Gugu Nonjinge is an NDP 2030 Youth Ambassador from South Africa. She is an external Communications and Advocacy practitioner with 6 years of experience in the social policy sector and a proven track record broadcast media.  She is also the Senior Advocacy Officer for the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation, as well as project lead and communications expert with the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation. 

In August 2015, she was awarded the Lead South Africa Hero award for the work that she does for young girls in Africa. Gugu has her finger on the pulse of democracy and social issues in South Africa, and she can often be found on the TV sharing her passion for Gender & Climate Justice and Intersectional Environmentalism. 

This episode examines the intersectionality of women’s role in the contemporary climate movement; examining the gendered discrimination in the climate space. We delve into the fact that Indigenous women across Africa are at the front line of climate change, yet are often excluded when it comes to providing solutions in their communities. Gugu emphasizes that more focus needs to be put on climate adaptation, as we have largely surpassed mitigating climate change in many of these most vulnerable communities, and that we need to start championing women’s roles as climate leaders in order to find effective long-term solutions to these problems. We are far more likely to tackle the climate crisis successfully if those impacted the most are included, as inclusive decision-making always yields better results.  We also need to dramatically increase our education efforts within the spaces and groups we find ourselves, as it simply does not make sense for such a small portion of the population to be concerned with climate change when it impacts all of us.