Skeena Rathor is a Co-Leader, spokesperson and strategist of Extinction Rebellion and Co-Founder of the Guardianship and Visioning Team.
Extinction Rebellion (XR) is a global environmental movement with the stated aim of using nonviolent civil disobedience to compel government action to avoid tipping points in the climate system, biodiversity loss, and the risk of social and ecological collapse.
Extinction Rebellion was born in Stroud in the summer of 2018, with over a hundred academics signing a call to action in support in of it’s first rebellion week in October 2018. Citing inspiration from grassroots movements such as Satyagraha, the suffragettes, Gene Sharp, Occupy, and the civil rights movement, Extinction Rebellion is rallying support worldwide around the urgency of tackling climate breakdown and the sixth mass extinction.
Skeena is at the heart of XR’s movement, helps co-create its strategy, and regularly speaks on mainstream media. Skeena says, “In this age of multiple crisis, our power is most rooted in telling truth as an act of fierce love. We all need to look within and to each other to recognise our power and face what is happening together. To move beyond the human story of scarcity and separation. This movement as a moving towards togetherness and co-liberation is not about symbolic actions but about building the necessary resilient and regenerative culture that the world needs now.” She is also an Independent District Councillor for Stroud Central, and lives in Stroud, where she runs the Politics Kitchen and co-founded Compassionate Stroud.
Photo Credit: Ruth Davey