21 Apr RISING FOR WOMEN & THE EARTH THIS EARTH DAY
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: [email protected]
One Billion Rising Global Coordinators Amplify the 2021 “Rising Gardens” Theme, Making the Connection between Exploitation of Women and the Exploitation of the Earth
Release New Short Film Featuring Activists From Austria, Bangladesh, Eswatini, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Malawi, Nigeria, United States, Portugal, Singapore, Taiwan, UK, Philippines, and Zambia
April 21, 2021: One Billion Rising activists are calling for RISING GARDENS, a global grassroots action for revival, restoration and transformation, making the connection between violence against women and destruction of the earth. “Rising Gardens” is a defiant creative call for revival, restoration, and transformation. Activists are creating artistic events around the globe this Thursday, Earth Day, April 22 and have released a new short film in honor of Earth Day featuring activists from Austria, Bangladesh, Eswatini, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Malawi, Nigeria, United States, Portugal, Singapore, Taiwan, UK, Philippines, and Zambia.
WATCH Earth Day Rising, One Billion Rising Coordinators Speak Out.
During the pandemic, activists are expanding their reach online as they simultaneously deepen their reach on the ground, community work to meet the needs of the moment. Rising Gardens actions amplify the intersectional issues of women’s inequality and its impact on food insecurity, land ownership and the lack of access to healthcare, as well as the long term effects from extractive industries and the destruction of Mother Earth, and other basic rights, especially for frontline and marginalized communities.
Activists are calling for a shift from consumption and greed at the expense of the many, to cultivation, creation and care.
For eight years, One Billion Rising activists – led by a team of 60 global coordinators – have unleashed vast grassroots, anti-violence locally, regionally and nationally. This visionary work has been survivor-led and focused, all the while revealing the power of art and activism to change culture and systems. This year, the 9th year of One Billion Rising, OBR creative resistance events will culminate during 22 April, Earth Day/Earth Week.
JOIN RISING GARDENS FOR EARTH DAY –
Ready to RISE? Visit onebillionrising.org and Instagram.com/one_billion_rising for information, ideas & inspiration from activists everywhere.
Activists cultivate in many ways including: Seed distribution through seed banks and exchanges; Artistic creations in the forms of zero waste food art in Bangladesh; Artistic risings featuring speakers on ending violence against women and new ways to sustainably engage with the environment, performances, dancing, and more; Film festivals featuring a range of films on the topics that Rising Gardens uplifts; Planting trees to create community green spaces and planting community gardens; Collaborations with agricultural workers and gardeners; Educational workshops about gardening and education about herbal medicine and the effects of gardening to boost immunity; and actions to advance women’s rights.
Anyone can RISE and join this global and grassroots call to action – online or develop a Covid safe in person Rising Gardens action, creating connection, community and solidarity.
Read about the 2021 theme, Rising Gardens.
Check out One Billion Rising’s blog for inspiration from global coordinators around the world.
MEET the OBR Global Coordinators.
WATCH and SHARE this new One Billion Rising short video channeling the energy activists are dedicating to women and the earth, as they plant, grow and RISE, cultivating communities of care and resistance. Join us on social media all day on Earth Day as we amplify RISINGS online for Earth Day, honoring the Earth during this pandemic.
QUOTES:
“To care for a garden – to nurture it to bloom and grow – deepens our relationship to Mother Earth. Gardens are sacred spaces that engage and awaken our senses, make us believe in wonder, beauty and connection to all living beings. Like theatre, they are a place of play and of transformation – where we can celebrate and contribute to life.” -V (formerly Eve Ensler), playwright, activist and Founder One Billion Rising and V-Day
“Gardens remind us of our enduring connection to life, to each other and to Earth, which compels us to do everything in our power to protect and nurture life and all that is sacred without doing harm. The cultivation of plant life is also a means for survival. Growing food in a garden organically – be it your own indoor garden or a community garden – allows you to feed yourself and your community. It provides autonomy and underscores the need for food security in a world where so many are denied these essential resources. ” – Monique Wilson, One Billion Rising Global Director
To make a garden grow is to love. To keep a community alive is to love. Create and grow gardens. Dance in them.
Raise the Vibration with your hands and bodies.
RISE FOR WOMEN AND MOTHER EARTH
#RiseGardenResist
#RisingGardens
#RisingWorld
About One Billion Rising
One Billion Rising is the biggest mass action to end violence against women (cisgender, transgender, and those who hold fluid identities that are subject to gender-based violence) in human history. One Billion Rising activists worldwide mobilize, engage, awaken and join people across the planet to end violence against all women and girls. 1 in 3 women across the planet will be beaten or raped during her lifetime. That’s ONE BILLION WOMEN AND GIRLS. Every February, we rise – in countries across the world – to show our local communities and the world what one billion looks like and shine a light on the rampant impunity and injustice that survivors most often face. We rise through dance to express joy and community and celebrate the fact that we have not been defeated by this violence. We rise to show we are determined to create a new kind of consciousness – one where violence will be resisted until it is unthinkable.