Youth Activism Activating Your Voice

[Music]

youth activists

are quickly becoming the primary movers

and shakers of many of the world’s

movements

41 of the global population

is under the age of 24.

my generation plays a huge role

in society today still many young people

don’t realize

how powerful their voices are

i’m here to tell you that together we

hold the power

to make the world a better place

i just turned 18 years old i never

planned on becoming a youth activist

my journey started even before i

realized

my journey was starting i was about

three and a half years old

leaving my local grocery store with my

mom

i was all buckled up my car seat but my

young mind

was troubled my mom could see i was

thinking about something and she asked

me

what’s the matter hannah and i told her

no one cares about the planet but us

my mom was shocked but such a big

thought was coming out of such a little

person

she asked me why i would say that and i

told her

that no one else brought reusable bags

to the store

it seems i was already making the

connection that our daily habits

have an impact on our planet

about a year later my parents and i

started an organic garden

i was fascinated that you can plant

seeds

in the earth and with some water

sunlight and love

you’ll have fruits and vegetables that

you can enjoy

i learned that if you take care of the

planet

the planet will take care of you

then in kindergarten i asked my mom if i

can give tomato plants to each of my

classmates

so they can start their own organic

garden so my mom bought me a pack of

seeds and some soil

and said if i took care of the plants

for the next few months

i could give them to my classmates on

earth day

she figured i would forget about the

plants but i

loved taking care of them my passion for

what i had learned was overflowing

and i wanted to share it with my friends

when earth day came around i led a show

and tell about why we celebrate earth

day

and what we can do to help save our

planet and i gave each of my classmates

their tomato plant

i was overwhelmed with the feeling of

being a part of something

bigger than myself there was a moment

where i felt

that this was my purpose and i wanted to

continue

as i grew older i learned how animal

species that have roamed the earth

for millions of years could go extinct

during my lifetime i was

devastated but i was just ten

what could i do i knew i had to take

action

so i went online and learned which

organizations

were helping to protect endangered

animals and i pitched in to help

gaining confidence in my abilities i

ended up starting my own non-profit

hannah for change at the age of 11.

through advocating for animal rights i

learned how environmental issues were

impacting animals

specifically the growing crises of

plastic pollution

and climate change ever since

i’ve been speaking up initiating

campaigns

attending protests and educating over 30

000 people and i haven’t looked back

one of my main campaigns was

establishing february 15th

as plastic pollution awareness day in

the state of georgia

the first event of its kind my call to

action

was to reduce the use of plastic

products for at least

one day and hopefully all year long

i was able to engage 90 global

organizations to support this effort

the event was seen by over 300 000

viewers on the local news

and was even showcased on cnn

youth were so inspired by this event

they sought to hold similar events

in their own states ultimately

and i’m most proud of is that my work

proved to young people

that you don’t have to be a voting age

to get involved in politics

and affect change while the event was a

success

i also faced challenges the plastic

lobby want to stop

my day and ultimately stop me

yes they wanted to silence a 14 year old

but with a little compromise we were

able to hold the day as i’d planned

though i had to sacrifice the

opportunity to address the georgia state

senate

however the following year i was

fortunate to repeat the event

and this time i got to address the

senators

there i was a high school freshman

delivering the speech

of my life to the decision makers of my

home state

as i spoke silence blanketed the room

and every eye was on me it was as if

every senator realized that there was a

teenager at the mic

and she had something powerful to say

i spoke on how we need government action

to fight plastic pollution

and that we cannot sit idly while we

continue to pollute our home

wrapping up i concluded with a final

question

are you with us the reason i share the

story with you

is that at that moment i realize young

voices are powerful and we are being

heard

i realized then and there that movements

start with the decision

to speak up by laying the groundwork in

2017

and duplicating the event the following

year i was inspired to continue my work

in policy in 2019

i helped pass a ban on single-use

plastics in a local municipality

and in 2020 i delivered an address at

the nation’s capital

for the introduction of the national

break free from plastic pollution act

i’ve met a lot of other youth activists

throughout my journey

and i’ve always wanted to know what

makes a young person

become an activist and almost every

activist i spoke to said the same thing

for many once they learned about or

experienced

social political or environmental

injustice

they heard their calling and took action

in addition to recent youth-led

movements such as march for our lives

and fridays for future which i’m sure

you’ve heard of

here are other youth activists you may

not have heard of that inspire me

as plastic bags engulfed the beautiful

island of bali

sisters melody and isabel weijin created

bye-bye plastic bags

at the ages of 10 and 12 and

successfully led a campaign

to ban plastic bags in bali in 2018.

nicholas lowenger was 12 years old when

he founded gotta have soul

and over the past 10 years has donated

over a hundred thousand pairs of shoes

to homeless youth after meeting two

siblings that took turn

attending school because they shared

only one pair of shirt of shoes

josh gupta was 14 years old when he

learned

that millions of millions of children

don’t have the corrective glasses they

need

he launched sight learning to collect

used eyewear

and to date has donated over 1.5 million

dollars worth of glasses

to those in need i could go on

and on with youth activists leading

change

we are everywhere there’s probably one

in your own community and maybe even one

in your own household

from looking at other movements and

reflecting on my own experiences

i believe there are three main steps to

getting involved

the first step is to find your why

my why is that i want to live on a

planet

that doesn’t need protecting your why

should come from within you and drive

you to achieve something

greater than yourself once you know your

why you’ll find the inner courage

to move forward even in the face of

challenges

obstacles and hardships i faced

all the typical challenges a lack of

confidence

a fear of standing out and not fitting

in and a fear of rejection

but i’m glad i stuck with it despite

these fears

the next step is to educate yourself

once you are armed with knowledge you

can then educate others

learn from reputable organizations in

the field and other trusted sources

and lastly advocate for change

this can come in many different forms

participate or lead protests

write letters share on social media

fundraise volunteer create art

photography or film use your talents

to your advantage ask yourself

what can i do and do it

we know that sparking change does not

require any superpowers

it isn’t reserved for those with

exceptional qualities of heroism

we all have what it takes to create

change

you can impact others right where you

are with what you have

here’s my main message to young people

challenge the narrative no matter how

young you are

your voice is valid

do not stay silent in the face of

injustice

speak up speak out be loud

be clear and fight for what is important

to you

now more than ever the world needs you

and your voice we need everyone

because the weight of the world is not

as heavy

if we all lift it together

and here’s my advice for adults

don’t silence us but inspire us

support us and help elevate our voices

encourage

us to speak up listen to us

when we do be there to advocate and

encourage us

when we hit inevitable roadblocks

many times we’ve been taught that our

voices are invalid

but our voices are so much stronger than

many adults believe

i wouldn’t be where i am today without

the support of my parents and adult

mentors and my life

so the next time you see a young person

with an idea

support them help foster their ambition

and fuel their passion

i often hear people say that we are the

future

or that we will change the world but

that isn’t true

because we are not the future we are the

present

and we are changing the world right now

the question is are you with us

thank you

you