Activist Vanessa Nakate lands African Union envoy job

Ugandan climate activist Vanessa Nakate has been appointed Special Envoy for Youth by African Union Commission chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf.

The appointment adds another major continental role to a career built around climate justice and youth advocacy.

Uganda’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Adonia Ayebare, welcomed the appointment, saying Nakate’s climate work had earned recognition beyond Uganda.

The Chairperson’s youth envoy role is intended to strengthen the participation of young Africans in the work and priorities of the continental body. The AU has in recent weeks highlighted youth engagement as part of the chairperson’s agenda. 

Nakate’s appointment places her closer to the centre of continental policy discussions involving young people at a time when Africa has one of the world’s youngest populations.

Her new role follows years of international recognition.

Nakate began climate activism in Kampala in January 2019, inspired by the global school strike movement. She later founded the Rise Up Movement to amplify African voices in climate discussions. UNICEF says she has also promoted projects that install solar panels in rural Ugandan schools.

Her profile grew sharply in 2020 after she was cropped out of a photograph featuring climate activist Greta Thunberg and other young campaigners at the World Economic Forum in Davos. 

Nakate criticised the incident as an example of African voices being erased from global climate discussions.

In September 2022, UNICEF appointed her a Global Goodwill Ambassador in recognition of her climate advocacy.

The role gave her a platform to campaign for children and communities facing the effects of climate change, including drought, hunger and loss of access to education and health services.

At the time of her appointment, Nakate said one of her priorities would be to bring the voices of children and marginalised communities into spaces where major decisions are made. �

She has since represented UNICEF at international events and continued advocating for climate justice, especially for African communities that contribute relatively little to global emissions but face severe climate impacts.

Nakate has also addressed world leaders at global climate conferences, including COP25 and COP26, and appeared on the cover of TIME magazine in 2021.