Archives of activism: exploring environmental justice

Join us for a special evening celebrating two of the UK’s pioneering forces in environmental justice.

With Black Environment Network (BEN), Women's Environmental Network (Wen) and special guests

This event is part of the series celebrating the 100th anniversary of The Women’s Library.
Founded in the late 1980s, BEN and Wen were among the first organisations to challenge the idea that environmental issues could be separated from racial and gender justice. At a time when the sector largely overlooked women, racialised communities and grassroots leadership, these organisations broke new ground:

• BEN championed multicultural environmental participation and insisted that environmental work must include social and cultural context.
• Wen brought an early gender-sensitive, ecofeminist approach to environmental action, showing how women’s rights, health and environmental justice are intertwined.

Agenda

6 – 7pm - Talk: speaker panel reflecting on Wen's and BEN's work and where we are now

7 – 7.30pm - Q&A with audience

7.30 – 8.30pm - Reception in the LSE Library Gallery

Selected items from both archives will be on display outside the lecture theatre to view on arrival and after the talk.

Meet our speakers and chair

Judy Ling Wong is probably best known as the Honorary President of Black Environment Network (BEN). She is a major voice on policy and practice towards social inclusion. She was awarded an OBE for pioneering multicultural environmental participation in 2000, and a CBE for services to heritage in 2007. She was included in the BBC Power Women List 2021, and the Forbes List of 100 Leading Environmentalists in the UK 2021. She was given the Vanity Fair International Women’s Day Challenger Award 2021 and the Earth Day Green Plaque Award 2021. She was given the RHS Elizabeth Medal of Honour 2023.

Ivié Itoje - Green Baby Programme Manager and Climate Sisters Manager - Ivié is passionate about intersectional feminism, sustainability, and holistic health solutions. With a background in law, advocacy, the performing arts, and body image work, she leads the Green Baby Project, promoting non-toxic and accessible baby care solutions for healthier families and a healthier planet.

Tanya Matthan is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography and Environment at LSE. Drawing on political ecology, critical agrarian studies, and the anthropology of finance, her work examines the socio-material life in risk in central India. Tanya holds a PhD in Anthropology from the University of California Los Angeles and an M.A. and MPhil in Sociology from the University of Delhi. Prior to joining LSE, she was a Ciriacy-Wantrup Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of California, Berkeley.

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