Wikipedia

Vanessa Nakate

Vanessa Nakate (born 15 November 1996) is an Ugandan climate justice activist.[1] She gained international recognition for her climate activism in Uganda, where she began a solitary climate strike in January 2019.

Vanessa Nakate
Born (1996-11-15) 15 November 1996 (age 28)
Uganda
EducationMakerere University Business School
Years active2018–present
Known forClimate activism

Nakate is the founder of the Youth for Future Africa and the Rise Up Movement, and she has been a prominent voice at international forums such as the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP25) and the World Economic Forum in Davos. Her work focuses on drawing attention to the impacts of climate change on African communities and advocating for renewable energy projects in Ugandan schools.

Early life

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Nakate grew up in the Ugandan capital, Kampala.[2] She first gained recognition in December 2018 after expressing concern about the unusually high temperatures in her country.[3] Nakate graduated with a business administration in marketing degree from Makerere University Business School. Nakate is a Christian.[4]

Actions for the climate

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Inspired by Greta Thunberg to start her own climate movement in Uganda, Nakate began a solitary strike against inaction on the climate crisis in January 2019.[5] For several months she was the lone protester outside of the gates of the Parliament of Uganda.[4] Eventually, other youth began to respond to her calls on social media for others to help draw attention to the plight of the Congolian rainforests.[6] Nakate founded the Youth for Future Africa and the likewise Africa-based Rise Up Movement.[7]

In December 2019, Nakate spoke at the COP25 gathering in Spain, together with the young climate activists Greta Thunberg and Alejandro Martínez.[8]

In early January 2020, she joined around 20 other youth climate activists from around the world to publish a letter to participants at the World Economic Forum in Davos, calling on companies, banks and governments to immediately stop subsidizing fossil fuels.[9] She was one of five international delegates invited by Arctic Basecamp to camp with them in Davos during the World Economic Forum; the delegates later joined a climate march on the last day of the Forum.[10]

In October 2020, Nakate gave a speech at the Desmond Tutu International Peace Lecture urging world leaders to "wake up" and recognise climate change as a crisis, tying it to poverty, hunger, disease, conflict and violence against women and girls. "Climate change is a nightmare that affects every sector of our lives," she stated. "How can we eradicate poverty without looking at this crisis? How can we achieve zero hunger if climate change is leaving millions of people with nothing to eat? We are going to see disaster after disaster, challenge after challenge, suffering after suffering (...) if nothing is done about this." She called for leaders to "leave their comfort zones and see the danger we are in and do something about it. This is a matter of life and death."[11]

Nakate started the Green Schools Project, a renewable energy initiative, which aims to transition schools in Uganda to solar energy and install eco-friendly stoves in these schools.[12] As of now, the project has carried out installations in thirty schools.[13]

 
Conference on Loss and Damage in Scotland October 2022. From left to right: Vanessa Nakate, Nicola Sturgeon and Elizabeth Wathyti.

On 9 July 2020 Vanessa Nakate was interviewed by Angelina Jolie hosted by Time magazine about the power and importance of African voices in the climate justice movement.[14] In August, Jeune Afrique magazine named her among the top 100 most influential Africans.[15] In August 2020, Vanessa Nakate joined former UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon at the Forum Alpbach to discuss climate activism.[16]

In September, Nakate spoke on a panel entitled "Sparking an Era of Transformational Climate Leadership" organised by the World Resources Institute.[17] Vanessa Nakate was announced by the United Nations as the SDG 13 young leader in 2020.[18][19] Nakate was featured among OkayAfrica's 100 Women is an exclusive platform to pay homage to 100 women of excellence among the diaspora during Women's History Month.[20] Nakate was mentioned among the most influential young Africans in 2020 by YouthLead.[21] Nakate was a keynote speaker at the Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue 2021 on 16 March 2021 alongside other notable world leaders.[22][23] Her delivery included criticism of the German Federal Foreign Office as organizers for screening the input from youth climate activists that was not applied to other invited speakers.[24]

Writing in The Guardian in October 2021, Nakate argues that the countries and corporations largely responsible for greenhouse emissions should compensate African countries and communities for the loss and damage arising from climate change that they are now suffering.[25]

In a 2019 interview with Amy Goodman for Democracy Now!, Nakate expressed her motivation for climate action: "My country heavily depends on agriculture, therefore most of the people depend on agriculture. So, if our farms are destroyed by floods, if the farms are destroyed by droughts and crop production is less, that means that the price of food is going to go high. So it will only be the most privileged who will be able to buy food. And they are the biggest emitters in our countries, the ones who will be able to survive the crisis of food, whereas most of the people who live in villages and rural communities, they have trouble getting food because of the high prices. And this leads to starvation and death. Literally, in my county, a lack of rain means starvation and death for the less privileged".[26]

She has been appointed as a UNICEF goodwill ambassador.[27]

