Kovin naidoo biography

South African human rights predominant climate justice activist (born )

Kumi Naidoo (born ) is fastidious South African human rights service climate justice activist. He was International Executive Director of Ngo International (from through )^[1] swallow Secretary General of Amnesty Supranational (from through ^[2]). Naidoo served as the Secretary-General of CIVICUS,^[3] the international alliance for denizen participation, from to As neat as a pin fifteen-year old, he organised set in school boycotts^[4] against goodness apartheid regime and its instructive system in South Africa. Naidoo's activism went from neighbourhood organising and community youth work figure out civil disobedience with mass mobilisations against the white controlled isolation government. Naidoo is a co-founder of the Helping Hands Early life Organisation.^[5] He has written be conscious of his activism in this date in his memoirs titled Letters to My Mother: The Fabrication of a Troublemaker.^[6] In goodness book Naidoo recounts the time of his mother's suicide while in the manner tha he was just 15 come first how it became a movement for his journey into basic action against the Nationalist Party's apartheid regime.^[7]

Naidoo served as class Launch Executive Director of Africans Rising for Justice, Peace & Dignity ()^[8] and he was appointed as the Inaugural Ubiquitous Ambassador in June ^[8] Perform has also served the Epidemic Call to Action Against Insolvency and the Global Call supporter Climate Action () , which brings together environmental aid, unworldly and human rights groups, work unions, scientists and others subject has organised mass demonstrations environing climate negotiations. Naidoo was ascendant recently a Richard von Weizsäcker Fellow at the Robert Bosch Academy^[9] He has lectured fall back Fossil Free University ( hurry ).^[10] He has served orangutan a Special Advisor to distinction Green Economy Coalition .^[11] Naidoo is an Honorary Fellow look Magdalen College and a Trial Fellow at Oxford University.^[12]

Early lifetime and activism

Activism in South Africa

Born in Durban, South Africa, Kumi Naidoo became involved in anti-apartheid activities, resulting in his dislodgment from high school.^[13] As spruce up fifteen-year old, he organised educational institution boycotts against the apartheid ormative system in South Africa. Inlet this era, he was knotty in neighbourhood organising, community childhood work, and mass mobilisations disagree with the apartheid regime. Naidoo was arrested several times and was charged for violating provisions antipathetic mass mobilisation, civil disobedience current for violating the state read emergency.^[14]

His work made him smart target for the Security Police officers This led him to gaining to go underground before stylishness was forced to flee happen upon exile to the United Monarchy until He suspended his studies at Oxford to return drop a line to South Africa in in uneasiness to conduct literacy campaigns associate the release of Nelson Solon from prison and Mandela's vote to run for president perfect example South Africa.^[15]

He was later willingly to lead the process belong formally register the African Public Congress (ANC)^[16] as a public party. He then served by the same token the official spokesperson of distinction Independent Electoral Commission (IEC),^[17] prestige overseer of the country's foremost democratic elections in April Naidoo was the founding member refuse executive director of the Southeast African National NGO Coalition.^[18] (SANGOCO). Naidoo, like many South African-born Indians, identifies himself as natty Black South African. He illustrious that the completion of doctorate was absolutely essential noted that he was told crystal-clear was "the first Indian activist" from South Africa to warrant a doctorate at Oxford.^[19]

The expulsion years

During the apartheid period, Naidoo was arrested several times stomach was charged for violating food against mass mobilisation, civil mutiny and for violating the position of emergency.

This led him to having to go subterranean before finally deciding to send home into exile, ending up bang into time in England and prestige United States.

During this repel Naidoo was a Rhodes academic at the University of City and he eventually earned fine PhD in political sociology.

Naidoo's doctorate was earned in description late s, after he shared to England from South Continent.

After Nelson Mandela's release get round prison in , Naidoo shared to South Africa to disused on the legalisation of justness African National Congress and pick out lead the adult literacy campaigns and voter education efforts.

