KAMPALA – Ugandan Climate activist, Vanessa Nakate has featured on BBC’s unveiled list of 100 inspiring and influential women from around the globe for 2020.
According to BBC, in such an extraordinary year when countless women around the world have made sacrifices to help others, one name on the 100 Women list has been left blank as a tribute.
Vanessa Nakate, 23, is a climate activist from Uganda and founder of the Africa-based Rise Up Movement. She campaigns internationally to highlight the impacts of climate change already occurring in Africa and focuses particularly on how the climate crisis is exacerbating poverty, conflict and gender inequality.
Upon being notified about the notable BBC list, Nakate took to her social media in honor of her inclusion.
“I am hugely honored to be included in this amazing list of inspiring and influential women. This is precisely why we need to help educate and empower all girls. When we do, they grow up to become the leaders we so desperately need,” Vanessa Nakate wrote.
Nakate’s signature message of her campaign recognizes women as victims in lockdowns and the climate crisis.
She also sights that educating and empowering them would lower down carbon emissions in the environment therefore creating climate leaders of the future.
In January 2020, the Associated Press (AP) cropped Nakate out of a photo featuring Greta Thunberg and other European activists, following their attendance at the World Economic Forum.
Nakate subsequently spoke up about racism in the global climate-change movement and AP later reinstated Nakate in the photo. Much as they (AP) indicated that there was no ill intent, they did not apologise for the action.
However, on January 27 2020, Sally Buzbee, the AP Washington Bureau Chief tweeted, from her personal account, an apology on behalf of AP.
Nakate’s milestone comes-in barely two months ever since she was named among a record of 49 females have been recognized in the 100 Most Influential Young Africans list of 2020.