WISE: Nigerian women shaping climate justiceCEFR A2
28 Nov 2025
Adapted from Zita Zage, Global Voices • CC BY 3.0
Photo by Muhammad-Taha Ibrahim, Unsplash
The 2025 United Nations climate conference, COP30, finished in Brazil. Several African countries sent large official delegations, including Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Tanzania. One important Nigerian hub, WISE, was not present at COP30.
WISE was founded by Olanike Olugboji-Daramola. She works as a conservationist and as Nigeria Project Lead for Women’s Earth Alliance. WISE started in 2004 as EMPRONET and became a registered nonprofit in 2009. The organisation says it has directly reached over 150,000 women. WISE has run rallies in Kaduna before COP28 and organised meetings about floods, farming, losses and ways communities can adapt.
Difficult words
- initiative — an important plan or action to achieve somethinginitiatives
- critical — very important and necessary for success
- empower — to give someone the power to do something
- participation — the act of taking part in something
- grassroots — the most basic level of an activity or movement
- policy-making — the process of creating rules or plans
- involvement — the act of being active in something
Tip: hover, focus or tap highlighted words in the article to see quick definitions while you read or listen.
Discussion questions
- How can communities support women's involvement in climate change?
- What other roles can women play in climate actions?
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