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Wangarĩ Maathai was a Kenyan social, environmental, and political activist who founded the Green Belt Movement, an environmental non-governmental organization focused on planting trees, environmental conservation, and women's rights. In 2004, she became the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize.
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politics · Kenyan environmental activist (1940–2011) · teacher · politician · philanthropist · biologist · environmentalist · also Wangari Muta Maathai, Wangarĩ Maathai, Wangari Maathaï, Maathai, WangariMaathai, Wangari Maathai
Born 1 April 1940 · Died 25 September 2011 · Q46795
69 published statements · 0 followers
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Wangari Maathai BBC Radio4 Desert Island Discs 1 Jul 2007 b007rd3j
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“You would see me there now, cultivating the earth and carrying firewood on my back up the hills to my home, where I would light a fire and cook the evening meal. I would not tell stories, because they have been replaced by books, the radio, and television”
“You don't need a diploma to plant a tree.”
“The generation that destroys the environment is not the generation that pays the price. That is the problem.”
“There are opportunities even in the most difficult moments.”
“What people see as fearlessness is really persistence.”
“Hallowed landscapes lost their sacredness and were exploited as the local people became insensitive to the destruction, accepting it as a sign of progress.”
Daily Nation: From Wangari Maathai to Nyiva Mwendwa: The women who changed Kenya
Right Livelihood: Wangari Maathai
With the renovation of the Westerman Hall of Science and Engineering, the college added a mural of Maathai and other scientists to the front entryway of the building
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Time created 89 new covers to celebrate women of the year starting from 1920; it chose Maathai for 2001
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UNESCO published the graphic novel Wangari Maathai and the Green Belt Movement as part of their UNESCO Series on Women in African History
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At what would have been her 50-year class reunion, her Mount St
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The Collaborative Partnership on Forests CPF, an international consortium of 14 organisations, secretariats and institutions working on international forest issues, launched the inaugural Wangarĩ Maathai Forest Champion
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Died 2011-09-25.
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“We must resist the notion that there is only one way to be a woman, one way to be African, and one way to be human.”
“Today we are faced with a challenge that calls for a shift in our thinking, so that humanity stops threatening its life-support system. We are called to assist the Earth to heal her wounds and in the process heal our own … Recognizing that sustainable development, democracy and peace are indivisible is an idea whose time has come.”
“Opis: fragment uzasadnienia Komitetu Noblowskiego.”
“(WHAT'S THE PLANET'S BIGGEST CHALLENGE?) The environment. We are sharing our resources in a very inequitable way. We have parts of the world that are very deprived and parts of the world that are very rich. And that is partly the reason why we have conflict.”
Maathai served on the Eminent Advisory Board of the Association of European Parliamentarians with Africa (AWEPA)
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Awarded Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun (2009).
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Published "The Challenge for Africa" with her insights into the strengths and weaknesses of governance in Africa, her own experiences, and the centrality of environmental protection to Africa's future
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Awarded Grand prix des lectrices de Elle (2008).
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Awarded Elizabeth Blackwell Award (2008).
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Awarded World Citizenship Award (2007).
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Awarded honorary doctor of Waseda University (2006).
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Awarded Indira Gandhi Peace Prize (2006).
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“In the course of history, there comes a time when humanity is called to shift to a new level of consciousness, to reach a higher moral ground- a time when we have to shed our fear and give hope to each other. That time is now.”
“Human rights are not things that are put on the table for people to enjoy. These are things you fight for and then you protect.”
Was one of the eight flag-bearers at the 2006 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony
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c-span: Wangari Muta Maathai
Awarded Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding (2005).
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Maathai became an enthusiastic proponent of the waste-reduction philosophy of mottainai, a Japanese term of Buddhist origin
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Awarded the Nobel Prize in Peace — for her contribution to sustainable development, democracy and peace.
Awarded Sophie Prize (2004).
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Awarded Nobel Peace Prize (2004).
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Awarded Petra-Kelly-Preis (2004).
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Became the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize
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“I think what the Nobel committee is doing is going beyond war and looking at what humanity can do to prevent war. Sustainable management of our natural resources will promote peace.”
“Until you dig a hole, you plant a tree, you water it and make it survive, you haven't done a thing. You are just talking.”
Career landmark: Minister of Environment of Kenya (2003–2005).
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To allow candidates to run on a platform of conservation as embodied by the Green Belt Movement
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Career landmark: Member of the National Assembly (2002–2007).
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The government again planned to take public forest land and give it to its supporters
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Awarded Dorothy McCluskey Visiting Fellowship in Conservation (2000).
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Won Edinburgh Medal (1993).
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Maathai strove to unite the opposition and for fair elections in Kenya
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Awarded Goldman Environmental Prize (1991).
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“The people are starving. They need food; they need medicine; they need education. They do not need a skyscraper to house the ruling party and a 24-hour TV station.”
The Green Belt Movement carried out pro-democracy activities such as registering voters for the election and pressing for constitutional reform and freedom of expression
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Maathai stepped down as chairperson of the NCWK and focused on the newly separate non-governmental organisation
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With funding from UNEP, the movement expanded throughout Africa and led to the foundation of the Pan-African Green Belt Network
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Awarded Right Livelihood Award (1984).
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Received the Right Livelihood Award for "converting the Kenyan ecological debate into mass action for reforestation
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The parliamentary seat representing her home region of Nyeri was open, and Maathai decided to campaign for the seat
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Maathai ran again for chairman of the NCWK
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Shortly after the divorce, Maathai ran for the position of chairperson of the National Council of Women of Kenya (NCWK), an umbrella organisation consisting of many women's organisations in the country
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In response to the environmental concerns raised by rural Kenyan women
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Maathai spoke to the NCWK concerning her attendance at Habitat I
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Chair of the Department of Veterinary Anatomy in 1976, and associate professor in 1977
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Maathai's family expanded to include her third child, son Muta
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Maathai was asked to be a member of the local board, eventually becoming board chair
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Became the first Eastern African woman to receive a Ph
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Studied at University of Nairobi (1971).
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At the urging of Professor Hofmann, she travelled to the University of Giessen in Germany in pursuit of a doctorate
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Studied at University of Pittsburgh (1966).
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Studied at the University of Pittsburgh for a masters degree in biology
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Was rated first in her class and was granted admission to the only Catholic high school for girls in Kenya, Loreto High School in Limuru
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Went back to Ihithe with her mother, as two of her brothers were attending primary school in the village, and there was no schooling available on the farm where her father worked
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Born 1940-04-01.
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