Stephanie Jane reviewed A Bigger Picture by Vanessa Nakate
An excellent guide / memoir for new activists
5 stars
In common with thousands of people around the world, I first heard of Vanessa Nakate and her climate activism when Associated Press cropped her out of a photograph of five young climate activists gathered at Davos, Switzerland. That that cynical obliteration actually resulted in a global amplification of her voice is perhaps ironic, but as Nakate so eloquently argues throughout A Bigger Picture, the climate emergency movement needs us all to listen to underrepresented Global South voices in order to truly understand the magnitude of the crisis being faced now. Western affluence still cushions us from climate change effects already devastating lives across Africa, Asia and Latin America, so the Global North wilfully overlooks their tragedies, still kidding ourselves that we have time to procrastinate, while activists such as Nakate can see clear evidence to the contrary within their countries and communities.
I was impressed with how Nakate presents realistic …
In common with thousands of people around the world, I first heard of Vanessa Nakate and her climate activism when Associated Press cropped her out of a photograph of five young climate activists gathered at Davos, Switzerland. That that cynical obliteration actually resulted in a global amplification of her voice is perhaps ironic, but as Nakate so eloquently argues throughout A Bigger Picture, the climate emergency movement needs us all to listen to underrepresented Global South voices in order to truly understand the magnitude of the crisis being faced now. Western affluence still cushions us from climate change effects already devastating lives across Africa, Asia and Latin America, so the Global North wilfully overlooks their tragedies, still kidding ourselves that we have time to procrastinate, while activists such as Nakate can see clear evidence to the contrary within their countries and communities.
I was impressed with how Nakate presents realistic intersectional actions needed to avert a rapidly worsening climate crisis. Its magnitude often has me overwhelmed, but I appreciated the clarity of Nakate's explanations and the way in which she uses both personal and more remote examples to illustrate her arguments for change. This multifaceted approach of demonstrating, of speaking out and of coordinating physical projects allows her to speak convincingly from her own experience and I felt my enthusiasm for activism rising with each chapter I read. A Bigger Picture is both a very personal memoir and an excellent guide for other fledgling activists or all ages, abilities and confidence levels - that last being an attribute with which I could strongly empathise
