The missing ingredient in climate activism | Jamie Sommer | TEDxCarrollwood

Jamie Sommer began her research believing that information and technology were the most important elements for climate action, but interviews with women climate leaders worldwide changed her perspective. Working with the Climate Knowledge Collective, she collected stories from female activists across Africa and the United States to understand their experiences and approaches. Dr. Olivia Scott Kumorba from Malawi's Moving Windmills Project emphasized the importance of understanding cultural scripts and the security they provide to communities facing drought and water insecurity. In Uganda, Aching Harriet highlighted how climate tools were traditionally given only to men despite women doing much of the agricultural labor, leading her to work on providing women with equal access to solar technology and farming tools. Neon Kiplagot from Kenya's Piran Women's Group described how women collectively challenged cultural norms that required them to kneel when speaking in government meetings, demonstrating how women can change stories and create new spaces for participation. Panina Musimi, also from Kenya, connected women's empowerment through skills like hydroponic farming to broader issues of domestic violence and community leadership. In the United States, Tanya Gail from Green City Force showed how encouraging women in green infrastructure projects creates community leaders who address urban climate issues. The research revealed a pattern of mentorship and encouragement, where leaders like Gemma Kamani emphasized that true impact comes when communities define their own problems and solutions, and where early career encouragement from female mentors created a cycle of paying forward opportunities to the next generation.