A Bigger Picture

My Fight to Bring a New African Voice to the Climate Crisis

Vanessa Nakate

• Publisher: Mariner Books
• Year: 2021
• ISBN:
  9780358654469
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Science & Technology Biographies
• Index: Technology & Engineering

A manifesto and memoir about climate justice and how we can—and must—build a livable future for all, inclusive to all, by a rising star of the global climate movement Leading climate justice activist Vanessa Nakate brings her fierce, fearless spirit, new perspective, and superstar bona fides to the biggest issue of our time. In A Bigger Picture, her first book, she shares her story as a young Ugandan woman who sees that her community bears disproportionate consequences to the climate crisis. At the same time, she sees that activists from African nations and the global south are not being heard in the same way as activists from white nations are heard. Inspired by Sweden's Greta Thunberg, in 2019 Nakate became Uganda's first Fridays for Future protestor, awakening to her personal power and summoning within herself a commanding political voice. Nakate's mere presence has revealed rampant inequalities within the climate justice movement. In January 2020, while attending the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, as one of five international delegates, including Thunberg, Nakate's image was cropped out of a photo by the Associated Press. The photo featured the four other activists, who were all white. It highlighted the call Nakate has been making all along: for both environmental and social justice on behalf of those who have been omitted from the climate discussion and who are now demanding to be heard. From a shy little girl in Kampala to a leader on the world stage, A Bigger Picture is part rousing manifesto and part poignant memoir, and it presents a new vision for the climate movement based on resilience, sustainability, and genuine equity.

Appendix 1 - My Letter to Joe Biden and Kamala Harris

Dear Madam Kamala Harris and Mr. Joe Biden

 

I am not really sure whether you will read this but I hope that you do. My name is Vanessa Nakate. I am 23 years old. Congratulations to both of you. I am a climate activist from Uganda who is worried about the present and the future. Are you going to do everything you must to fight the climate crisis? I ask because I really need to know. Climate change is affecting many people’s livelihoods in my country, especially children, girls, and women. Are you on our side? I would like to know. All we really want is a livable and healthy planet, an equitable and sustainable present and future. Is that too much to ask? Not to destroy our only home and have a small group of people benefit from our pain and suffering. Let’s do all we must to protect our planet and have everybody happy too.

 

Vanessa Nakate

Uganda

 

P.S. Please write back.

Appendix 2 - Resources

As A Bigger Picture demonstrates, my voice is one among many youth climate activists across the world who are calling for massive, systemic, rapid change. Below, I’ve listed social media handles and websites for the organizations and activists I’ve written about in A Bigger Picture. I’ve learned so much from them (along with others), I would urge you to follow them on social media, visit their websites, support their campaigns, and amplify their voices. Of course, this list only represents some of the organizations and people standing up for equity, justice, and genuine sustainability.

I’ve also included other books by or featuring climate activists, and some slogans from my strikes as well as those of other climate strikers, which you can use or adapt. In addition, I’ve provided selected existing social media hashtags so you can connect with this global movement for change—and become, like me, and millions of others around the world, a climate activist.

T: Twitter; IG: Instagram: F: Facebook; W: Web

My Projects

Green Schools Initiative (W: http://www.gofundme.com/f/green-schools-with-vash)

1Million Activist Stories (T: 1MillionActiv1; IG: amillionactiviststories; W: riseupmovementafrica.org)

Rise Up Movement (T: TheRiseMovem1; IG: riseupmovement1)

Vanessa Nakate (T: vanessa_vash; IG: vanessanakate1)

Organizations

350.org (T: 350; IG: 350.org; W: 350.org)

350 Africa (T: 350Africa; IG: 350africa; W: 350africa.org)

Act on Sahel (T: ActonSahel; IG: #actonsahel; F: ActOnSahel W: actonsahel.net)

Arctic Angels (T: GCArcticAngels; IG: gcarcticangels; W: globalchoices.org/arctic-angels)

Arctic Basecamp (T: ArcticBasecamp; IG: arctic.basecamp; W: arcticbasecamp.org)

Avaaz (T: Avaaz; IG: avaaz_org; F: Avaaz; W: avaaz.org/page/en)

Black Lives Matter (IG: blklivesmatter; W: blacklivesmatter.org)

Congo Enviro Voice (T: CongoEnviroVoice; W: congoenvirovoice.wixsite.com/congobasin)

Earth Uprising (T: Earth_Uprising; IG: earth_uprising; W: earthuprising.org)

EET: Eleven-Eleven-Twelve Foundation (W: eetfoundation.org)

Fridays For Future (T: Fridays4future; IG: fridaysforfuture; W: fridaysforfuture.org)

Green Generation Initiative (T: Green Generation Initiative (GGI); IG: ggi_kenya; F: GGI.Kenya; W: greengenerationinitiative.org)

