Having first entered the public eye for winning the seventh LEAP Africa Nigerian Youth Leadership Award in 2010, Esther Kelechi Agbarakwe, sometimes referred to as ‘Esther Climate’ by her friends and colleagues, has been named one of the recipients of the Most Influential People of African Descent (MIPAD) Award.

Co-founder of the International Climate Change Development Initiative and a climate activist, Agbarakwe is renowned for advocating for the participation of young people in environmental issues. In 2012 in a debate sponsored by UNICEF, she advocated for the right of young people to lend their voices to the climate change conversation.

Agbarakwe is a graduate of Chemistry Education from the University of Calabar and has received numerous awards, including the Dekeyser and Friends Foundation Leadership Award and the Crans Montana Forum of New Leaders of Tomorrow Award.

Source: International Climate Change Development Initiative

Photo source: Plus SocialGood