Nakate considers the late Kenyan environmental activist Wangari Maathai, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, to be a role model.[28]

Political views

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Nakate is on the council of the Progressive International, an international organisation promoting progressive, left-wing politics.[29] She has criticised capitalism, linking it to environmental degradation.[30]

As a Christian, she thinks, "Having dominion over the Earth is about responsibility and service to the planet and its people, because God is not a God of waste and exploitation."[31]

Omission from photo

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In January 2020, the Associated Press (AP) news agency cropped Nakate out from a photo she appeared in featuring Greta Thunberg and activists Luisa Neubauer, Isabelle Axelsson, and Loukina Tille after they all attended the World Economic Forum.[32][33] Nakate accused the media of a racist attitude.[33] The Associated Press later changed the photo and indicated there was no ill intent, without presenting its apologies.[34] On 27 January 2020, AP executive editor Sally Buzbee tweeted an apology using her personal account saying that she was sorry on behalf of the AP.[35] Nakate responded that she did not believe the AP's statement or their apology, further responding: "As much as this incident has hurt me personally, I'm glad because it has brought more attention to activists in Africa. ... Maybe media will start paying attention to us not just when we're the victims of climate tragedies."[36]

Awards

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Vanessa Nakate and Six Other Young Activists Honoured by 2020 Young Activists Summit During a Live Discussion on Post-COVID-19 World. Bringing together Over 8,600 People from Around 100 Countries.[37]

Nakate was on the list of the BBC's 100 Women announced on 23 November 2020.[38]

She was also on the list Time100 Next published by TIME magazine on 17 February 2021,[39] and is featured on the cover of TIME's November 8/November 15, 2021 issue.[40]

Other awards include:

