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Agnes Scott College in Decatur is bringing in a longtime environmental activist from Kenya to challenge its young women leaders to take on the wide-reaching social effects of climate change.
Wanjira Mathai, vice president and regional director for Africa at the World Resources Group, will keynote the “Building a Better World: Women and Climate Justice” conference Sept. 23-24, a symposium to be followed immediately by a “day of action” in which students and faculty are asked to find ways to put innovative ideas into practice.
Based in Nairobi, Ms. Mathai is the daughter of the late Wangari Maathai, a professor who founded the Green Belt Movement in Kenya and became Africa’s first female Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who visited Atlanta as recently as 2006 before she died in 2011.
The younger Ms. Maathai runs the movement and a foundation bearing the name of her mother. A notable activist in her own right with a long list of roles advocating for social and environmental change and sustainable energy over 20-plus years, Ms. Mathai was named one of Africa’s most influential women in 2018 and 2020.
She will be in a kickoff conversation by Pat Mitchell, the first female CEO at PBS and the editorial director, curator and host of TEDWomen.
Beyond the opening session, other keynote sessions include a talk by Cecilia Martinez, senior director for envrionmental justice, at the White House Council on Environmental Quality, as well as a panel led by. All We Can Save co-founder Katharine Wilkinson featuring Seva Gandhi, Leah Trotman and Wanjiku “Wawa” Gatheru on global climate impacts and leadership opportunities for women on pressing environmental issues.
The conference is to be held in person but also includes a virtual registration option for those outside of Atlanta.
See the full agenda and register here.
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