Bulelwa Klaasen

Nominee's Province:
Eastern Cape

Age:
35

Project Name/Description:
Siyanqoba Feeding Scheme

More info:

Bulelwa Klaasen is a firebrand youth activist who is passionate about climate, the environment and South Africa’s future energy planning. In her records as an activist, Klaasen has worked on climate change and the Just Transition with a particular focus on anti-nuclear work in Gqeberha, South Africa. In addition to being the current chairperson of the grants committee at the Environmental Justice Fund, she also serves on the Eastern Cape Environmental Forum and is part of a group of activists from Earthlife Africa providing advice to the Presidential Climate Commission. What is more, Klaasen sits on the Water Crisis Committee that is spearheading accountability and transparency from the government on the well-documented water issues facing the residents of Nelson Mandela Bay. She’s a member of a movement called #the!shIsReal. The purpose of this movement is to address the sewage problem that runs through townships putting people’s health at risk. All in all, Klaasen is passionate about bringing change to her community and continuously works to ensure that elected authorities respect the people they are called to lead by addressing their basic and environmental needs in a safer, sustainable way. In the process, she makes sure that nobody is left behind, in the true spirit of South Africa’s Just Energy Transition.