Bibliography

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  • Nakate, Vanessa (28 October 2021). A bigger picture: my fight to bring a new African voice to the climate crisis. London, United Kingdom: Pan Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-3586-5450-6. Hardback edition indicated, 256 pages.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Urra, Susana; Kitson, Melissa (6 December 2019). "'Greta Thunberg in Madrid: "I hope world leaders grasp the urgency of the climate crisis"". El País. Archived from the original on 24 December 2019. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  2. ^ Dahir, Abdi Latif (7 May 2021). "Erased From a Davos Photo, a Ugandan Climate Activist Is Back in the Picture". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 7 May 2021. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
  3. ^ Hanson, James (28 October 2019). "3 young black climate activists in Africa trying to save the world". Greenpeace UK. Archived from the original on 25 January 2020. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  4. ^ a b Kisakye, Frank (30 May 2019). "22-year-old Nakate takes on lone climate fight". The Observer. Archived from the original on 22 September 2019. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  5. ^ Feder, J. Lester; Hirji, Zahra; Müller, Pascale (7 February 2019). "A Huge Climate Change Movement Led By Teenage Girls Is Sweeping Europe. And It's Coming To The US Next". BuzzFeed News. Archived from the original on 19 January 2020. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  6. ^ Jenkins, Carla (25 November 2019). "Glasgow student follows Greta Thunberg with 30 day climate crisis strike". Glasgow Times. Archived from the original on 25 January 2020. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  7. ^ Bort, Ryan (23 January 2020). "A Rolling Stone Roundtable With the Youth Climate Activists Fighting for Change in Davos". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 24 January 2020. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  8. ^ "Climate change: What's Greta been saying at the COP25 conference in Madrid?". BBC. 7 December 2019. Archived from the original on 28 January 2020. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  9. ^ Thunberg, Greta (10 January 2020). "At Davos we will tell world leaders to abandon the fossil fuel economy". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 25 January 2020. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  10. ^ Sengupta, Somini (24 January 2020). "Greta Thunberg Joins Climate March on Her Last Day in Davos". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 25 January 2020. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  11. ^ "'Wake up': Climate activist Nakate challenges world leaders". The Independent. 7 October 2019. Archived from the original on 17 October 2020. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
  12. ^ "The Green Schools Project: Vanessa Nakate is on a mission to power schools in Uganda with solar energy". CleanTech News. 12 August 2019. Archived from the original on 18 October 2020. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
  13. ^ @vanessa_vash (14 October 2020). "I wanted to drive a transition to renewable energy and provide energy saving cooking stoves for schools in the rural communities. As of now, we have carried out installations in six schools and we look forward to carrying out two more installations" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  14. ^ "A Conversation with Angelina Jolie and Ugandan Climate Activist Vanessa Nakate On the Urgency of Elevating African Voices in Climate Discussions". Time. 9 July 2020. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
  15. ^ "[Classement] Les 100 Africains les plus influents en 2020 – Jeune Afrique". JeuneAfrique.com. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
  16. ^ "European Forum Alpbach". Archived from the original on 28 March 2022. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
  17. ^ "Climate Action 2.0: Sparking an Era of Transformational Climate Leadership". Wri.org. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
  18. ^ "Meet the 2020 Class of Young Leaders for the SDGs – Office of the Secretary-General's Envoy on Youth". Un.org. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
  19. ^ "Vanessa Nakate – Office of the Secretary-General's Envoy on Youth". Un.org. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
  20. ^ "Vanessa Nakate". 100women.okayafrica.com. Archived from the original on 22 October 2021. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
  21. ^ "100 Most Influential Young Africans for 2020". Youthlead.org. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
  22. ^ "Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue 2021 — Speakers". Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue 2021. Berlin, Germany: Germany Federal Foreign Office. 17 March 2021. Archived from the original on 11 March 2021. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
  23. ^ Nakate, Vanessa (16 March 2021). Keynote presentation at Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue 2021. Berlin, Germany: German Federal Foreign Office. Event occurs at 1:26:25. Retrieved 17 March 2021. Circa 4 minutes long.
  24. ^ von Jutrczenka, Bernd (16 March 2021). "Ugandan activist Vanessa Nakate accuses climate conference organizers of censorship". The Globe and Mail. Toronto, Canada. ISSN 0319-0714. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
  25. ^ Nakate, Vanessa (29 October 2021). "We know who caused the climate crisis — but they don't want to pay for it". The Guardian. London, United Kingdom. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
  26. ^ Nakate, Vanessa (12 December 2019). "Uganda's First Fridays for Future Climate Striker, Vanessa Nakate, Joins COP25 Protests in Madrid". Democracy Now! (Interview). Interviewed by Amy Goodman. Archived from the original on 30 December 2019. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  27. ^ "UNICEF appoints climate activist Vanessa Nakate as Goodwill Ambassador". www.unicef.org. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
  28. ^ Nakate, Vanessa (20 April 2023). "Vanessa Nakate's Climate-Activism Advice Column". Time. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  29. ^ "Council". Archived from the original on 30 September 2020. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  30. ^ @vanessanakate1 (15 October 2020). "Environmental degradation is a direct consequence of capitalism". Retrieved 17 October 2020 – via Instagram.
  31. ^ Lakhani, Nina (17 September 2022). "'Africa is on the frontlines but not the front pages': Vanessa Nakate on her climate fight". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
  32. ^ Evelyn, Kenya (25 January 2020). "Outrage at whites-only image as Uganda climate activist cropped from photo". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 25 January 2020. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  33. ^ a b "Vanessa Nakate: Climate activist hits out at 'racist' photo crop". BBC News. 24 January 2020. Archived from the original on 24 January 2020. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  34. ^ Easton, Lauren (24 January 2020). "AP statement on cropped photo". AP Definitive Source. Associated Press. Archived from the original on 25 January 2020. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  35. ^ Buzbee, Sally [@SallyBuzbee] (27 January 2020). "Vanessa, on behalf of the AP, I want to say how sorry I am that we cropped that photo and removed you from it. It was a mistake that we realize silenced your voice, and we apologize. We will all work hard to learn from this. @vanessa_vash" (Tweet). Retrieved 10 February 2020 – via Twitter.
  36. ^ Evelyn, Kenya (29 January 2020). "'Like I wasn't there': climate activist Vanessa Nakate on being erased from a movement". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 30 January 2021. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  37. ^ "Vanessa Nakate and Six Other Young Activists Honoured by 2020 Young Activists Summit During a Live Discussion on Post-COVID-19 World, Bringing Together Over 8,600 People from Around 100 Countries". Agilitypr.news. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
  38. ^ "BBC 100 Women 2020: Who is on the list this year?". BBC News. 23 November 2020. Archived from the original on 23 November 2020. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
  39. ^ "2021 TIME100 Next: Vanessa Nakate". Time. Archived from the original on 17 February 2021. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
  40. ^ "Vanessa Nakate Wants Climate Justice for Africa". Time. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
  41. ^ "Haub Law Announces two recipients of the 2021 Elisabeth Haub Award for Environmental Law and Diplomacy | Pace Law School". Law.pace.edu. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
  42. ^ "Elisabeth Haub Award for Environmental Law and Diplomacy | Pace Law School". Law.pace.edu. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
  43. ^ Bundeskanzler-Helmut-Schmidt-Stiftung. "Helmut-Schmidt-Zukunftspreis 2022". www.helmut-schmidt.de.
  44. ^ Thalia Beaty (22 September 2022), Gates Foundation prods UN, honors inspiration as Goalkeepers Associated Press.
  45. ^ Lucy Morgan (21 September 2022), Vanessa Nakate on the power (and challenges) of navigating climate activism as a young woman Glamour.
  46. ^ Maria Pasquini (22 September 2022), Bill and Melinda Gates Reunite for Foundation 1 Year After Divorce: We're 'Completely Committed to This' People.
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