(Photo by Gary Raynaldo /©Diplomatic Times) 25-year-old Ugandan climate activist Vanessa Nakate, appointed as the newest UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, speaks to reporters at UN world headquarters in New York Sept. 15, 2022)
By Gary Raynaldo DIPLOMATIC TIMES
UNITED NATIONS – NEW YORK – Twenty-Five-year-old Ugandan climate activist Vanessa Nakate has been appointed as the newest UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Goodwill Ambassador. Nakate’s appointment on Thursday follows a trip to the Horn of Africa, where she witnessed how climate change has contributed to the devastation of children’s lives in Kenya due to the ongoing drought crisis, according to UNICEF.
(Photo Credit: UNICEF/Translieu/Nyaberi/UN0702702) Vanessa Nakate, centre, in Turkana County, Kenya with 20-year-old Dorcas Amana and her 20-month-old son Micah Erot and Asinyoni Ekiru with her 14-month-old baby Papos Alos. Both children are part of the outpatient treatment programme for children with Severe Acute Malnutrition where they received Ready to Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF).
In her first trip with UNICEF, she met with communities on the frontlines of the climate crisis, including mothers and babies receiving lifesaving treatment for severe acute malnutrition and families benefiting from solar-powered water supply systems.
“As a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, it will be my first responsibility to bring the voices of children and marginalized people into conversations where they were previously excluded. This role with UNICEF will provide me with more opportunities to meet children and young people in the places most affected by climate change and an expanded platform to advocate on their behalf,” Nakate said. “In Kenya, the people I met told me about the impact of climate change and drought on their lives, with four consecutive failed rainy seasons depriving children of their most basic rights. One community had not received any rainfall for over two years. This is more than a food and nutrition crisis, it is yet another dimension of our worsening climate crisis.”
DIPLOMATIC TIMES VIDEO – 25-year-old Ugandan climate activist Vanessa Nakate, appointed as the newest UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, speaks to reporters at UN world headquarters in New York Sept. 15, 2022.
(Photo by Gary Raynaldo /©Diplomatic Times) Executive Director of UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Catherine Russell (left) with 25-year-old Ugandan climate activist Vanessa Nakate, who has been appointed as the newest UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, at press briefing with journalists at UN world headquarters in New York Sept. 15, 2022)
“Racist” Media “Erased” Nakate From News Photo With White Climate Activists
Nakate began her activism in January 2019 with a protest with her siblings and cousins on the streets of Kampala, inspired by Greta Thunberg, according to UNICEF. She continued to protest every week, becoming a well-known face in a movement of young people “striking” for the climate around the world. In 2020 she came to further global prominence when she was cropped out of a news photo she appeared in alongside Thunberg and other white climate activists. Nakate accused the media of racism for making her, an African, disappear from the image taken at Davos, where she had been talking about global warming. Nakate’s response to the incident, in which she said the news outlet “didn’t just erase a photo, you erased a continent”, made international headlines.
“As a young African woman, I have had to fight to be heard by the media and decision makers. While I am fortunate to have a platform now, I intend to continue fighting for others. The children on the frontlines of the climate crisis, like those I just met in Turkana, Kenya, are the people for whom I will fight in my new role with UNICEF,” said Nakate.
