To act as seeds

Museologist, President of ICOM 2016-2020

When I first heard about the title of this book and the exhibition, the words "They tried to bury us, they didn't know we were seeds" echoed in my mind. I believe that the tiny seeds who authored the writings in this book will make mighty changes in our lifetime. Greta Thunberg is not alone. We, women, have always been catalysts of change and we will continue to be so.

In the quest for imagining, designing and creating a better future, museums have an important role to play today. It is not possible to develop a vision that does not found itself on the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This set of 17 goals do take climate change as their primary point of departure but they do emphasise the social and economic aspects of the matter as well. Therefore, we need to consider sustainability in a broad spectrum ranging from bio-diversity to social and cultural diversity. As we know environmental crises are not totally independent of economic crises.

In this context, it must be reiterated that aiming for sustainability is a moral obligation to future generations and a commitment to intergenerational ethics. This is exactly what the Women's Museum Istanbul is accomplishing with the exhibition Which future will you leave me? Girls on the climate crisis and this book. Congratulations!