Nothing gives a person more pride than to see a young generation of activists fighting back against those who threaten to condemn their future and the future of their children. Nothing gives a person more hope than to see teenagers fighting against the lies and condescension they are faced with everyday and making grown-ups listen. It's the young people we have to listen to if we want to look forward to a brighter future, and here are seven who are making a real difference.
Greta Thunberg at the Youth Climate Summit 2019 / Photo Credit: Vanessa Carvalho/Zuma Press/PA Images
Greta Thunberg
She's the Swedish environmental activist inspiring millions to follow her lead, and millions of others to launch a vitriolic assault on her character. She's been mocked by the president himself and even compared to a Nazi mascot, but Greta Thunberg shakes off all criticism and continues to urge governments to listen to the facts and act before climate change becomes an irreversible threat. Last year, she took time off school to protest outside the Swedish parliament and call for climate action and a year later she embarked on a 15-day transatlantic voyage to attend the UN Climate Action Summit. Though she is not interested in recognition or commendation, she has received Amnesty International's Ambassador of Conscience Award and a nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Malala Yousafzai
She became the youngest Nobel laureate after winning the Nobel Peace Prize at the age of 17, but her activism journey began at the tender age of 12 when she wrote a blog post for BBC Urdu talking about life under the Taliban's occupation of Swat in Pakistan. She ended up being shot in the head on the way to school when she was 15-years-old, but survived and was brought to Birmingham to be treated. Soon after, she founded the non-profit organisation Malala Fund which works primarily towards the global fight for girls' rights to education, and went on to tell her story in the international best-seller I Am Malala.
Emma Gonzalez
This brave 19-year-old survived the 2018 Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida and used her traumatic experience to become an advocate for gun control in the United States. In fact, just three days after the ordeal, she stood up in front of the Broward County Courthouse and delivered an impassioned speech about her and her peers' determination to bring about change and end gun violence. She continues to work towards a future where gun massacres are a thing of the past.
Amika George
Periods might be an embarrassing thing for most teenagers to talk about, but when Amika George was 17-years-old, she recognised that this was an extreme problem when it came to people who could not afford to buy sanitary products. She now campaigns against period poverty in the UK, urging the government to provide free period products for school children and highlighting the increased risks of toxic shock syndrome when girls do not have access to proper sanitary care. It seems her efforts had an effect too as it was announced earlier this year that funding would be given to schools to provide free sanitary products.
Jazz Jennings
She became the youngest person to become a national transgender figure and was just 6-years-old when she started speaking publicly about her transition. She and her parents founded the TransKids Purple Rainbow Foundation and she went on to create the company Purple Rainbow Tails which sells rubber mermaid tails to raise money for trans children. She also co-wrote the children's book I Am Jazz, and even published her memoir Being Jazz: My Life as a (Transgender) Teen in 2016.
Sonita Alizadeh
This Afghan hip hop artist released a rap video entitled Brides for Sale in response to her parents plans to sell her as a bride when she was 16. Not only was she risking ostracism from her family and community for so publicly defying her parents' decision, but she was also living in Iran at the time where women were not allowed to perform music. She continues to speak out against forced marriages, but from the safety of the United States where she was granted residence with the help of Strongheart Group.
Payal Jangid
Payal Jangid is an Indian children's rights hero who was honoured with the World's Children's Prize for her activism against child labour, child marriage and girls' rights to education. A former child slave herself, Payal was just 12-years-old when she was invited to meet President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama. She continues to fight for the rights of children from her village in Rajasthan where she is president of the Child Parliament.
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