ISSUE 48/DEC2022 - Flipbook - Page 57
Vanessa Nakate
UGANDA
Founder: Rise Up Movement
Unicef Goodwill Ambassador
CIVIL SOCIETY & ACTIVISM: Climate Justice Activist
“An indispensable voice for our future,” is how Nobel Peace Prize
winner Malala Yousafzai describes her.
without gender justice,” she told the United
Nations General Assembly’s Transforming
Education Summit, in New York last
September, where she urged world leaders
to prioritize the planet and girls’ education,
explaining how climate change impacts the
latter.
She is also the founder of the Rise Up
Climate Movement, which amplifies the
voices of activists from Africa and across
the world. She also founded The Greens
School Project, which addresses energy
poverty in rural schools in Uganda, using
economical and sustainable solutions to
equip 24,000 schools with solar panels
and eco-stoves, according to the Gates
Foundation.
In a recent conversation with Former
Irish Prime Minister who was visiting
communities in Uganda to learn about
how local people are striving to adapt
to the challenges of the climate crisis,
Vanessa told her: “I believe that we need
women’s voices. But not just their voices.
We need their leadership in the climate
conversation…Women make up more than
half of the world’s population, so how can
we expect to make the best decisions for
the people or the planet when it’s just half
the team making the decisions? I think
women’s leadership is very important in
climate conversations.”
In the words of one of her peers and super
fan: “Vanessa is the Beyoncé of Climate
Change.”
Photo by: Christian Charisius/dpa/Alamy Live News
Indeed, without doubt, Vanessa Nakate,
has become one of the most persuasive
and determined voices on climate change
discourse in the world today. And with
that have come the accolades, including
most recently, a Bill and Melinda Gates
Goalkeepers Global Goals Award, for
“[campaigning] internationally to highlight
the impact of climate change already
playing out in Africa, bringing muchneeded attention to the inequalities that
climate change exacerbates and especially
how it disproportionately affects women
and girls in Africa.”
This annual recognition awards remarkable
individuals taking action to help achieve
the UN Global Goals by 2030.
Like her peers, such as Greta Thunberg
and Elizabeth Wathuti, Vanessa is an
unapologetic climate activist who is not
afraid to call out the injustices and dangers
brought by climate change crisis and
denialism. A much-sought after voice on
many Forums, Vanessa’s has also released
her debut book - A Bigger Picture - to
high acclaim. A review by Goodreads puts
it succinctly: “Vanessa Nakate brings her
fierce, fearless spirit, new perspective, and
superstar bona fides to the biggest issue
of our time.”
Using her globally respected status,
Vanessa is also using her voice to champion
gender equality and the empowerment of
young girls, especially those in rural areas
of Africa. “We can’t have climate justice
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