Climate chaos and worsening income disparities (both local and global) make it more important than ever to forge respectful alliances between academics
and frontline community activists -- the majority of whom are women. Information-sharing of many varieties, and mobilizing this knowledge for local grassroots action as well as policy formation (and removing perverse policies!), should happen hand-in-hand.

This issue of Women and Environments International magazine explores promising ways to facilitate such communication – the processes, challenges, and how to overcome barriers.

This issue has been inspired by a path-breaking conference held by the Canadian Society for Ecological Economics (CANSEE), which took place this past May 2019 in Waterloo, Ontario. Entitled Engaging Economies of Change, the conference aimed to expand existing research networks in the ecological economics nexus by building connections beyond the academy in order to meaningfully engage with the practicalities of building and implementing
change. This issue captures the rich content shared during the event, as well as descriptions of the processes and efforts made to create a welcoming and respectful space where academics and community activists could build alliances and discuss common challenges. The conference organizers – all graduate students and activists themselves -- called this ‘building a brave space’.

Download the issue

Contents

• WE Speak
  • Editorial: Celebrating Economies of Change Kristi Leora Gansworth, Patricia E. Perkins, Perin Ruttonsha, Sophia R. Sanniti and Gryphon Theriault-Loubier
• Features
  • Walking the Walk: Planning a Conference that Embodies Equity and Sustainability by Sophia R. Sanniti and Sarah-Louise Ruder
    • Reflection Report by Lila Bruyere
    • Childcare at CANSEE 2019 by Emily J. Nighswander
    • Equity Training by Lauren Burrows
    • Maker Night at CANSEE 2019 by Sayeh Dastghieb-Beheshti
    • Marxist Jargon by Sayeh Dastghieb-Beheshti
  • Building a Brave Economy by Perin Ruttonsha
  • Caring not Competing: The Meaning and Relevance of Indigenous Economic Theory by Ronald L. Trosper
  • Decolonizing Economies: An Interview with Dr. Ronald L. Trosper by Perin Ruttonsha
  • Women Scholar-Activists Trace Connections Between Colonialism, Capitalism, Injustice, and Environmental Decline by Perin Ruttonsha and Patricia E. Perkins
  • Medicine Wheel Rendezvous by Rosanne Van Schie
• WE Research
  • Food is Healing: the Story of Nihtaauchin (Chisasibi Center for Sustainability) and its Journey to Food Sovereignty by Ioana Radu, Gabriel Snowboy, Bertie Wapachee and Émilie Parent
  • Money for War not Global Warming and Women: A Gendered Critique of American and Canadian Public Spending by Tamara Lorincz
  • Allying with Indigenous Communities: Reporting on a Conference Workshop for Settler Researchers by Jen Gobby
  • Ecology and Economy: Systems Changes Ahead? by David Ing
• In the Field
  • ​Let’s Talk About Ecofeminism and Privilege by Laura Gilbert
  • Designing Sustainability Partnerships: The Experiences of Barcelona, Gwangju and Montreal by Valentina Castillo Cifuentes, Amelia Clarke and Eduardo Ordonez-Ponce
  • Urbanization Trade-offs for the Tourism Sector in the Fishing Community of Picinguaba, Brazil by Ana Carolina Esteves Dias and Adams CeballosConcha 
  • Embedding Ecological Economics into the Way We Work by Joe Mancini
  • Changing the Story: Rewriting our Collective Social Narrative by Susan Santone
  • The Fair Finance Fund Brings Innovation to Finance by Sally Miller
  • Sustainability through Decolonized Design Education by Sayeh Dastgheib-Beheshti
  • El Cambalache and Inter-Change: Co-creating Decolonial, Feminist, Solidarity Economies by Nina L. Smolyar
  • Reintegrating Living and Making a Living: Planning beyond the “Land Use” box by Regula Modlich
• WE Poetry 
  • Above Lake Superior, 1922 - Carolyn Marie Souaid
  • Three Poems - Kjmunro
  • spacing - Leanne Betasamosake Simpson
  • Judas Wolf - Rosanne Van Schie & Verna McGregor
  • The Ottawa River by Night - Margaret Atwood
  • November - Meredith Quartermain
  • Carbon based life - Gryphon Theriault-Loubier
  • Rewire the brain - Louise Carson
  • Beautiful Bruises - Sue Bracken
  • Hard Re-set - Alice Major
  • The Mine Speaks - Sue Sinclair
  • Climate Change Suite #1 - Losing Blue - Dymphny Dronyk
  • Resurgence - Perin Ruttonsha
• In Print
  • ​Our History is the Future: Nick Estes, Reviewed by Alice Damiano
• In the News
  • Jody Wilson-Raybould on Her Path to Independence Michael Harris, reprint from The Tyee
  • Methylmercury ‘time bomb” Ticking with Start of Muskrat Falls Reservoir Impoundment - Press release
• In Memoriam
  • Regula Modlich (1939-2018) Toronto’s Radical Feminist Planner by Barbara Rahder
  • WE Resources