Patriarchy and backlash to climate justice: A conversation

About this event

What does it really take to engage men and boys in climate action — and what gets in the way?

This second session in our three-part Masculinity and Climate Webinar Series that moves from theory to practice. Bringing together practitioners from across the globe, this candid conversation explores the real-world challenges of working with men and boys on climate change: what approaches resonate, what resistance looks like on the ground, and how to transform pushback into meaningful participation.

Through storytelling and dialogue, panelists will share hard-won lessons from the field, both the breakthroughs and the setbacks, as they discuss strategies for shifting individual behaviour, and the deeper patriarchal norms and cultures that underpin the climate crisis.

Speakers

• Pierre Smith Khanna
  Independent Researcher. Pierre is also a contributor to the NORMA special issue, ​“Buen Vivir as fertile soil for ecological masculinities: learning from gardening men in Cali, Colombia.” With one foot in academia and the other in more hands-on learning, Pierre has a deep interest in education and encountering novel ways in which students and teachers can learn together in an environment free of fear and competition. He has developed and taught curricula in formal and non-formal educational settings for teenagers and young adults, launched a podcast series entitled ​‘Sustainable Masculinities’, authored papers on the same subject, and directed the feature-length documentary ​‘Fairytales of Growth’ exploring degrowth and climate activism.
• Nomena Liantsoa Rafanoharana
  Environmental Project Officer, Transparency International-Initiative Madagascar.
  Liantsoa is committed to fighting corruption in the management of natural resources and promoting more transparent, inclusive, and accountable climate governance. She leads awareness-raising and civic engagement initiatives with civil society organizations and local communities to advance transparency, integrity, and environmental justice. With a background in political science, she combines her academic expertise with field experience to strengthen environmental governance in Madagascar. 
• Kayinga Muddu Yisito
  Network Coordinator, Community Transformation Foundation Network (COTFONE), Uganda.
  Kayinga is a Ugandan human rights defender, social entrepreneur whose work sits at the intersection of environmental protection and social justice, specifically addressing how patriarchal structures and political backlash hinder climate justice in East Africa. 

Moderator: Aruba Faruque

Aruba Faruque is a 19-year-old Bangladeshi climate and environmental justice activist who began her advocacy at the age of 13. 

She successfully petitioned for Bangladesh’s Planetary Emergency Declaration, which led to climate and environment being integrated into the national curriculum. 

Currently serving as the Deputy Executive Coordinator of YouthNet Global and has successfully completed her tenure of the Adolescent Ambassador for Climate and Health at the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, she has emerged as a strong voice for youth leadership in climate action. At COP28, she highlighted the links between climate change, health, and child rights, advocating for a just transition and intergenerational equity.

Her expertise lies in climate-health diplomacy, intergenerational equity,  climate education and just transition.

Part of a three-part series

This session builds on Session 1 (February 2026), which introduced the NORMA special issue on men, masculinities, and climate change and established the theoretical links between patriarchal masculinities and ecological harm. It also introduced the research article ​​‘Care is not only the goal, it’s the way’: Working with men and boys for climate and gender justice, written by MenEngage Climate Justice Working Group members published in this journal.

The series is convened by the MenEngage Alliance Climate Justice Working Group, which brings together members across regions and contexts to catalyze climate justice efforts led by and in solidarity with feminist, Indigenous, and youth-led movements.