My guest this episode is the distinguished Kumi Naidoo - a human rights and climate justice activist. Naidoo first began his journey at the age of 15 fighting against the then apartheid government in South Africa by organising school boycotts. He was arrested several times for civil disobedience and when the government imposed a state of emergency, he was forced to go underground and flee to the UK, where he became a Rhodes scholar.

He eventually returned to South Africa in 1990 when Mandela was released from jail, and went onto play a vital role in shaping the then African National Congress. His steadfast work in the human rights and justice sphere led him to become the first person from the global south to head Greenpeace International and later, Secretary General of Amnesty International.

From scaling oil rigs to protest against the fossil fuel industry to sitting down with the likes of Tony Blair, Angela Merkel and Putin, Naidoo has become one of the prominent voices in the climate justice movement.

He continues to represent Africans Rising for Justice, Peace, and Dignity as a Global Ambassador and currently holds the position of Distinguished visiting lecturer at Stanford University’s Center for Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law.

In this conversation, we discuss the tragic human crisis unfolding in Palestine to climate urgency and how the climate crisis is interlinked with human rights.

To learn more about Naidoo's work, please visit: https://www.kuminaidoo.net

You can reach me at maharanitalks@gmail.com or on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/maharanitalks/

MUSIC: Lights by Sappheiros https://soundcloud.com/sappheirosmusic