By Andrew Darby
Environmental News
Service
| SYDNEY, Australia, (ENS) - A prominent Australian
feminist and writer, little known for her green credentials, is to
take over the chair of Greenpeace International at a crucial time
for the organisation. Just a year after she was appointed to its
board, Dr. Anne Summers will head Greenpeace as it recruits its most
crucial position, international executive director, and shifts its
focus towards Asia.
Summers' appearance at the vanguard of the global green
movement comes after little public environmentalism in Australia.
Instead, she is recognised here as a thinker and long time political
activist, particularly for women's rights. |
Dr. Anne Summers
(Photo courtesy International
Celebrity Management Pty Ltd)
|
She was at one time a controversial magazine editor for the New
York based magazine "Ms.", and at then chief advisor for women’s issues to
former Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating.
Summers until recently was the editor of "Good Weekend," published
each Saturday in the "Sydney Morning Herald" and the Melbourne newspaper
"The Age."
Greenpeace is the world's pre-eminent green activist organisation.
Still, it has often been criticised for what is seen by some as an
extremist approach. The government of Japan has even labelled it as a
"terrorist" organisation.
The appointment, to begin in December, puts Summers at the head of
an organisation claiming around 2.5 million members, with a presence in 41
countries and a 1999 income of 126 million Euros ($US110 million).
The seven person board she will chair broadly represents global
regions for Greenpeace and is seen as a supervisory body. Summers will be
responsible for such tasks as identifying key strategic issues, and
supervising the Dutch headquartered organisation's governance.
Leadership is delegated to the international executive director,
currently Thilo Bode. But Bode will leave the post after five years in
February 2001, a Greenpeace spokesman in Amsterdam confirmed. The 53 year
old German was the fifth director of Greenpeace, and among his
achievements directed its move towards Asia.
Outgoing Greenpeace executive director Thilo Bode
Photo courtesy
Greenpeace |
The
appointment of a new international executive director (IED) is a
board decision, and the board is in the initial phase of obtaining a
person for the job, the spokesman said. "We hope we will go through
the process of selecting an IED so there is a seemless handover."
Since Summers's appointment to the part time role with
Greenpeace was disclosed, she has been travelling, and her only
comment was in a statement released by Greenpeace. In it she said
she was "thrilled and excited by the honour conferred by my
colleagues." |
In a recent speech she described as "historic" Greenpeace's
decision to open offices in India and Thailand. Speaking to a graduating
class at Deakin University in Australia following her initial election to
the board, she said the shift is very significant for the organisation,
which had been "totally preoccupied with first North America and later
Europe."
Now Greenpeace is "adjusting its focus" to a region that holds the
vast majority of the world's population, and which has paid the price for
rapid development with massive and potentially life threatening
environmental damage.
Summers said expansion into India and Thailand has only happened
after a great deal of consultation with local people. "Greenpeace is not
an imperialist organisation and does not go where it is not wanted," she
said. "Unless that be in the path of a Norwegian or Japanese whaling
vessel."
In the speech, she also pointed to the "mindless frenzy of
deforestation" as an issue with the potential to lead to a global
ecological catastrophe.
Summers, 55, was one of the first people to lead a women's
liberation group in her native city of Adelaide, and to establish a
women's refuge in Sydney. The author of a classic historical study of
Australian women, "Damned Whores and God's Police," she recently wrote an
autobiography called "Ducks on the Pond."
Her media career includes spells as a political correspondent and
editor. This led her to New York from 1986 to 1992, where she became
editor-in-chief of "Ms." magazine, and eventually a co-owner of "Ms." and
the short lived younger sister publication, "Sassy," after a then
pioneering management buyout.
"Sassy" came under assault from a Moral Majority campaign, and
Summers later severed her connections with the magazines to return to
Australia.
 Dr.
Anne Summers and University of New South Wales Chancellor Dr. John
Yu
Photo courtesy UNSW
|
She
became a political adviser to the last Labor Prime Minister, Paul
Keating, until 1993, before again becoming a magazine editor.
The University of New South Wales awarded Summers an Honorary
Doctorate in April for her contribution to journalism and the
advancement of women. |
Dr. Summers said that receiving a doctorate for her lifetime
achievements led her to reflect on the successes of the past century and
the endless possibilities for the next generation.
"This generation will assume leadership of our country and our
world during the 21st century. They know so much more than previous
generations, not just in the sense of having knowledge but in having
already acquired a good deal of wisdom. The world is a tougher place
today, especially for young people."
|
