World leaders, country delegations, corporations and civil society gathered in Baku, Azerbaijan for COP29 in November 2024. The Conference of Parties (COP) is the annual meeting of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to advance global efforts in combating climate change.
COP29 was a milestone event, particularly for the Eastern Europe, Caucasus, and Central Asia (EECCA) region, being hosted for the first time by an EECCA country outside the EU. This COP drew significant international attention to a region that often remains overlooked. Despite the remaining challenges...
Two life-size inflatable polar bear-suited activists are handing out breakfast bananas. A trio passes by dressed in elaborate South American Indigenous dress, their ornate feathered headdresses a bright spot of positivity against the near freezing cold of Baku and the dullness of grey carpeted floors. A huddle of suited-up people, who could be...
I had the honor of listening to the work of four different organizations on how they are not only empowering females, but also males.
Nayana Chowdhury (Breakthrough India), Shrinivas Rao (Azad Foundation), Samitha Sugathimala (Foundation for Innovative Social Development and MenEngage Alliance), Wessel van den Berg PhD (Equimundo Center for Masculinities and Social Justice), and...
“...[C]an’t even go outside to walk for exercise by themselves.” “Stoned to death for a ‘mistake’ they (the Taliban) thought was egregious.”
Yesterday I had the honor of meeting Shahla Farid, a former professor at the University of Kabul, and her two daughters. We didn’t have time for Ms. Farid to tell me much about her life.