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Kumi Naidoo
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Kumi Naidoo became Greenpeace International Executive Director on November 15, 2009.

Kumi Naidoo has worked closely with Greenpeace for a number of years. He was involved in the development of Greenpeace’s work in Africa and became a board member of Greenpeace Africa when it opened offices in Johannesburg and Kinshasa in 2008. More recently, he served as Chair of the civil society alliance ‘Global Campaign for Climate Action’ (GCCA), of which Greenpeace was a founding member.

Born in South Africa, Kumi became involved in the country’s liberation struggle at the age of 15. As a result of his anti-apartheid activities, he was expelled from high school. He was very involved in neighbourhood organisation, youth work in his community, and mass mobilisations against the apartheid regime. In 1986, Kumi was arrested and charged for violating the state of emergency regulations. He went underground for one year before finally deciding to live in exile in England. During this time he was a Rhodes scholar at Oxford and earned a doctorate in political sociology.

After Nelson Mandela’s release in 1990, Kumi returned to South Africa to work on the legalisation of the African National Congress. During the democratic elections in 1994 he was the official spokesperson of the Independent Electoral Commission and directed the training of all electoral staff in the country.

Kumi became the founding executive director of the South African National NGO Coalition (SANGOCO), an umbrella agency for the South African NGO community. Moved by the fact that South Africa has one of the highest rates of violence against women, Kumi organised the National Men's March Against Violence on Women and Children in 1997.

From 1998 to 2008, Kumi was the Secretary General and Chief Executive Officer of CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation, which is dedicated to strengthening citizen action and civil society throughout the world. He was also the founding Chair of the Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP) and also served as a board member of the Association for Women’s Rights in Development. In 2003 Kumi was appointed by the former Secretary General of the United Nations to the Eminent Persons Panel on UN Civil Society Relations.

Blog Entries by Kumi Naidoo

Davos Failed to Address Fundamentals -- Will the Next Earth Summit in Rio?

Posted February 2, 2012 | 2/2/12

At the World Economics Forum in Davos last week, no one was denying that we face serious economic, social and environmental crises. When even the Financial Times runs a series of articles on "Capitalism in crisis," it's obvious that it's not just the "Occupy WEF" protesters, who...

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At the World Economic Forum: Calling for a Real Transformation - Now!

4 Comments | Posted January 26, 2012 | 1/26/12

If I bump into Professor Klaus Schwab, who started and still runs the World Economic Forum here in Davos, I will challenge him on the purpose of the event. Schwab has described the WEF as "a platform for collaborative thinking and searching for solutions, not for making decisions."

The Davos...

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We're Sorry, You're Not Allowed to Read This

21 Comments | Posted January 17, 2012 | 1/17/12

In the history book of bad ideas, the concept of giving corporations the right to censor the internet has to rank among the worst ever.

That's what the impact of two bills recently introduced in the US would be if they, or anything like them, were enacted...

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U.S. Obstructionism Is Hurting Climate Talks

Posted December 7, 2011 | 12/7/11

We hope, we wish and we pray that the U.S. team at the UN Climate talks in Durban would set aside its obstructive, destructive behavior. But sadly, listening to U.S. negotiators Pershing and Stern, that is not going to happen. For that reason Greenpeace, WWF, Oxfam and the International Trades...

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Sweat, EU vs. US on Science, and a Movie - Durban (30th November)

Posted December 1, 2011 | 12/1/11

2011-12-01-COP17-HopeforDurban.jpg Of the many things I'd forgotten about my home town of Durban, the one I'm reminded of most often is the humidity. When we were kids here we'd go to discos and be dripping with sweat after a few minutes of dancing. It's...

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Occupy the World

Posted October 20, 2011 | 10/20/11

At the weekend my Twitter feed was alive with news of the hundreds of thousands of people around the world, including in my adopted city of Amsterdam, taking a stand in solidarity with the Occupy Wall Street movement.

It is a movement that has quickly spread far beyond the shadows...

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2011 Green Game changers

Posted September 30, 2011 | 9/30/11

The Huffington Post has been kind enough to include me in their list of game changers for 2011. It really is an honor to see myself in the company of such amazing and inspiring people - all of whom are doing fantastic work.

While all of the nominees deserve...

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From Chinese Young Pioneer to Greenpeace Activist: the Story of Tom Wang

Posted September 29, 2011 | 9/29/11

This is a profile of one of our staff working in Beijing and his personal journey to becoming an activist that I find truly inspiring:

My name is Tom Wang. Tom is my English name. I gave it to myself when I was learning English from my British teacher. She...

