As climate change continues to affect our communities and livelihoods, it's become increasingly important to change how we treat the planet on which we live. We have been inspired by climate activists all over the world doing just that, including Vanessa Nakate of Uganda. Originally part of our program in London, Vanessa and her fellow climate justice warriors have had to change how they fight for change in this new normal.

Vanessa was the first “Fridays For Future” climate activist in Uganda and Founder of the Rise Up Movement, which has since spread to other African countries. Her work includes raising awareness about the danger of climate change. In this edition of In the Lead, Vanessa tells us about how climate change disproportionately affects African nations, how the COVID-19 pandemic has changed climate activism and how we can sustain the environmental progress made so far. 

For this special edition of In the Lead, we're sharing a timely piece written by Clinical Psychologist and IWF South Africa member "DrD" Dorianne Weil.

Most of us have experienced unpredictable challenges or crises. Sometimes the initial response may be, “it’s not fair.” But here’s the truth: Life is fair, because it’s not fair to everyone. The difference? This time we’re all in it together. We are living in an unprecedented time of uncertainty and disruption. This global pandemic does not discriminate.

Dr. Frances Arnold (left) and Dr. Donna Strickland (right) speaking at the 2019 IWF World Leadership Conference in Toronto

While in Toronto for the 2019 IWF World Leadership Conference, we inducted two outstanding women into our Hall of Fame: Drs. Frances Arnold and Donna Strickland. Two leading scientists, two Nobel Prize Laureates and two role models for women and girls in science.

Dr. Frances Arnold, a member of IWF Southern California, is the Linus Pauling Professor of Chemical Engineering, Bioengineering and Biochemistry at the California Institute of Technology. She won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2018, only the fifth woman to do so, for her method of creating better enzymes in the laboratory using the principles of evolution. Dr. Donna Strickland, an honorary IWF member, is a professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Waterloo. She received the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physics for developing chirped pulse amplification with Dr. Gérard Mourou.

For this edition of In the Lead, we wanted to hear more from these accomplished experts. We asked each woman about life after winning the Nobel, new thoughts on their respective innovations, and how we can encourage more young people to take up science.

Dr. Tina Moen (far right) speaks as a panelist during the 2019 IWF World Leadership Conference in Toronto.

Dr. Tina Moen has spent 17 years in the healthcare information technology industry providing clinical leadership to colleagues and clients in the United States and abroad. She currently serves as Senior Deputy Chief Health Officer and Chief Pharmacy Officer with IBM Watson Health.

German Reunification Day (or German Unity Day) is a significant holiday to the German people. After World War II, Germany was divided into East and West Germany for almost half a century. On October 3, 1990, both sides were officially reunified into one country.

To help commemorate this important day, we spoke with H.E. Emily Haber, the Ambassador of Germany to the United States and a new member of IWF Washington, D.C. Ambassador Haber is a career foreign service officer who has worked on security and migration at the height of the refugee crisis in Europe. In this capacity, she worked closely with the United States on issues from the fight against terrorism to global cyberattacks and cybersecurity.

For this edition of In the Lead, Ambassador Haber told us about becoming a new member of the IWF community, what German Reunification Day means to Germans and what she thinks women bring to the field of diplomacy.

IWF Hong Kong member and 2019 WWMD honoree Katharina Zellweger (in black) poses with female cataract patients in North Korea.

For this edition of In the Lead, we are delighted to feature one of the extraordinary Women Who Make a Difference honorees who will be celebrated at our International Hall of Fame Awards Gala in Toronto on November 15. IWF Hong Kong member Katharina Zellweger manages KorAid Limited, a Hong Kong-based NGO she established in 2015 that serves children in institutions and the disabled in North Korea and China.