Nobel Laureate Brings Message of Change to Meredith

By Melyssa Allen

Nobel Laureate Wangari Maathai delivered the 2009 Lillian Parker Wallace Lecture on October 1, bringing Meredith’s current campus theme, “Catalyst for Change,” to life.

Maathai has fought political corruption, struggled for women’s rights, spent time in jail, and won a seat in her country’s Parliament. The Green Belt Movement Maathai established has helped to restore Kenya’s indigenous forests and involved women in sustainable agriculture. She is internationally recognized for her persistent struggle for democracy, human rights and environmental conservation. She and the Green Belt Movement have received numerous awards, most notably the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize.

The Green Belt Movement “plants trees as an entry point into communities … we’re addressing development in a holistic way, to help communities be more sustainable.”

Starting this conversation is as important as planting trees, according to Maathai.

“You can plant trees, but unless you plant ideas and teach people how them how to take charge of their lives, you cannot change things,” Maathai said.

Maathai said U.S. President John F. Kennedy’s famous “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country” speech had inspired her to make a difference in her country.

“[Kennedy’s words] have been my guiding light,” Maathai said. “I want to do something to give back … why not? Why can’t I do something to help?”

Meredith student Ida Githu, ’12, said Maathai’s achievements as the first woman in East and Central Africa to earn a doctorate, first female professor in the region, and first African woman to earn a Nobel Peace Prize make her a role model for women.

“She shows you what is possible in education, in politics, and shows women can rise to whatever position they want to rise,” said Githu, who is from Kenya.

The Wallace Lecture honors Lillian Parker Wallace, who served as professor of history at Meredith from 1921 to 1962, and as chair of the history department from 1947 until her retirement. Exposing generations of students to prominent leaders was the fund’s intent from the very beginning. Maathai is the fourth Nobel Peace Prize recipient to deliver the Wallace Lecture, following Jimmy Carter, Elie Wiesel and Shirin Ebadi.