We Will Succeed Through Collaborative Empowerment!
I’m Akshay Vishwanath, a Kenyan environmentalist whose interest in conservation started at a young age having grown up in proximity to Kenya’s rich wildlife and beautiful landscapes. As I continued to deliberately engage with nature in my teenage years, I developed an ardent interest in understanding the power of human agency – how ordinary people can achieve extraordinary feats by focusing on a specific issue, organizing themselves, challenging the status quo, and daring to be bold. This curiosity led me to what many would call my calling; the pursuit of empowerment as a means to achieve environmental and social justice. The Top 100 Award really validated the impact of my work so far and reminded me that there is still much to be done to embed these values in the various cultures within Kenya and beyond.
One of my greatest goals is to institutionalize public involvement in advocacy efforts that revolve around conservation. I aim to achieve this through the establishment of a local membership-based funded organization that undertakes public interest litigation on environmental matters on behalf of Kenyans. At the same time, I am keen to expand the portfolio of local conservation organizations that I partner with to improve their effectiveness and impact. . Hopefully, this first step will unlock the opportunities to engage and empower the general public within Kenya so that the rest of the continent can learn from our sustainable success.