King Charles III and Queen Camilla are expected to attend ‘an event to celebrate the life and work of the Nobel Laureate, the late Professor Wangari Maathai’.
A communiqué from the British Consular indicates that the King and Queen will be together with Wangari’s daughter, Wanjira Mathai during the event.
Wanjira Mathai is the Founder and Chair of the Wangari Maathai Foundation, which exists to amplify and advance the legacy of Professor Wangari Maathai by catalysing purposeful and courageous leadership.
The main purpose of the event is to highlight the importance of mainstreaming environmental considerations into urban policymaking. This event will be an opportunity to amplify messages around the crucial role of green spaces and forests in sustainable cities in addressing climate change as well as celebrating the legacy of environmental voices such as the late Prof. Wangari Maathai.
Celebrate the life and work of Nobel Laureate
The late Professor Wangari Maathai is popular for her quote: “We are called to assist the earth to heal her wounds and, in the process, heal our own.”
King Charles III and Queen Camilla’s visit between October 31 and November 3 coincides with celebrations launched on the 25th of September, 2023 by the Wangari Maathai Foundation (WMF) to celebrate the life and work of the Nobel Laureate who passed away 12 years ago.
The King’s visit is therefore expected to boost a series of events lined up by WMF to mark 12 years since the global leader passed on, with the climax being a marathon on March 3, 2024, which is Africa Environment Day (renamed Wangari Maathai Day by the AU).
The theme of the Marathon is the ‘The Power of One’ – Wanjira reminds us one of the many lessons from her mother is the concept of the ‘Power of One’ “that each of us, can be potent agents of change and together, we can be a powerful force.”
The visit is the first to a Commonwealth nation as a King therefore to the country in which Queen Elizabeth II’s reign began, having acceded to the throne in Kenya in February 1952.
