King Charles III and Queen Camilla are set to launch the inaugural edition of Wangari Maathai Marathon during their visit scheduled October 31st-November 3rd. The marathon will be held on March 3rd 2024.
According to a communique sent to newsrooms the marathon will help highlight the importance of mainstreaming environmental issues.
‘King Charles III and Queen Camilla expected to ‘attend an event to celebrate the life and work of the Nobel Laureate, the late Professor Wangari Maathai, together with Wangari’s daughter, Wanjira Mathai’, reads a statement from the British Consular. Wanjira Mathai is the Founder and Chair of the Wangari Maathai Foundation, which exists to amplify and advance the legacy of Professor Wangari Maathai by catalysing purposeful and courageous leadership’’.
The main purpose of the event is to highlight the importance of mainstreaming environment considerations into urban policy making.
The event will also present an opportunity ‘to amplify messages around the crucial role of green spaces and forests in sustainable cities in addressing climate change as well as celebrating the legacy of environmental voices such as the late Prof. Wangari Maathai. The late Professor Wangari Maathai is popular for her quote: “We are called to assist the earth to heal her wounds and, in the process, heal our own.”
King Charles III and Queen Camilla’s visit between October 31 to November 3 coincides with celebrations launched on 25th of September, 2023 by the Wangari Maathai Foundation (WMF) to celebrate the life and work of Nobel Laureate who passed away 12 years ago.
The King’s visit is expected to boost a series of events lined up by WMF to mark 12 years since the global leader passed on, with the climax being a marathon on March 3, 2024 which is Africa Environment Day (renamed Wangari Maathai Day by the AU).
The theme of the Marathon is the ‘The Power of One’
The visit is the King’s first visit to a Commonwealth nation as a King.
