Vanessa Nakate, a 25-year-old Ugandan, is one of a handful of youth activists 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.
BY DBM
With a Bachelors degree in Business Administration from Makerere University Business School. She started her journey as a climate activist in 2018.
Uganda, a lush landlocked East African country often called “the Pearl of Africa,” has been facing adverse weather patterns for some time now with prolonged droughts in the north, landslides in the east and increasingly devastating floods. Today, the impacts of climate change are hurting the country’s sustainable development and efforts to end poverty, says the World Bank.
“If you traveled two to three hours away from Kampala to a certain rural community, you’ll understand how people would struggle to find water and how people’s crops are drying up because of the extreme dry conditions,” says Vanessa who joined the Fridays for Future movement in Uganda and founded the Rise Up initiative to amplify the voices of activists across Africa. “When it comes to the African continent, it is, of course, on the frontlines of the climate crisis. But it’s not on the front pages of the world’s newspapers,” says Vanessa.
« Climate change is more than statistics, it’s more than data points. It’s more than net-zero targets. It’s about the people! »
Africa produces a very small fraction of the global greenhouse gas emissions. Yet, climate change threatens to expose up to 118 million of the poorest Africans to droughts, floods and extreme heat by 2030. “Climate change is more than statistics, it’s more than data points. It’s more than net-zero targets. It’s about the people, it’s about the people who are being impacted right now,” says the 25-year-old.
In December 2019, Nakate was one of a handful of youth activists to speak at the COP25 gathering in Spain. 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.
Vanessa Nakate was announced by the United Nations as a young leader for the Sustainable Development Goals
She started the Vash Green Schools Project, which aims to transition schools in Uganda to solar energy and install eco-friendly stoves in these schools. As of now, the project has carried out installations in 33 schools impacting about 11,000 children. Vanessa Nakate was announced by the United Nations as a young leader for the Sustainable Development Goals. She was mentioned among the most influential young Africans in 2020 by Youth Lead. Nakate received the Haub law environmental 2021 Award in recognition of her citizen diplomacy in bringing the voice of her generation to global environmental campaigns and for her inspiring climate activism in Uganda and beyond.
