Gender: Diverse Women For Diversity
The Nairobi Declaration
Voices of African Diverse Women
Karibuni! : Welcome!
Karibuni to the Land of Diversity!
Culture! : Utamaduni!
Diversity! : Utofauti!
Utafauti wa Utamaduni wa Ulimwengu!
"We welcome you to join us in the Diversity of the Cultures of Our Lives"
"Kinamama wa Afrika wa Sherekea"; "Mothers of Africa Celebrate",
Utafauti: Diversity of Our Foods: -
Ugali! Umbila! Maboga! imefino! Saga! Dodo! Kuku! Nguhu! Ngoho! Chicken - Kentucky Fry! Endiga! Kondoo! Sheep! Dolly the sheep and other mammalian bioreactors!
Animals, Plants and the Seeds of life, stolen, uprooted from our homes and fields! Genetically engineered, manipulated! These technologies experiment with our lives reducing us to guinea pigs. This is why Africa led the world to negotiate and complete the Biosafety Protocol.
We now call our leaders, governments and negotiators to sign and ratify the Protocol, build upon the potential of the Protocol to protect our cultural and biological diversity. We insist on food safety and food security.
Experimenting with our lives should be a punishable crime.
African Women as original knowledge creators have freely shared their innovations of feeding and healing. They have given and received their wisdom as a gift across cultures and generations. This knowledge is now being pirated and patented.
We commit ourselves to continue our culture of sharing our biodiversity and knowledge and resist privatization of life. We celebrate the victory with our sisters who struggled for six (6) years to have the neem patent rejected. We rejoice in our freedom and the freedom of the "FREE TREE".
"Flourish, Neem Tree, Flourish!
Africa inherited you for communication between families! Our answers are still valid remedy for centuries! Let nobody own you other than nature! Shower Us with Your Blessings For Ever!
Collectively drafted by Diverse Women for Diversity
at their pre-COP V CBD Regional Workshop Africa at Nairobi, Kenya
May 14, 2000
