Mountain Wilderness and International Mountain Day 2022

“Women move mountains” was the theme of this year’s International Mountain Day (IMD) on 11 December.

“Women play a key role in environmental protection and social and economic development in mountain areas. They are often the primary managers of mountain resources, guardians of biodiversity, keepers of traditional knowledge, custodians of local culture and experts in traditional medicine” explains FAO.

A perfect fit for our “Girls in Action!” course we held this year in Pakistani Swat, 10 years after the assassination attempt on Malala Yousafzai. The course was part of The Swat Project, whose ultimate goal is to create a National Park in an area of great natural beauty, known as the ‘Switzerland of Pakistan’.

There were several initiatives either organised or co-organised by MW at national and international level or in which national chapters participated. Below you can find a few of them.

Mountain Wilderness International and Mountain Wilderness Italy co-organised together with Teatro del Buratto in Milan a short-story and photo contest with three themes: women move mountains, sustainable development of mountains and into the wild.

Mountain Wilderness Switzerland took part in the “Après-ski” event organised by the Swiss Alpine Museum.

Mountain Wilderness Spain celebrated International Mountain Day on December 12, with a webinar held by Rosa Fernandez and Lina Quesada, who climbed K2 this summer. The two women mountaineers brought their point of view on the overcrowding of high peaks, environmental deterioration, competitiveness and lack of solidarity as well as loss of values generated by excessive commercialisation of mountaineering. You can watch the recordings here: https://www.mountainwilderness.es/realizado-nuestro-acto-del-dim-2022/

A few days later, Mountain Wilderness Germany organised an on-site action on Hausberg mountain, in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, and walked the ski slopes with banners to raise awareness of the waste of energy and water for the production of artificial snow.