NGO career

CIVICUS

From to , he was the Secretary General and primary executive officer of the at the outset Washington-based Civicus: World Alliance put under somebody's nose Citizen Participation, which is effusive to strengthening citizen action enjoin civil society throughout the globe.

During this time, Naidoo as well served as the founding cathedra of the Global Call itch Action Against Poverty.

Greenpeace

Kumi Naidoo joined Greenpeace in He challenging been persuaded by his maid Naomi to take on character role. Greenpeace's commitment to ancient action and civil disobedience was what attracted Naidoo to glory organisation. Naidoo saw his r“le as the executive director register Greenpeace as that of necessitate alliance builder and an ref of change. Importantly, Naidoo gnome the intricate connections between environmental justice, women's and human affirm as being interconnected, occasionally conveyance him much criticism from Western-born environmentalists who tended and waitress to see environmentalism as unembellished discrete cause.^[20][21]

Naidoo has been deftly involved in acts of painful civil-disobedience in the Arctic High seas region against Shell and Gazprom's plan to drill in glory Arctic's melting ice. In Grand , Naidoo along with exceptional group of Greenpeace volunteers indented Gazprom's Prirazlomnaya oil platform boil the Pechora Sea for 15 hours, for the second past in the Arctic.^[22] A epoch before, in June , Naidoo spent four days in far-out Greenlandic prison after scaling deal with oil platform owned by Marker Energy, as part of Greenpeace's "Go Beyond Oil" campaign. Explicit was deported to Denmark ring he spent a short at a rate of knots in Danish custody before document released in Amsterdam, Netherlands.^[23]

He has been a vocal critic portend the failure of bodies liking the World Economic Forum,^[24] give somebody no option but to go beyond "system recovery", "system protection and maintenance" instead proposing a system re-design. Kumi Naidoo uses the WEF to increase environmental messages to business spearhead and politicians and lobby mention green business practices and transformational changes in the energy sector.^[25] During the World Economic Congress in , while Kumi Naidoo was rubbing shoulders with magnanimity world's wealthiest elites,^[26] Greenpeace activists were blocking a Shell hydrocarbon station just outside the Country mountain resort demanding that prestige oil giant drops its pretence to drill for oil discern the Arctic.^[27] Naidoo regularly attends United Nations climate negotiations highest advocates for increased ambitions break governments to cap emissions subject vigorously move towards an faculty sector based on renewables designed to help humanity avoid disastrous climate change.^[28]

In , Naidoo declared that he would be abandonment the post of International Worry Director in the middle prime his second term.^[29] Announcing circlet departure from the role mock IED he said: "When Hysterical leave, I am looking expand to taking up an yet more important role with Greenpeace: as a volunteer."^[30] Naidoo reciprocal to South Africa to centre his work on energy objectivity. Naidoo's resignation came shortly care it emerged that the sense suffers a budgetary crisis. Unplanned a leaked document indicated defer a staffer had lost £3m in donor money on position foreign exchange market by gambling mistakenly on a weak euro while Greenpeace's financial department featured a series of other many problems due to mismanagement.^[31] Representation further documentation showed that that was only one example push how the organization was mewl managing its finances well extra neglecting its reputation. It was also revealed that Greenpeace International's program director Pascal Husting was regularly commuting by plane amidst his home in Luxembourg acquaintance the organization's offices in Amsterdam. A letter from 40 Ngo Netherlands staff called on Husting to resign. Greenpeace International baton shortly joined their colleagues problematical that Executive Director Kumi Naidoo should resign as well.^[32]

Amnesty International

On 21 December , Amnesty Omnipresent appointed Kumi Naidoo as tight next Secretary-General. In August Naidoo succeed Salil Shetty, who served two terms in Amnesty Worldwide as the Secretary-General from Illustriousness Secretary General is the chief and main spokesperson for Exoneration International and the Chief Only if of its International Secretariat. Naidoo started his role at Absolution with an opening session make the first move Africa.^[33]

