Somali awarded Champions of the Earth award

Fatima Jibrell

The Inspiration and Action award, which has been won in previous years by Brian McClendon of Google Earth, and Carlo Petrini, founder of Slow Food, will be awarded to Jibrell for her outstanding contribution and service to the planet through her efforts to build peace, advocate for better environmental practices, and protect the livelihoods of Somalia's pastoralists.

Jibrell will speak at a special awards event on Friday, 7 November, in Nairobi on what this award signifies to her, to Somalia, and to Kenya, where her organisation undertakes work of critical importance to the environment and to the livelihoods of tens of thousands of people.

Flagship UN environmental awards

Champions of the Earth is the United Nations' flagship environmental awards launched in 2005 that recognises outstanding visionaries and leaders in the fields of policy, science, entrepreneurship, and civil society action.

Whether by helping to improve the management of natural resources, demonstrating new ways to tackle climate change or raising awareness of emerging environmental challenges, Champions of the Earth should serve as an inspiration for transformative action across the world.

Past laureates have included Mikhail Gorbachev, Al Gore, Felipe Calderon, Mohamed Nasheed, Marina Silva, Vinod Khosla, and many other such exemplary leaders on the environment and development front.

The full awards ceremony will take place at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington D.C. on 19 November, hosted by the United Nations Environment Programme.