Consultative Status
at The United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)
The International Presentation Association is deeply committed to the care of our common home, recognizing the urgent need for environmental justice and sustainable living. Inspired by our Presentation charism and the call to ecological conversion, we advocate for policies and practices that protect the Earth and all living beings.
Our Justice Contacts across the globe work alongside communities - especially those most affected by climate change, environmental degradation, and resource exploitation - to promote sustainability, biodiversity, and just environmental policies. Through education, advocacy, and grassroots action, IPA seeks to nurture a world where people and planet thrive in harmony, ensuring a sustainable future for generations to come.
OUR PLEDGE TO CARE FOR THE EARTH
We pledge to uphold and promote the rights of the Earth through the following priority actions.
Building Awareness
To collate and disseminate resources and engage people at the UN about Climate Action, Life below Water and Life on Land to support attaining Rights of Earth.
In all countries with an IPA presence those at work live the Laudato Si message raising local and international awareness of how the SDGs are lived out in our collective care for creation. Our Presentation work so often demands that we accompany those who are left furthest behind. In our care for creation we involve those affected most and affected first by the worst effects of climate change and enduring poverty during this declared climate and biodiversity emergency.
We honour and advance the rights of the earth in our work to spread the message of the IPCC reports on climate change. We translate the macro message into micro actions that are examples of carbon capture that mitigate and slow climate change. Presentation examples can be seen in our bog restoration and conservation in Lixnaw Co. Kerry or in the work of Erin Earth in Wagga Wagga Australia where an intergenerational approach welcomes involves all age groups and all communities in demonstrating sustainable living in local communities. To reduce our carbon footprint is our commitment to walk lightly on the earth and to think and act proactively in this regard is to ensure that the ability of future generations to live sustainably is not compromised.
We also have a detailed IPA Care of the Earth case studies download, with more information about this important work in Ireland and South India, here.
Creating a forum within the IPA
To create a forum for sharing strategies within the IPA network that addresses issues in relation to the Rights of Earth.
We learn and are encouraged by practical examples of our care for creation. In South India the Presentation Sisters continue to be involved with communities undertaking a Participatory Rural Appraisal that will list those factors and incidences of apparent Climate Change. Such a qualitative survey will assist in the development of models that will help those in the villages adapt and mitigate future climate change. This Participatory rural appraisal is an approach used by non-governmental organisations and other agencies involved in international development. The approach aims to incorporate the knowledge and opinions of rural people in the planning and management of development projects and programmes in the understanding that it is not about you without you. The lived experience is central and core to any new approach.
Priority actions
These are our priority actions to honour and advance the rights of Earth.
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Human rights based approach – respect and fulfil the rights of Earth, within a human rights framework.
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Provide support – support the health of our planet by reducing our carbon emissions, waste and use of Earth’s resources where possible.
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Educate others – Create learning opportunities around care of Earth and the challenges we face.
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Raise awareness – Share stories and resources within IPA and the wider community, participate in webinars and forums, engage with partner organisations.
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Advocate locally and globally – use grassroots stories and experience to inform processes at the United Nations and use the United Nations to inform practices at the grassroots level.
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Leave no one behind – Ensure that the means of engaging people are inclusive of all and take the most marginalised into account.
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Link to the IPA Advocacy Focus and other goals – acknowledge and act on the intersections of injustice.
Developing a programme of study and reflection
The IPA network is committed to advancing Climate Action, Life Below Water, and Life on Land through education, sustainability initiatives, and advocacy.
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India: Presentation schools and tribal communities engage in sustainable agriculture programs to address climate change's impact on subsistence farming, particularly in the Global South.
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United States: The Presentation Sisters in Dakota have returned 100 acres of forest to nature, integrating regenerative agriculture and Indigenous knowledge into environmental education.
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Philippines: Presentation Schools encourage students to take an active role in caring for creation through tree planting, animal care, and environmental stewardship, aligning with Laudato Si’ and the SDGs.
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Global Initiatives: A resource on SDGs – A Contemplative Dialogue was developed to integrate SDGs into personal and community reflection, inspiring action in religious and interfaith groups. North India has further expanded this with monthly reflections linking SDGs and Laudato Si'.
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Ireland: The Challenge to Change program empowers students to address global inequality and environmental challenges, fostering social consciousness and activism at local and global levels.
These efforts collectively aim to educate, inspire, and empower communities to take meaningful action toward sustainability and justice.
STUDENTS
STAND FOR
EARTH RIGHTS
A group of Presentation students in South India expressed their concern and love for the Earth in this four-minute dance video, sent to us by Sr Lilly. The song the students dance to is in a vernacular language, but subtitles have been added to ensure that everyone can understand their powerful message
IPA ADVOCACY
AT THE UN
Alongside our commitment to information sharing, study, and reflection, the International Presentation Association actively advocates for the rights of the Earth at the United Nations. Our work aligns with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 13 (Climate Action), SDG 14 (Life Below Water), and SDG 15 (Life on Land), as we seek to protect ecosystems, promote sustainable environmental policies, and address the devastating effects of climate change.
CARE OF THE EARTH:
STORIES OF IMPACT
On 8 November 2022, UNICEF published findings which revealed that 27.7 million children around the world have been affected by flooding this year alone, the highest number in the past 30 years.
IPA Justice Contacts in Australia and Pakistan share their insights on how Presentation People have been responding to catastrophic flooding in their regions.
With thanks to Justice Contacts Clare Axman and Shumaila Gill PBVM for submitting this Story of Impact.