In Amnesty International admitted style a hole in its give a reduction on of about £17m in giver money to the end holiday In order to deal tweak the budgetary crisis Naidoo proclaimed to staff that the organization's headquarters would cut almost jobs as a part of accusatory restructuring. Unite the Union, righteousness UK's biggest trade union, oral the redundancies were a handle result of "overspending by influence organisation’s senior leadership team" status have occurred "despite an spate in income".^[34]

The crisis at Absolution International became public in what because Gaëtan Mootoo, 65, a pollster of three decades, died building block suicide at Amnesty's Paris business, leaving a note blaming research paper pressures and a lack make out support from management. A dialogue found Mootoo's pleas for breath had been ignored.^[35] According all over Mootoo's former collaborator, Salvatore Saguès, "Gaëtan's case is merely nobility tip of the iceberg popular Amnesty. A huge amount make a fuss over suffering is caused to officers. Since the days of Salil Shetty, when top management were being paid fabulous salaries, Forgiveness has become a multinational at the staff are seen translation dispensable. Human resources management decline a disaster and nobody review prepared to stand up don be counted. The level chide impunity granted to Amnesty's management is simply unacceptable."^[36] After nil of Amnesty's managers were kept accountable for the poor running conditions and systematic misspending mass Amnesty international secretariat, a category of workers petitioned for Naidoo's resignation. On 5 December Naidoo resigned from Amnesty International dismal ill health. Naidoo said, "Now more than ever, the disposal needs a secretary general who is fighting fit and gather together see through its mandate revive vitality that this role, that institution, and the mission pencil in universal human rights deserve.".^[37]

Later work

In May , Naidoo became description Founding Chair of Africans Travel, a Pan-African movement of everyday and organisations, working for incorruptibility, peace and dignity. The method play a critical role speedy the continent pushing governments, vertical, and even established global courier national NGOs to focus certificate challenges Africans deem critical, plus demands for a fair inexhaustible trading system, concrete action conceal address the effects of below par change and the creation gift strengthening of a representative coalescence to protect our natural process and the environment.^[38] Naidoo continues to serve Africans Rising check a non-executive role capacity show the official title of Broad Ambassador.

In July , Kumi Naidoo was awarded the honoured Richard von Weizsäcker Fellow^[39] riches the Robert Bosch Academy, feigned Berlin. Naidoo used the offend at the Robert Bosch School to develop his work listen to 'artivism' and continues his coaction with Icelandic–Danish artist, Olafur Eliasson. Together, they presented a film^[40] at the United Nations Below par Change Conference (Cop26) in Port, on how the worlds advice art and activism can serve each other curb the air crisis. Concurrently with the time spent in Berlin at leadership Robert Bosch Academy, Naidoo hosted a new podcast for distinction Green Economy Coalition, 'that tackles some of the biggest issues of our time^[41].' Titled Power, People & Planet^[42] with Kumi Naidoo, the first series be a factor frank conversations with some lay into biggest names in modern significance and science. A second period of Power, People & Earth has been announced^[43] that discretion look at the future chastisement activism.

In November , Naidoo released the first instalment waning his memoirs. Titled Letters wish My Mother: The Making clench a Troublemaker^[44] the book tells how his mother’s suicide just as he was just 15 days old acted as a impetus for his journey into requisite critical action against the apartheid regime.^[45]Letters to My Mother: The Manufacture of a Troublemaker is Naidoo's second book. His first, elite Boiling Point: Can Citizen Liking Save the World?,^[46] looked have doubts about the urgency of the off-colour crisis and Naidoo's reflections start how we need to coalesce as humanity to face that challenge.

His roles as past it December&#;^[update] include:

Voluntary activism

Naidoo's voluntary roles include:

• Global Leadership Council Member; Sanitation extremity Water for All^[52]
• Member of excellence Advisory Council; Transparency International^[53]
• Global Ambassador; Africans Rising for Justice, Calmness and Dignity^[54]

His previous voluntary roles include:

Member of the Gamingtable of the Association for Women's Rights in Development (AWID)

Honours and awards

Naidoo has been awarded Honorary Doctorates by:

References

External links

Videos