THE VFA PIONEER HISTORIES PROJECT
Irene Dankelman
1953 – December 28, 2022
“There are millions of women and men, especially young people, calling for environmental justice and women’s rights.”
Environmental activist, professor, ecologist, author. From Haarlem, Netherlands. Supported marginalized groups around the world. Researcher, Wageningen University. Environmental advisor, Oxfam Novib – a global movement to end poverty. Founder, staff member, Both ENDS – an environmental and human rights organization, 1986. Vice President, Board of Trustees, WECF, (Women Engage for a Common Future). First sustainability coordinator, Radboud University, Nijmegen, 1999; retired 2019. Served as the Chair of the Board of WEDO, a global advocacy organization established in 1991 by former U.S. Congresswoman Bella Abzug and feminist activist and journalist Mim Kelber.
Published academic books and articles used in education worldwide. Women and the Environment in the Third World: Alliance for the Future, published 1988. Gender and Climate Change: An Introduction, published 2010. Director, Senior Advisor, Irdana, Netherlands.


Photo 1. Irene Dankelman, UN Women’s Conference, Nairobi, 1985. Photo 2. Irene Dankelman, working on her book, 1988.

More About Irene:
- In Memoriam Irene Dankelman, WECF
- In Memoriam: Irene Dankelman, Both ENDS
- In memoriam: Irene Dankelman (1953-2022), sustainability pioneer and true optimist, Vox magazine
- Irene Dankelman receives Dutch Royal Decoration, WECF
- Irene Dankelman, founder of Both ENDS becomes Officer in the Order of Orange-Nassau, Both ENDS
- How climate change and gender are related, Radboud Universiteit (ru.nl)
- In Memoriam: Irene Dankelman – WEDO
- Women on the forefront at the Earth Summit ’92 in Rio. WEDO
- “The thinking was: let’s not waste our time with gender,” Both ENDS
- Irene Dankelman, Radboud University Lecturer in sustainable development – environment
- Women Can be Key to Saving the Earth, Casper Star-Tribune, November 1991