1. Vanessa Nakate was born on 15 November 1996 and is an Ugandan climate justice activist.
20 Facts About Vanessa Nakate
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Vanessa Nakate gained international recognition for her climate activism in Uganda, where she began a solitary climate strike in January 2019.
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Vanessa Nakate's work focuses on drawing attention to the impacts of climate change on African communities and advocating for renewable energy projects in Ugandan schools.
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Vanessa Nakate first gained recognition in December 2018 after expressing concern about the unusually high temperatures in her country.
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Vanessa Nakate graduated with a business administration in marketing degree from Makerere University Business School.
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Vanessa Nakate founded the Youth for Future Africa and the likewise Africa-based Rise Up Movement.
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In December 2019, Vanessa Nakate spoke at the COP25 gathering in Spain, together with the young climate activists Greta Thunberg and Alejandro Martinez.
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In October 2020, Vanessa 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.
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Vanessa 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.
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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.
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Vanessa Nakate was announced by the United Nations as the SDG 13 young leader in 2020.
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Vanessa 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.
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Vanessa Nakate was mentioned among the most influential young Africans in 2020 by YouthLead.
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Vanessa Nakate was a keynote speaker at the Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue 2021 on 16 March 2021 alongside other notable world leaders.
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Vanessa Nakate's 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.
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Vanessa Nakate has been appointed as a UNICEF goodwill ambassador.
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Vanessa Nakate considers the late Kenyan environmental activist Wangari Maathai, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, to be a role model.
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Vanessa Nakate is on the council of the Progressive International, an international organisation promoting progressive, left-wing politics.
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Vanessa Nakate has criticised capitalism, linking it to environmental degradation.
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Vanessa Nakate was on the list of the BBC's 100 Women announced on 23 November 2020.