The 2026 Alexander Langer International Award goes to the young Congolese climate and human rights activist François Kamate Kasereka. With this decision, the Foundation recognizes the courage, foresight, and tireless commitment of an activist who, through nonviolent means, works in one of the most conflict-ridden regions of the world — North Kivu — in pursuit of peace, ecological justice, and democratic participation. 

The eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), particularly the Kivu region, has been ravaged by violence and discrimination against parts of its population since the 1990s. The situation worsened significantly in 1994 following the genocide of the Tutsi in Rwanda and the consequent mass exodus of genocidal Rwandan army and militia forces into eastern DRC. Still today their presence continues to threaten stability in Rwanda. Successive wars, violence by various militias, poor resource management, corruption, and the absence of effective development policies by the Congolese government have caused millions of deaths over the past decades. More recently, African and international mediation efforts have sought to end the conflict between the M23 movement on one side and the Congolese army and the genocidal Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) militias on the other. 

The DRC is considered the world’s richest country in natural resources [1], yet about 70% of its population lives on less than $1.90 a day. [2] The link between armed groups and the exploitation of natural resources is well documented. [3,4] The precarious situation of the Congolese people is further exacerbated by communication difficulties in many parts of the DRC, especially in the Kivu region, which lacks overland access to the capital Kinshasa and to ports on the West African coast, and is geo-economically closer to East African countries, particularly Rwanda and Uganda. 

North Kivu province epitomizes this complex web of violence, social deprivation, and global resource exploitation. After a long moratorium, the government recently announced new concessions for oil and gas extraction in Virunga National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the planet’s most important biodiversity hotspots, as well as a crucial natural carbon sink. The park is home to unique ecosystems—from tropical forests to the volcanoes of the Ruwenzori range—and the last mountain gorillas. The increasing exploitation of fossil resources threatens not only this natural heritage but also the livelihoods of local communities. 

Beyond fossil fuel projects, the region is strategically important for global supply chains due to its wealth of so-called “3T” minerals—tantalum, tin, and tungsten—essential for green energy technologies. About half of the world’s coltan reserves are in the DRC. [5] These resources, often extracted under precarious conditions, fuel conflicts in which militias, state actors, and international companies compete for control. UN reports document how coltan and other minerals are smuggled illegally into neighboring countries and then laundered into legal supply chains through certified mines. [6] Recently, the Rwandan-backed M23 movement seized not only the provincial capital Goma but also the Rubaya area, home to some of the country’s most important coltan deposits. Moreover, the role of state institutions and the Congolese army in the extractive economy remains controversial. The civilian population suffers the consequences of the profit-driven schemes of those in power. 

In this critical context, climate and environmental activism emerges as a multifaceted form of peacebuilding. The climate crisis is already costing lives in the DRC, straining infrastructure and agriculture, and acting as a conflict multiplier. At the same time, military infrastructure and post-war reconstruction generate significant greenhouse gas emissions. Peace is therefore both a precondition for and an integral part of effective climate policy. Ecological destruction and social injustice feed off each other: the fight against the climate crisis in Congo is just as much a fight for human rights and the fair distribution of resources. 

A just transition to a climate-neutral world requires more than technological innovation: it demands social skills in cooperation and solidarity, both locally and transnationally. This is precisely where François Kamate’s work comes in. 

As an activist with the Congolese branch of the international “Debt for Climate” campaign, Kamate mobilizes students, youth, and war-displaced communities to demand the cancellation of foreign debts, which keep many Global South countries in conditions of dependency. The campaign links climate justice with economic decolonization, emphasizing that a sustainable energy transition is only possible if the resources and political spaces of the Global South are freed from debt and extractive dynamics. 

François Kamate exemplifies a generation of young African activists who, amid violence and poverty, seek paths of nonviolent resistance. He is a co-founder of Extinction Rebellion Rutshuru, a local branch of the international climate movement, and of the Amani Institute ASBL, which promotes a culture of peace. He has worked with the organization LUCHA (Lutte pour le Changement) and created numerous dialogue groups among youth, local authorities, and civil society. The campaigns he has participated in (Fossil Free Virunga, Decolonize Virunga, and Fossil Free DRC) have drawn national and international attention to illegitimate fossil fuel concessions and contributed to the temporary suspension of a major oil and gas licensing auction in 2024.

Beyond his organizational work, Kamate is involved in documenting human rights violations, creating radio programs, and leading educational initiatives that promote ecological responsibility, dialogue, and nonviolence. His activism connects local peacebuilding with global climate awareness and gives young people a voice in issues that directly affect their future. 

François Kamate Kasereka’s commitment to climate justice and a fair ecological transition embodies the pursuit of durable well-being that Alexander Langer identified as an alternative to the false progress driven by exploitation and endless growth. Both reject extractivist logic and advocate for an "ecological conversion" (conversione ecologica) that is socially desirable, rooted in local dialogue, and globally responsible. 

Like Langer, Kamate understands that ecological crisis and conflict are two sides of the same coin: his struggle against resource exploitation and for economic decolonization answers Langer’s call to move beyond "false wealth" and to build, from the ground up, a civilization based on the principle "lentius, profundius, suavius"—slower, deeper, and gentler—where peace, social justice, and environmental sustainability are achieved together. 

At a time when ecological crises and armed conflicts are intertwined, Kamate’s commitment reminds us that hope and change come from below, through dialogue, education, and the power of nonviolence. 

By awarding the 2026 Alexander Langer International Award to François Kamate, the Foundation honors a voice that makes visible the interconnection between climate justice, decolonization, transnational cooperation, and peace, embodying one of the most urgent challenges of our time. 

[1]https://gsphub.eu/country-info/Democratic%20Republic%20of%20Congo#:~:text=Resourc e%20Wealth,and%20considerable%20amounts%20of%20cobalt

[2]https://opportunity.org/our-impact/where-we-work/the-democratic-republic-of-congo-facts-a bout-poverty 

[3]https://docs.un.org/en/S/2019/842 

[4]https://ipisresearch.be/publication/armed-conflict-insecurity-and-mining-in-eastern-drc-refl ections-on-the-nexus-between-natural-resources-and-armed-conflict/

[5]https://ourworldindata.org/countries-critical-minerals-needed-energy-transition [6]https://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/transition-minerals/the-itsci-laundromat/#mineral-tr afficking-and-outbursts-violence-rubaya