Professor and Nobel laureate Wangari Maathai of Kenya charmed a large crowd gathered at Harvard’s Institute of Politics (IOP) Friday afternoon with a speech detailing her experience as an environmental, social, and political activist.

Maathai has been developing her unique approach to social activism through environmentalism since 1976, when she joined the National Council of Women of Kenya.

For Maathai, social issues facing developing nations, including poverty and gender inequality, are intrinsically linked to the environment.

“Poverty is both a symptom and a cause of environmental degradation,” Maathai said.

Throughout the speech, Maathai emphasized the need for all those pursuing broad social change to be truly active in their efforts.

“To get rid of poverty, you may have to go down and plant a tree; then at least you will have taken action,” Maathai said.

In her efforts to further develop this idea, Maathai founded the Green Belt Movement, a grassroots organization that encourages women to plant trees, thereby both reversing deforestation and empowering women in a particular area.

In her speech, Maathai emphasized the importance of remaining “committed, patient, [and] persistent” in the process of enacting change.

Despite being arrested, beaten, and declared an enemy of the state, Maathai has helped women plant over 30 million trees across Kenya.

In recent years, as her movement has spread to other African nations, Maathai has been elected to Kenya’s Parliament, appointed Kenya’s minister for Environment and Natural Resources, and awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

After detailing her experiences, Maathai offered words of wisdom directed in particular at the Harvard College and Kennedy School of Government (KSG) students present at the event, which was lotteried and well-attended.

Using the metaphor of riding a bus, Maathai underscored the need for individuals to constantly assess whether “they are going in the right direction” and to take action if they find they are not.

Although the program’s normal question-and-answer session was cut short due to time constraints, Maathai managed to speak to students’ requests for advice on how women, especially African women, can achieve the kind of leadership Maathai exhibits.

Throughout the event, Maathai drew laughter and applause from the audience. Students said they were particularly impressed with her emphasis on environmental awareness.

“Developing countries don’t emphasize the environment enough. It’s refreshing to see a woman who cares so much about the environment,” said Nana Menya Ayensu ’07, vice president of the Harvard African Students Association.

Maathai summed up her attitude towards activism at the close of her remarks, saying, “I’m doing the best I can, and that, friends, is all we can be called to do.”

Maathai’s lecture was sponsored by the IOP and the KSG’s Women and Public Policy Program, Ecology and Environment Political Institutions Committee, and Africa Caucus.