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Don't Make a Wave: Greenpeace at 40

Posted September 14, 2011 | 9/14/11

"The idea exists that the ecology movement is a late-blooming fad, something to do with hippies; a fad, moreover, that will vanish the moment serious jobs-versus-nature battles come down in the wake of the first macro waves of recession," wrote Greenpeace founder, Canadian, Bob Hunter, in an unpublished 1990 forward...

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How I Became Arctic Prisoner Number 22

Posted June 21, 2011 | 6/21/11

Earlier this month, 20 Greenpeace activists were arrested for trying to prevent Scotland's Cairn Energy from its outrageous plan to drill for oil in the Arctic. Sickened by the risks the oil industry is ready to take with our planet, and greatly inspired by the dedication of my colleagues, late...

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An Appeal to Italians: 'Save Italy From Berlusconi's Nukes'

Posted June 10, 2011 | 6/10/11

On June 12 -13, Italians have the opportunity to say "no!" to nuclear power in their country. Berlusconi's government has plans for four new reactors -- but the people have demanded a referendum on the issue of nuclear energy. Surveys show that a majority of Italians are against it; however,...

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Fukushima: Never Again

Posted June 5, 2011 | 6/5/11

My guide, when I went to visit Chernobyl on the 25th anniversary of the accident, was a Greenpeace campaigner from Germany named Tobias Muenchmeyer. Tobias is the deputy head of our political unit in Berlin and also happens to know a great deal about nuclear power. But what really registered...

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Banking on the Next Fukushima

Posted May 12, 2011 | 5/12/11

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Kumi Naidoo and Nuclear Campaigner Yannick Rousselet protest the passage of a train carrying nuclear waste. Image: Pierre Gleizes.

Two months after the devastating earthquake and tsunami struck Japan, our thoughts are with those who have lost loved ones, those who face an uncertain future...

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Dear Facebook -- How About Starting a Revolution in Your Own Backyard?

Posted March 29, 2011 | 3/29/11

It is hard to quantify the influence that new media has had on the epic, era-defining events of the last few weeks and months. From the revolutions in the Arab world to the disasters in Japan, social networks have played a vital role in organizing collective responses, monitoring developments, and...

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Working With Facebook for Renewable Energy

Posted January 27, 2011 | 1/27/11

2011-01-27-kumi_randi.png
Kumi Naidoo presents Randi Zuckerberg, Director of Marketing at Facebook, with a t-shirt from Greenpeace's 'Facebook Unfriend Coal' campaign during a live interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland
I am at the World Economic...
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A Good REDD Deal Is A Green Light For Forest Protection

Posted December 2, 2010 | 12/2/10

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Orang-utans are victims of forest destruction in the Indonesian rainforests as their habitat is cleared by industries like palm, pulp and paper. Image: Will Rose / Greenpeace
The international climate negotiations have begun in Cancun, Mexico, and many people...
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In Germany, a Mass Mobilization Against Nuclear Transport

Posted November 7, 2010 | 11/7/10

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Kumi Naidoo addresses the rally attended by 50,000 people in Dannenberg, Germany against CASTOR nuclear transport. Image: Gorden Welters, Greenpeace.
Right now in Germany we are witnessing an unprecedented mass mobilization against radioactive waste and against the operational...
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Climate Justice Can Help End Poverty

Posted October 17, 2010 | 10/17/10

In some circles it has become politically acceptable to state that poverty cannot be eradicated in our lifetime: that the means are not available, that there is a lack of political will, or even that those who "can't keep up" need to assume more responsibility for their own lives. Others...

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The So Coal Network: Confronting Facebook's Coal Problem (Video)

Posted September 16, 2010 | 9/16/10

The story about the founders of Facebook, The Social Network, premieres next week, and Greenpeace has taken the opportunity to create our own short film, The So Coal Network, which tells the story of how Facebook has chosen dirty coal power instead of clean energy.

In a letter that...

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Activists Are Not Criminals

Posted September 10, 2010 | 9/10/10

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Junichi, Toru and Kumi after the verdict
Jeremy Sutton-Hibbert / Greenpeace
After more than two years of political prosecution, my colleagues Junichi Sato and Toru Suzuki were this week handed a one-year jail sentence, suspended...
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