Description: Wangari Maathai was the first African woman and first environmentalist to receive a Nobel Peace Prize. In 1977 in Kenya, she started the Green Belt Movement. Wangari's goals had been to use tree planting to restore the environment while providing income and resources to African women. The group's objectives broadened to the protection of human and environmental rights, civic education, and the promotion of democratic values while valuing the cultural heritage of Africa. The GBM has now planted tens of millions of trees. In her acceptance speech, Wangari explains that "the state of any country's environment is a reflection of the kind of governance in place, and without good governance there can be no peace." The efforts of the GBM and other organizations led to the peaceful transition to a democratic society in Kenya, and the tree became a symbol of the democratic struggle. Her speech is strikingly illustrated and followed by an analysis written by Laia de Ahumada. The Speak Out series publishes the most inspiring speeches of our times, then deconstructs them to give young readers a deeper understanding of global issues and the power of language to influence them. and#xA0;
Brief description:
SUSAN OURIOU is an award-winning fiction writer and literary translator with over seventy translations and co-translations of fiction, non-fiction, children's and young-adult literature to her credit. She has received the Governor General's Literary Award for Translation and, in 2024, her translation of Catherine Leroux's The Future won CBC's Canada Reads. Her translations have also been long-listed for awards such as the International Dublin Literary Award, the Carol Shields Prize for Fiction and the Giller Prize. as well as appearing on IBBY's Honor List. She has also published Nathan, a novel for young readers, and Damselfish, short-listed for the WGA's Georges Bugnet award for fiction.
Review Quotes:
"This short 75-page book punches way above its weight ... Highly recommended for readers interested in the environment and sustainability, politics, and contemporary history." -- Children's Literature Comprehensive Database