Conditions of this discount and use the code EVENT when making your booking. We are happy to provide local knowledge on these or other accommodation options if you need it.

There are also opportunities for billeting and we invite you to express interest in this option on our registration form.

COVID SAFETY

We have read and will comply with ACT Government guidelines on COVID Smart Events and are also offering this event online.

Contact: Dr Janet Salisbury
janet.salisbury@iinet.net.au

Lyn Stephens
lyn_s@iinet.net.au