Vanessa Nakate

Vanessa Nakate is a climate justice activist based in Uganda, the UNICEF global goodwill ambassador and author of A Bigger Picture. Vanessa was inspired by Greta Thunberg to start her own climate movement in Uganda, and she began a solitary strike against inaction on the climate crisis in January 2019.

Nakate started the Vash Green Schools Project, a renewable energy initiative, which
aims to transition energy impoverished rural schools in Uganda to solar energy and install eco-friendly stoves in these schools.,The project has carried out installations in over 70 schools.

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 was a keynote speaker at the Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue 2021 on 16 March 2021.

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. .Nakate was on the list of the BBC’s 100 Women announced on 23 November 2020. She was also on the
list for Time100 Next published by TIME magazine on 17 February 2021, and is
featured on the cover of TIME’s Magazine November in the 2021 issue.

Vanessa Nakate was awarded the Next Generation Award at the 12th annual DVF
Awards held in Paris in 2021. She has also recently received the Helmut-Schmidt
Zukunftspreis award in 2022.