In August of last year a 15 year old Swedish girl named Greta Thunberg sat in front of the Swedish parliament to protest against the lack of action on climate change. Greta proceeded to sit in front of the Swedish parliament every school day for three weeks (and now every Friday) and ignited the movement #FridaysForFuture.
Since then, a global youth movement has risen, with many young people across the globe stepping up and being heard. Inspired by Greta’s courage, sense of urgency and determination, millions of students have since taken to the streets to protest against politicians lack of urgency and in action on climate change.
In the UK a Student Climate Network has formed to lead the charge on #youthstrike4climate with incredible results. The first UK wide Youth Strike 4 Climate took place on Friday 15th February 2019, with over 10,000 young people taking part and getting their voices heard. This was followed by the first Global Strike on Friday 15th March with millions of young people participating around the world. In the UK 50,000 young people took part, including our BGF-ers, and we couldn’t be prouder. BGF is all about giving you the tools and knowledge you need to go out and make the change you demand and deserve and become the environmental leaders of the future!
“The sense of community in the strike was immense and it was incredible to see the power of our voices and the volume of people striking. I loved going out to make my stand against the mess our world is in.”
– Cohort 2 BGF-er Maud speaking of the strikes on 15th Feb 2019.
Maud, along with two friends, attended the Strikes in Norwich and has created an interesting video interviewing fellow youth climate strikers – you can view it here, it is definitely worth a watch!
During the Global Strikes on 15th March the BGF Team headed down to the Youth Strike 4 Climate at College Green, Bristol (around the corner from our HQ) to show our support and join in on the action. Within 5 minutes we had already bumped into cohort 2 BGF-er Luke (pictured below). The passion of the young people was infectious, inspiring and incredibly moving! Every single student stood on College Green that day shared an incredible passion for protecting our environment and a frustration towards our Government.
They stood, chanted, sang and danced together (some even litter picked) to demand climate justice and radical climate action.
"We don't have a vote but we do have a say."
– Young person speaking at the Norwich Strikes, 15th Feb 2019
The voice of the next generation will not be silenced, it will be heard. You can read their four demands, which BGF support, here.
Not only did the climate marches show the strength of the youth voice but they also showcased some pretty creative posters. Here are our favourite 6:
Friday 12th April 2019 is set to be the next UK wide Youth Strike 4 Climate. Click here to find an event near you OR to start your own local strike register the event here.
Will YOU be stepping up and being heard on 12th April?
Bright Green Future is a FREE year-long environmental training programme for 14-17 year olds which aims to give you the tools, knowledge and skills to make change and empower you to do the things that really matter. Through Bright Green Future you can learn about the most effective ways to fight climate change, gain confidence and meet loads of like-minded young people.
Applications for our new 2019 cohort are OPEN NOW Click here to apply.