Apply Today: Women’s Resilience in Environmental Stewardship and Empowerment (SheRise) Subawards – Zambia (RFA) – The Carter Center

Report on The Carter Center’s SheRise Initiative and its Contribution to Sustainable Development Goals

Program Overview

• The Carter Center, through its Human Rights Program, has initiated the Women’s Resilience in Environmental Stewardship and Empowerment (SheRise) awards.
• The program is designed to provide financial and technical support to women environmental rights defenders operating in Zambia.
• Its core mission is to enable safe and effective activism that strengthens community resilience and addresses the impacts of climate change at local, regional, and global levels, thereby advancing multiple Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Alignment with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

1. SDG 5: Gender Equality

   • The initiative directly contributes to SDG 5 by empowering women and promoting their full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership in climate-related decision-making processes.

2. SDG 13: Climate Action

   • The program’s central focus on strengthening resilience and addressing climate change impacts aligns directly with SDG 13, which calls for urgent action to combat climate change and its effects.

3. SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions

   • By offering support to human rights defenders, the initiative reinforces SDG 16 by helping to protect fundamental freedoms and ensuring public access to information, which are crucial for building peaceful and inclusive societies.

4. SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

   • This program serves as a model for SDG 17, demonstrating a global partnership that mobilizes financial and technical resources to support the achievement of sustainable development in developing nations.

Request for Applications (RFA) Details

• Title: Women’s Resilience in Environmental Stewardship and Empowerment (SheRise) – Women in Climate Action Awards
• Award Ceiling: $20,000
• Number of Awards: Up to 4
• Issue Date: November 19, 2025
• Closing Date: December 14, 2025
• Contact: hrpprocurement@cartercenter.org

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

Detailed Explanation

• SDG 5: Gender Equality: The article directly addresses this goal by focusing on a program designed to “empower women environmental rights defenders in Zambia.” The initiative, titled “Women’s Resilience in Environmental Stewardship and Empowerment (SheRise),” explicitly aims to support women, which is central to achieving gender equality.
• SDG 13: Climate Action: This goal is a core theme of the article. The program supports activism that “addresses climate change impacts” and strengthens “resilience.” The awards are specifically named “Women in Climate Action Awards,” linking the initiative directly to taking urgent action to combat climate change.
• SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions: The article mentions that the initiative is part of The Carter Center’s “Human Rights Program” and supports “environmental rights defenders.” A key objective is to enable these women to “engage safely and effectively in activism,” which relates to protecting fundamental freedoms and ensuring justice for those working on sensitive environmental and human rights issues.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

Detailed Explanation

1. SDG 5: Gender Equality
   • Target 5.5: “Ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life.” The program supports women to become effective activists, thereby enhancing their participation and leadership in public life concerning environmental governance and climate action.
2. SDG 13: Climate Action
   • Target 13.b: “Promote mechanisms for raising capacity for effective climate change-related planning and management in least developed countries… including focusing on women, youth and local and marginalized communities.” The article highlights a program in Zambia (a least developed country) that specifically focuses on empowering women to address climate change impacts at the local and regional levels, directly aligning with this target.
3. SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
   • Target 16.10: “Ensure public access to information and protect fundamental freedoms, in accordance with national legislation and international agreements.” By providing support to “environmental rights defenders” and enabling them to “engage safely,” the program contributes to protecting the fundamental freedoms of speech, association, and advocacy, which are essential for their work.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

Detailed Explanation

• Financial Support as an Indicator: The article specifies an “Award ceiling: $20,000.” This financial commitment is a direct indicator of the resources being mobilized to support women in climate action and protect human rights defenders, relevant to targets 5.5, 13.b, and 16.10. It measures the financial means of implementation.
• Number of Supported Initiatives as an Indicator: The article states there will be “Up to 4” awards. This number serves as a quantitative indicator of the scale of the intervention, measuring how many women-led initiatives or individual defenders are being empowered. This can be used to track progress in building capacity and supporting leadership roles for women in the climate sector.
• Focus on Specific Groups as an Indicator: The program’s explicit focus on “women environmental rights defenders in Zambia” is a qualitative indicator. It demonstrates that resources are being directed towards a specific, often marginalized group (women) in a least developed country (Zambia) to address climate change, which directly measures the implementation of Target 13.b.

4. Create a table with three columns titled ‘SDGs, Targets and Indicators” to present the findings from analyzing the article.

Source: cartercenter.org