Our allies and collaborators
Women’s organisations
Equality Rights Alliance (ERA) is Australia’s largest network advocating for women’s equality, women’s leadership and recognition of women’s diversity. ERA brings together 61 non-government organisations and social enterprises with a focus on the impact of policy or service delivery on women. ERA believes the advancement of women and the achievement of equality are matters of fundamental human rights. They advocate for gender equality, women’s leadership and government policy responses that support women’s diversity. Using a range of methods to consult and engage with women in Australia, ERA works to bring the voices of women from diverse life situations to policy makers.
National Rural Women's Coalition
The National Rural Women's Coalition (NRWC) is one of six government-funded women's alliances. It provides a collaborative voice for women living in rural, remote and regional Australia and represents the diverse views of women helping to build a positive profile of their achievements and issues. NRWC provides policy advice to the Australian Government on matters relevant to the views and circumstances of rural women and also takes a leading role in ensuring that it helps as many rural, regional and remote women as possible to achieve their goals. After meeting with the NRWC's CEO, Keli McDonald, and President, Leonie Noble, the Congress’s Barbara Baikie and Janet Salisbury were invited to address the NRWC board meeting where a proposal for ongoing collaboration between the Congress and NRWC was accepted (February 2021). We look forward to hosting members of the board at our online conversations and taking part other collaborative activities.
The Shift to Gender Equality Network
Description to come.
Women’s Agenda is a hub sharing the latest news and views affecting how women live and work. A small team of independent women journalists and editors look at politics, business, leadership, tech and life from the perspective of professional women and female entrepreneurs, and provide a daily email update.
Women's International League for Peace and Freedom
Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom is one of the longest established women's NGOs in the world with observer status at he UN, offices in Geneva and NY and branches throughout the world. It was founded at the remarkable, but little known, 1915 International Congress of Women held at The Hague in April 1915 - the only peace congress of WW1 and attended by 1300 women from 12 warring and neutral countries. This story was one of the inspirations for the Women's Climate Congress.
50/50 by 2030 Foundation
The 50/50 by 2030 Foundation is a gender equality initiative established by the Institute for Governance and Policy Analysis (IGPA), at the University of Canberra, Australia. Backed by world-class research expertise, the aim of the initiative is to develop evidence based theory and leading practice on the role of women in strengthening public administration and improving governance and national well-being. Bespoke training modules; seminars, and events aim to challenge the prevailing discourse around women, power and public leadership.
Climate change organisations
1 Million Women is an organisation of women from Australia and all over the world, supporting each other to take climate action through personal lifestyle choices and other actions. 836,000 members and growing!
Climate Action Network Australia
Climate Action Network Australia has a vision for a fair and sustainable Australia free of climate pollution, where people and nature are protected from dangerous climate change. Their mission is to support their members and allies to take actions to protect people at home and abroad from climate change, to safeguard our natural environment, and to build a fair, clean, healthy Australia for everyone.
In 2020, SHE Changes Climate was founded by Antoinette Vermilye, Bianca Pitt and Elise Buckle, with the aim to bring diversity and inclusiveness, transparency and accountability to the COP negotiations on Climate Change. When this campaign originally began in November 2020, there were just 15% women that could be identified on the UK COP26 Leadership Team. This has exposed a deep need to address the composition of the delegations and set clear targets and an international standard for all future COPs, starting with COP26.
Women's Environmental Leadership Australia
Women’s Environmental Leadership Australia (WELA) is lifting female voices to ensure that women’s insights, knowledge, and contributions are fully integrated into the change we need to make to save the planet. A number of Congress members have previously undertaken the WELA environmental leadership training course, which is a two-week residential intensive for women wanting to lead environmental change.
Organisations sharing our values
A Chorus of Women has been weaving artistic expression of citizen concerns and citizen conversations in Canberra and beyond for over 17 years. The Congress has been particularly inspired by two major Chorus projects:
the story of the women's peace movement in WW1, told in Glenda Cloughley’s choral and narrative works, A Passion for Peace (2015), and The People's Passion (2018, 2019) (read more about the 1915 International Congress of Women here: Women at the Hague); and,
Glenda’s choral drama, The Gifts of the Furies, which tells what happens when humans put their own laws and hubris above the laws of nature.
Between 2009 and 2014, Janet and the Chorus facilitated 10 Canberra Conversations. These conversations brought together groups of 50–70 people from a wide range of perspectives to discuss issues of concern and potential disagreement, in a safe and collaborative way.
Art of Hosting Conversations that Matter
Art of Hosting Conversations that Matter is an approach to leadership that scales up from the personal to the systemic using personal practice, dialogue, facilitation and the co-creation of innovation to address complex challenges. It is an effective way of harnessing the collective wisdom and self-organizing capacity of groups of any size. Based on the assumption that people give their energy and lend their resources to what matters most to them – in work as in life – the Art of Hosting blends a suite of powerful conversational processes to invite people to step in and take charge of the challenges facing them. The Art of Hosting is an international collaboration of practitioners who train using an apprenticeship method to learn from experienced stewards. In Australia the Congress is very grateful for the support of Jane Geltch at Purpose Partners, and Mel Geltch and others at Campfire Coop.
On the invitation of our member Dr Lynne Reeder, who is National Director of the Australian Compassion Council, the Congress has been accepted as an official partner for the Global Charter for Compassion. As a Charter Partner, we are part of a growing number of members, partners, and compassionate communities who are working toward a vision of a compassionate global community. A world in which compassion and compassionate action, as articulated in the Charter, will become a transformative energy, motivating individuals and communities to care for each other, to relieve suffering wherever it is found, and to connect to other communities across the globe to ensure well-being for all beings on the planet.
Australia reMADE has developed a vision for the future Australians long for. This article by their Secretariat Chair, Louise Tarrant, particularly resonates with the WCC vision: What if we centred radical love at the heart of our politics?
Wicked Elephants is a co-operative of innovative facilitators who help you get (tr)action on wicked problems, working with individuals, teams, leaders and organisations to develop skills and abilities for powerful collaboration. Thanks to Deborah Collins, Caresse Cranwell and Johanna De Ruyter for joining us on the Congress journey and for sharing your wisdom.
Image: Honey Nelson