Join the young Ugandan activist, in conversation with Alice Aedy, to celebrate the publication of A BIGGER PICTURE: My fight to bring a new African voice to the Climate Crisis.

In January 2020, the Associated Press (AP) news agency cropped Vanessa out of a photo she appeared in featuring Greta Thunberg and other white European climate activists after they attended the World Economic Forum in Davos. The controversy drew attention to the issue of Black and ethnic minority climate activists being ignored on the world stage.

Now, Vanessa has written a rousing manifesto and memoir that will change the way we think about the impact of climate change, A Bigger Picture. In conversation for this virtual event, Vanessa will explore how, when it comes to speaking or writing about climate change, voices, and stories of people of colour and those from the Global South are often omitted, even though these communities often contribute the least to the problem and suffer its consequences the most.

Considering the effects of climate change she has seen play out first-hand as a girl growing up in Kampala, and how these problems were being completely ignored on the global stage - problems like the destruction of the Congo rainforest, sharply rising temperatures and subsequent droughts which leave the agricultural sector incredibly vulnerable - Vanessa will share how witnessing this suffering caused by global warming propelled her into action. She’ll also touch on what it felt like to become the first climate striker in Uganda at just twenty-one years old.

Tracing the links between climate crisis and anti-racism, feminism, education, economics and even extremist radicalisation, as well as telling the inspiring personal story of how she found her voice, Vanessa will inspire viewers that no matter your age, location or skin colour, you can be an effective activist.