Omoyele Sowore, Niger Delta, Nigeria "The Niger Delta area is polluted, occupied and heavily militarized. People get killed on behalf of the major oil companies everyday, that cannot be right."

Omoyele Sowore is a Nigerian who has spent the last 15 years working to promote human rights and democracy in Nigeria, and to stop the militarization and violence that multinational oil companies have brought to his country. His career of resistance began in 1989, when he took part in student demonstrations protesting the conditions of an International Monetary Fund loan of $120 million for a Nigerian oil pipeline. In 1992 at University of Lagos, he led 2,000 students in protest against Nigeria's notorious kleptocracy where police opened fire, killing seven people. He's been imprisoned eight times and tortured, but he remains committed. Sowore speaks first hand about the destruction that US oil addiction is causing in Nigeria. Human rights groups estimate that in the last 10 years military factions acting on behalf of multinational oil companies have killed more than 2,000 people in the Niger Delta. Sowore recently brought his message to Ford Motor Company at their annual shareholders meeting where he told Bill Ford Jr. "Every gas-guzzler Ford builds runs on the blood of Nigerians."

Narcisa Gualinga, Nation of Sarayaku, Ecuador

Narcisa Gualinga is a Kichwa leader from the Autonomous Territory of the Original Kichwa Nation of Sarayaku (TAYJA-SARUTA) in the Ecuadorian Amazon, which has opposed oil extraction and the Argentine oil company CGC since they entered Sarayaku territory in 1996. Narcisa was one of the original presidents and coordinators of the Sarayaku Organization of Women, and currently forms an integral part of the organizational process of the community through her roles as a political representative, and both mother and wife to subsequent presidents of the Nation of Sarayaku. In 1992, she participated in the historic March for Indigenous Peoples' Rights, for the recognition of territorial rights of the indigenous peoples of Pastaza province. Narcisa has never had the opportunity to learn to read nor write, and she has never studied. Yet her conviction and experience have been fundamental to providing understanding and political orientation to her community. She has a long history of defending the environment in the Amazon and of shaping her people's role in the proper development of the planet.

Van Jones, Oakland, California, USA



Van Jones, a passionate eco-visionary and human rights attorney, is leading a cutting-edge initiative to bring environmentally-friendly "green-collar jobs" to Oakland, California. Working with Oakland's new mayor-elect Ron Dellums, his plan is to help establish in that troubled city a "Green Jobs Corps" and the nation's first-ever "Green Enterprise Zones." His love for the environment has led him to propose innovative eco-solutions for urban America. In 2005, Van convinced the United Nations's World Environment Day programme to let his agency lead the first-ever "Social Equity Track" at the "Green Cities" summit in San Francisco. Jones offers a critical voice on the following topics: * All Together For Energy Action: Bridging The Black/Green Divide To Reverse Climate Change NOW * "Green-Collar Jobs, Not Jails": Moving From Jail Cells to Solar Cells In Urban America *A National Model for Job Creation through Greening our Cities

Rosina Philippe, Plaquemine's Parish, Louisiana

Rosina Philippe is a lifetime resident of coastal Louisiana, and an advocate for preservation of traditional cultural and heritage practices. A grassroots activist, she has partnered with leaders from other communities along with faith-based and non-profit organizations to work for sustainability of marginalized traditional family fishers. Rosina has traveled to both the East and West coast to study and build network partnerships to address issues of Fair Trade Marketing, Racial Injustice, Economic Instability, and Coastal Restoration. She is vocal on the issue of recognizing accountability, and identifying contributing factors and entities in relation to these issues. A firm believer that people, facing similar problems, through informed education and information sharing have the power to affect positive long-term changes, and retake charge of their own destinies.

Faith Gemmill, Arctic Village, Alaska

Faith Gemmill is a Pit River/ Wintu and Neets'aii Gwich'in Athabascan from Arctic Village, Alaska. She is the current outreach coordinator for REDOIL (Resisting Environmental Destruction on Indigenous Lands). Faith previously worked on behalf of the Gwich'in Nation for over ten years as a representative, a public spokesperson and Gwich'in Steering Committee staff to address the potential human health and cultural impacts of proposed oil development and production on the birthplace and nursery of the Porcupine Caribou Herd which is located within the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Faith continues as a public spokesperson, press and tribal liaison and human rights advocate. Faith is a current field representative of the International Indian Treaty Council (IITC). In this capacity, Faith has represented the Gwich'in Nation within appropriate mechanisms of the United Nations to advocate for the recognition of Gwich'in human rights as well as work for the rights and recognition of Indigenous Peoples. Faith also serves on the advisory board of Honor the Earth.

Ko Ko Lay, Burma



Ko Ko Lay, an exile Burmese activist currently in the United States, continues struggling for peace, social justice and political change for Burma. Through sharing his first-hand personal experiences and knowledge of Burma, Ko Ko helps raise awareness about the Burmese student movements, the struggle for democracy, human rights issues and the consequences of oil production in Burma. He was one of the student leaders who organized a popular people's uprising in Burma on August 8, 1988. On September 18, 1988, the Burmese military brutally crushed the nationwide peaceful demonstrations and took power. More than 3,000 students and civilians were killed and thousands of activists were arrested and tortured by the Burmese military regime. Consequently, more than 10,000 students left Burma and formed All Burma Students Democratic Front (ABSDF) on the Thai Burma border. Ko Ko Lay was elected as a member of the Central Executive Committee of ABSDF and served as a Secretary of Information. After his two terms of service in ABSDF, he decided to continue his studies and migrated to the U.S. He is a founder of Open Students Network for Burma at San Francisco State University and is also serving his second term as a member of the Strategic Coordinating Committee, the only worldwide Burmese coalition group including the National Coalition Government of Union of Burma and National Council of Burma.

Ben Namakin, Republic of Kiribati (Pacific Island Nation) "Though we Pacific Islanders contribute less than 1% of greenhouse emissions, we are amongst those who are at greatest risk from its negative impacts."

Ben Namakin, born in 1980, grew up on the Pacific islands of Kiribati and Micronesia. Since 2002, he has worked as an Environmental Educator with the Conservation Society of Pohnpei where his work includes taking on the issue of climate change and initiatives such as the Youth-to-Youth in Environmental Education and Awareness Program, and an array of other successful outreach initiatives. Ben has taught a summer course on climate change and its implications for island systems at the College of Micronesia. He has produced footage showing sea level rise, coastal erosion and other changes on island systems. His footage of the split of Deketik Island from sea flooding was shown during the United Nations 2005 Climate Change Conference COP11/MOP1 in Montreal, Canada. Ben was selected as the only Pacific Islander to join the Beyond Kyoto/It's Us! International Youths at the Youth Summit and Youth Delegation to the United Nations 2005 Climate Change Conference. He participated in making the International Youth Declaration "Our Climate, Our Challenge, Our Future" and was one of five youth speakers who addressed the 10,000 delegates in a plenary at the COP11/MOP1. Ben continues to collaborate with the Beyond Kyoto youths to share information on possible actions to stop climate change, research climate change impacts in the Pacific, and raise awareness about the issue.

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