Greenpeace International (T: Greenpeace; IG: greenpeace; F: greenpeace.international; W: greenpeace.org)

LevelUpWomen (T: LevelUpWomen) #AfricaOptimism

Uganda For Her (IG: uganda4her; F: Uganda4Her; W: uganda4her.org)

UNICEF (T: UNICEF; IG: unicef; W: unicef.org)

UNFCCC (T: UNFCCC; IG: unclimatechange; W: unfccc.int)

UN Women (T: UN_Women; IG: unwomen; W: unwomen.org/en)

Wangari Maathai Foundation (T: WangariMaathai; IG: wangari_maathai; W: wangarimaathai.org)

Zero Hour (T: thisiszerohour; IG: thisiszerohour; W: thisiszerohour.org)

Climate Activists Interviewed for This Book

Evelyn Acham (T: eve_chantel; IG: evechantelle; F: Evelyn Acham) is a passionate climate justice activist from Uganda. She organizes climate strikes with Rise Up Movement where she works as a national coordinator. She’s part of Fridays For Future, the international movement of school students striking for bold climate action. She is also an Arctic Angel for Global Choices, a youth-led intergenerational action network. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Land Economics from Makerere University.

Deniz Çevikus (T: CevikusHB; IG: deniz.cevikus; F: deniz4future; W: denizcevikus.com) is a thirteen-year-old climate activist from Istanbul, Turkey. She began researching the climate crisis in 2018, influenced by Greta Thunberg. In March 2019, she decided to join the Fridays For Future movement, and has been school striking for climate every Friday since then. She’s extremely fond of animals and rescued and adopted a tabby cat off the streets.

Cristian Esteban Martelo Ramírez (T: martelocris; IG: martelocris; F: Cristian Martelo Ramirez) is a Colombian environmental activist, focused on the problems of global warming and how it influences the ocean.

Elijah Mckenzie-Jackson (T: Elijahmckenzee; IG: ElijahMc-kenzieJackson) is a seventeen-year-old climate justice activist based in London, England. Elijah fights for environmental equity, social liberation, and decolonization, as the root of the climate crisis stems from decades of racism and exploitation of the natural world belonging to marginalized communities.

Veronica Mulenga (IG: earth warrior) is a climate and environmental justice activist from Zambia.

Hilda Flavia Nakabuye (T: NakabuyeHilda; IG: nakabuye hildaflavia; F: Nakabuye Hilda Flavia) is a Ugandan climate and environmental rights activist. The founder of Fridays For Future Uganda, she leads lakeshore cleanup activity on Lake Victoria to preserve water resources and beat plastic pollution. Her passion for nature drives her to create change in her community and globally. She has mobilized and inspired many people to join the global fight for climate justice.

Leah Namugerwa (T: NamugerwaLeah; IG: namugerwaleah; F: namugerwa.leah.3) is a seventeen-year-old Ugandan climate and children’s rights activist, and team leader of Fridays For Future and the Save Bugoma Forest campaign.

Adenike Titilope Oladosu (T: the_ecofeminist; IG: an_ ecofeminist; W: womenandcrisis.com) is a first-class graduate of Agricultural Economics, an ecofeminist, and the first Fridays For Future climate striker in Africa. She specializes in peace, security, and equality in Africa, especially the Lake Chad region. Adenike is the founder of ILeadClimate and has showcased her climate action in international forums. She has been awarded the highest human rights award by Amnesty International Nigeria for her fight for climate justice.

Kaossara Sani (T: KaoHua3; IG: kaohua3; W: kaossarasani. com) is a peace and climate activist from Togo. She is founder of the Africa Optimism Initiative and cofounder of the Act on Sahel movement.

Aarav Seth (T: AaravSeth; IG: aaravseth_; F: aarav.seth.5454; W: aaravseth.wordpress.com) is a twelve-year-old student activist from Delhi, India. He is the founder of Sunday4 SecuredFuture (which encourages young climate activists to take at least one climate action each Sunday), Helping Hand (which encourages people to donate clothes, books, and shoes to underprivileged children), and She Hygiene (which distributes sanitary pads to girls who cannot afford to buy this basic necessity). He has started a podcast series #RingTheBell (https://anchor.fm/aarav-seth.) to make people aware of climate issues.

Kaime Silvestre Silva Oliveira (T: kaimesilvestres; IG: kaimesilvestre; F: kaime.silvestre) is a Brazilian climate activist and human rights lawyer. Born in the Amazon, he relentlessly advocates for humanitarian action and for protection of the Amazon, its wildlife, and the people who depend on it.

Roman Stratkötter (T: stratkoetter) is an activist who has been striking for SaveCongoRainforest on Twitter since March 19, 2020. He is also an activist for #SaveBugomaForest, AfricalsNotADumpster, freeNavalny, SaveSahel, StopShell, ...