Kera Sherwood-O'Regan is a

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

woman from the South Island of New Zealand concerned with climate change and indigenous rights. She is a disability advocate. At COP25 she told the delegates to "Stop taking up space with your false solutions and get out of our way". In 2023 she became one of that year's ''

BBC 100 Women ''100 Women'' is a BBC multi-format series established in 2013. The annual series examines the role of women in the 21st century and has included events in London and Mexico. Announcement of the list is the start of an international "BBC's wome ...

''.

Life

Sherwood-O'Regan is Māori from

Te Waipounamu The South Island ( , 'the waters of Pounamu, Greenstone') is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand by surface area, the others being the smaller but more populous North Island and Stewart Island. It is bordered to the north by ...

(the South Island of

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

). She is a member of the Kāi Tahu

iwi Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori, roughly means or , and is often translated as "tribe". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, and is typically pluralised as such in English. ...

and she was born in about 1993 and she has a well connected family in New Zealand. Her mother is Viv Sherwood and her father is the

Tūhura Otago Museum Tūhura Otago Museum, located near the city center of Dunedin, New Zealand, adjacent to the University of Otago campus, is one of the country's largest museums and a prominent attraction in the city. The museum's extensive collections encompass ...

curator Gerard O’Regan. Her grandfather is the academic Sir

Tipene O'Regan Sir Stephen Gerard "Tipene" O'Regan (born 23 September 1939) is a New Zealand academic, company director and former chairman of the Ngāi Tahu Māori Trust Board. Biography Early life and career O'Regan is the son of surgeon Rolland O'Regan a ...

. Her education included studying medicine and one of her concerns is health. She is member of the board of Ora Taiao who are an organisation of health professionals championing action to mitigate climate change. At COP25 she protested to the organisation and the media noting that indigenous people were on the platform for the opening ceremony but they were then ignored or used as "tokens". Special rules were applied she said and human rights were being ignored. She said on behalf of the

International Indigenous Peoples Forum on Climate Change The International Indigenous Peoples Forum on Climate Change (IIFPCC) is the representative body of indigenous peoples participating in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). History The Indigenous Women’s Biodiversit ...

that "We are experts on climate. We are the

kaitiaki Kaitiakitanga is a New Zealand Māori term used for the concept of guardianship of the sky, the sea, and the land. A kaitiaki is a guardian, and the process and practices of protecting and looking after the environment are referred to as k ...

, the stewards of nature". The indigenous people have no official representation as only nations have official delegates. At COP25 she was promised that she could speak. She addressed the conference long after it was meant to finish. The stalled agreements had left many sleeping under tables and missing flights. She had paid for her own flights from her own savings. She got the media's attention when she told the delegates that the International Indigenous Peoples Forum on Climate Change wanted them to "Stop taking up space with your false solutions and get out of our way". In 2020 there was an election in New Zealand. O'Regan was asked as "a leading commentator" by the British newspaper

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

to give her verdict in the previous administration. She gave

Jacinda Ardern Dame Jacinda Kate Laurell Ardern ( ; born 26 July 1980) is a New Zealand politician and activist who was the 40th prime minister of New Zealand and Leader of the New Zealand Labour Party, leader of the Labour Party from 2017 to 2023. She was ...

's government a "C+" noting that they made the pronouncements but they did not make changes. One aspect she did like was the Green Party who had ambitiously named their Zero Carbon Act but it was "lacklustre". She was named as one of the ''

'' for 2023 in recognition of her work on climate change and indigenous rights and as a disability advocate.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sherwood-ORegan, Kera Living people 1990s births Year of birth uncertain New Zealand climate activists New Zealand Māori women Ngāi Tahu people