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Welcome to Welcome to #Women4theClimate on CleanbuildVoices!
Today on #Women4theclimate, we are bringing to the center stage Vanessa Nakate, a Ugandan climate activist and founder of the Africa-based Rise Up Movement.
Vanessa Nakate is a 25-year-old Ugandan who began her journey as a climate change activist in 2018 after noticing the unusually high temperatures in her home country.
Having been inspired by Sweden’s iconic activist, Greta Thunberg, Vanessa started calling for climate action in Kampala in 2019 after she witnessed the effects of droughts and floods.
When she started her own climate movement, Vanessa began a solitary strike against inaction on the climate change effects in Uganda. For several years, she was a lone protester outside of the Parliament of Uganda.
Eventually, other youths began responding to her calls on social media and encouraging others to join and help bring attention to the state of the Congolese rainforest.
She focuses particularly on how climate change is exacerbating poverty, conflict, and gender inequality as well as promoting key climate solutions such as educating girls.
Vanessa Nakate started the green school’s project, a renewable energy initiative that aims to transition schools in Uganda to solar energy and install eco-friendly stoves in these schools. The project has carried out solar installations in six schools.
Her aim is to reduce the amount of firewood used by schools, ensure clean cooking for the students and protect the chefs from emissions as they prepare food.
The projects also provide a learning experience for students, their parents, and teachers by illustrating the importance of protecting the planet and transitioning to renewable energy.
The Rise Up Movement was part of Vanessa’s project with the goal to amplify the voices of activists. Her work includes raising awareness of the dangers of climate change, the causes, and the negative impacts.
Vanessa was one of the young activists selected to speak at the COP25 in Spain and also, one of the 20 climate activists who wrote a letter to the participants of the World Economic Forum in Davos, calling them to stop subsidizing fossil fuels.
Vanessa’s Rise Up Movement was part of an initiative aimed at amplifying activist voices. Her work entails promoting awareness of the dangers of climate change, as well as its causes and consequences.
Vanessa Nakate was one of the 20 young climate activists who submitted a letter to the delegates of the World Economic Forum in Davos, urging them to cease subsidizing fossil fuels. She was also one of the 20 young activists selected to speak at the COP25 in Spain.
Her belief is that the countries and corporations responsible for the majority of greenhouse gas emissions should compensate African countries and people for the losses and damage caused by climate change, claiming that these areas are suffering.
