Vanessa Nakate asks for a minute of silence for people suffering all over the world atthe New Global Financial summit in Paris Thursday, June 22, 2023. Facing an audience packed with world leaders and finance officials in suits, Vanessa Nakate silenced the room, then made everyone listen to some uncomfortable facts.
PARIS — Facing an audience packed with world leaders and finance officials in suits, Ugandan climate activist Vanessa Nakate silenced the room, then made everyone listen to some uncomfortable facts. Speaking at a two-day summit aimed at seeking better responses to tackle poverty and climate change issues by reshaping the global financial system, the UNICEF ambassador and campaigner was in a somber mood and asked for a moment of silence.
Dressed in a black t-shirt with the slogan “Divest Now,” Nakate said the silence was for “people around the world who are already suffering, starving, being displaced, dropping out of school, being forced into child marriages, losing their cultures and history, those who are already helpless, hopeless and dying due to the devastating impact of the climate crisis.”
Speaking right after summit host French President Emmanuel Macron, Nakate then urged delegates to put people first instead of profits, to make polluters pay, to cancel debt and direct climate finance toward the most vulnerable countries