Celebration of the Women’s Climate Congress and 2021 AGM. Thursday, 28 October 2021
The Women's Climate Congress was incorporated just over a year ago, and we combined our first AGM with a celebration of what we have achieved in the past 18 months.
After a welcome to participants from Barbara Baikie and acknowledgement of country, we heard an inspiring review of our purpose and principles from WCC Founder, Dr Janet Salisbury. Read Janet's introduction here.
Then Kirsten Anker presented a very relevant passage from the ancient Greek play Lysastrata by Aristophenes about women 'weaving the threads together'. The video recording of this is well worth watching. This passage, written in 411 BCE, could just as easily have been written for us in 2021! Kirsten also conducted the formal AGM business.
Lyn Stephens gave us highlights from our first Annual Report, including our meetings with MPs, connecting with other organisations and our work to promote women’s voices and shift the conversation towards collaboration on the vitally important issue of climate action. Lyn also directed us to check out the reports of our online speaker series and our conversations with you, our members, and how they are informing our new-format National Congress of Women.
Watch videos of the event here:
Opening by Barbara Baikie and presentation by WCC Founder, Dr Janet Salisbury
Reading from Lysastrata by Kirsten Anker ('Weaving the Threads')
Introduction to Biff Ward by Barbara Baikie, Biff's presentation, Q&A, close of meeting
During the formal part of the meeting, we:
voted on a special resolution to change our constitution so we can apply for Donor Gift Recipient (DGR) Status. PASSED
discussed and voted on the question whether WCC should set a membership fee of $25.
DECIDED NOT TO CHARGE A FEEvoted to appoint at least 4 directors. JANET, LYN, KIRSTEN AND BARBARA all confirmed as continuing directors. ALISON ROSE appointed as a new director.
Read further details of the formal proceedings in our October-November 2021 e-Update.
Formal minutes will be posted here when completed.
And after the formal business was complete, we welcomed our guest speaker, Biff Ward – who was one of the indefatigable women from the 1970s women’s liberation movement featured in the movie Brazen Hussies. Biff’s talk was entitled: Memories and Learnings from Early Women's Liberation. See our October-November 2021 e-Update for a report of Biff's talk.
About Biff Ward
Writer and activist, Biff Ward, is one of the original, so called ‘Brazen Hussies’, those fiery feminist activists of the 1960s and ‘70s who defied the status quo, demanding gender equality and profound social change.
She featured in the recent documentary film, Brazen Hussies, that celebrates the social activism and grass-roots nature of the Women’s Liberation movement.
In March this year, Biff was one of the speakers on stage at the Canberra rally outside parliament house. In a beautifully moving speech, she brought women to tears as spoke of her joy, at the age of 78, in finally seeing women rally in huge numbers to protest against harassment, violence and inequality. A long-time campaigner for a woman’s right to be heard, Biff told the crowd she never thought she’d live to witness such a collective show of women’s strength.
Biff’s talk will be followed by Q&A, a chat with Biff and with each other about how to build our new women’s movement towards systems changes that will finally allow full participation of women on their own terms (not just ‘fitting in’), with the elevation of women’s policy priorities and agendas to their rightful place alongside men. And we will share a toast to the Women’s Climate Congress. #WomenRising!