Speech by Sabina Higgins to the Inner Wheel
1st March 2016
May I begin by saying how delighted I am to be here this evening. I would like to thank Brenda Wilkes for inviting me to come and speak at this monthly meeting of the Inner Wheel, and all of you for welcoming me so generously.
I would like to say how impressed I am at your organisation and the progress it has made since it was founded in November 1923 when 27 wives of rotary members came together in Manchester for the first ever meeting of the Inner Wheel.
It is also very good for developing friendships that Ireland and Great Britain are being counted in the same area which comprises 29 Districts and 17,000 members. I am particularly pleased and encouraged by the initiative that was taken in 1967 in order to foster international understanding and which brought International Inner Wheel into existence. It is very impressive that it is now active in 103 countries, has 100,000 members in 3,895 clubs and has representation at the United Nations.
It was very welcome to note that its Inter-care programme has 130 health care units in rural Africa.
It is so fortuitous that such an organization with such powerful potential should be in existence at the present time. It was never more important than now that international connections should be in place and that their potential would be harvested for the promotion of understanding between the countries of the world.
That spirit of altruism and generous sharing has defined the work of the Inner Wheel since its foundation in 1924. Several generations of women in countries across the world have, through their involvement with the inner wheel, made their own profound and significant contribution to their communities and their society in so many different ways.
All of you here today are part of that great international family of active citizens, committed to the advancement of inclusive and just societies, where no person will be marginalised, exploited or denied their rightful voice.
We know, of course, that the world we inhabit today is very different from that which existed in November 1923, when twenty-seven Rotary wives came together in Manchester for the first ever meeting of the Inner Wheel. As members of a globally connected world we now have a great responsibility to engage with the failures, challenges and possibilities of a global community on a fragile planet, a planet made vulnerable by what Pope Francis has called our “indifference”, adding his voice to those calling for reflection on the principles that have guided, and continue to guide, our policies at home and abroad.
Today about 800 million children, women and men across the world do not have enough food to eat. That is a disaster caused by dire poverty and intensified by gross inequalities. It is also a tragedy which stands as the greatest moral challenge that we, as global citizens, face in this contemporary moment.
How do we seize this problem? How can we respond to it with creativity and vision? And where do we begin?
Are we ready to depart from economic models that encourage short term gratification, to the detriment of the future? Can we reconcile the fight against climate change with the right to development claimed by emerging countries? Do we accept that the theory of interests that has motivated the foreign policy of so many of our nations lies at the root of so much inequality, including unfair trade and tied development aid?
The great news is that we have in fact already begun to take action. Last year two great historic global events took place that put in place one great agenda for all the countries of the world. In New York at the United Nations 200 countries of the world came together and signed their commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals and in November in Paris at the Climate Change conference 196 countries adopted the first ever universal, legally binding climate deal. In Paris it was acknowledged that climate change was a reality that it was a challenge facing the world and required new ideas and new thinking.
The survival of the planet depends on the implementation of the agenda of the Sustainable Development Goals and the Climate Change Justice agendas.
The 17 Sustainable Development Goals are a set of goals to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for all as part of a new sustainable development agenda. Each goal has specific targets to be achieved over the next 15 years.
Indeed if we are to achieve any of our global goals, we must seek to define new models that are accountable, transparent, and rooted in democratic participation. As global citizens we all must play our role in becoming informed participants willing and able to engage in discourse on the creation of such models; courageous citizens prepared to challenge, to question and to explore better alternatives.
In that pursuit of a better world we must place, right at the centre of our vision, the full implementation of human rights. We remain confronted, across the world, with dramatic situations of conflict which create unspeakable and unacceptable levels of human suffering and injustice. From problems of climate change, desertification and conflict we have 6 million displaced people on the move across the face of the planet.
Much in that overall narrative pertains to an overwhelming and persistent global injustice for women.
Oxfam Ireland has stated that gender inequality lies at the heart of the gap between the richest and poorest people in the world. Across the globe, women earn less money than men and own less property. In Africa, for instance, while women represent half of the agricultural workforce, they own only 25% of the land, leaving them highly dependent, at risk of losing their livelihood, and vulnerable to poverty, abuse and levels of violence which are up to five times that of developed economies.
If we are to truly achieve empowerment of women across the world we must face and fight many immediate and longer term challenges. This battle must be an inclusive one, bringing men and women together as global citizens united in a war against gender inequality.
Last year, the President was visited by the United National Under Secretary General and Executive Director of UN Women Mlambo-Ngcuka and agreed to become a Champion of the “HeforShe” campaign, a United Nations global movement which seeks to bring one half of humanity together in support of the other half of humanity, engaging institutions and organisations which are in a position to influence important changes within communities where women are most vulnerable to gender inequality and discrimination. That is a great example of our duty and ability to work together as global citizens, to ignore the imaginary barriers that can so often be perceived as coming between us and our journey towards a more humane world.
Before I conclude, may I say how delighted I am to have had the opportunity to speak to you during this very special year in Ireland; a time when we reflect on the wording of our proclamation, and commemorate those brave leaders who fought during Easter 1916 for a democratic Ireland. It is a time to remember the principle of participative citizenship that lies at the heart of democracy and to remind ourselves that our fragile planet, like our State, is a shared responsibility which must be built on principles and policies which recognise the common welfare.
I would like to finish by commending all of you on your great spirit of community and your determination to lend a voice to those in our society who are vulnerable, disadvantaged and marginalised. It is citizens like you who lay the important foundations from which democracy can grow and flourish. I thank you for your generous engagement and spirit of active participation, and I wish you every success as you continue with your important work.