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