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Genesis Butler has quickly become one of the world's best-known animal rights activists - and she's only 17. She's leading a global movement of young people fighting factory farming's impacts on animals and the climate.

Butler's story began, like it did for many animal advocates, when she was a small child: She stopped eating animals when she was 3, after finding out where her then-favorite food - chicken nuggets - came from. By 6, she'd converted her family to veganism. She has activism in her family - she's the great-grandniece of famed labor organizer César Chávez - and her mother helped her find ways to become involved in the animal rights movement. She began protesting corporations that exploit animals for profit, like Ringling Brothers Circus (which has since announced it'll stop using animals in shows) and SeaWorld. At 10, she started attending vigils at a now-shuttered pig slaughterhouse in southern California: a form of activism in which animal advocates bear witness to animals arriving on transport trucks at meatpacking plants (often giving them water, because animals endure long journeys to slaughter without food or water).

"It's one of the last moments that pigs have with humans," Butler told me about the vigils. "So at least they'll have an interaction with humans that care for them."

As public concern over climate change surged over the last several years, Butler saw an opportunity to connect it with animal advocacy. When she was 10, she gave a popular TED Talk on animal agriculture's outsize contribution to global carbon emissions. She worked on increasingly high-profile actions: In 2019, she asked Pope Francis to go vegan for Lent, generating widespread media coverage that drew attention to the meat industry's role in climate change.

Climate had become a hugely important youth movement, with iconic activists like Greta Thunberg leading millions of students to walk out of school as part of the Fridays for Future campaign. But most of that energy, Butler noticed, was focused on fossil fuels, not on animal agriculture, a leading and often underestimated driver of the climate crisis, and an immense source of suffering for billions of the planet's creatures. Hoping to bridge that gap, Butler founded Youth Climate Save in 2020, a coalition of young people around the world working to make food systems and animal rights a part of climate reform, and learning from each other about how to talk about animal agriculture with their communities.

Today, Butler is a sought-after public speaker, with a large social media following that she's used to change the conversation on climate change and veganism. She runs a nonprofit, Genesis for Animals, which raises money for farm sanctuaries that care for animals rescued from the meat industry - places that Butler sees as essential to the movement, and that are often chronically underfunded. She's also worked with the California-based group Social Compassion in Legislation to help pass a law banning cosmetics tested on animals in the state, and a law requiring state health care facilities and prisons to offer plant-based food options. In the future, Butler says, she wants to deepen her legislative and lobbying work.

It's become a cliché to say that young people will save us from the crises that they're about to inherit. But it's also kind of true. If the world ever becomes less unrelentingly bleak for nonhuman animals, it'll be thanks to people like Butler, who are leading the next generation of animal activists and helping build bridges to new movements and communities.

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Genesis Butler is leading the next generation of animal and climate activists

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Genesis Butler, a changemaker in animal and climate activism, is one of Vox's Future Perfect 50 for 2023. This annual list highlights 50 people who are making the world a better place for everyone.

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I chose the name, Genesis for Animals, because my name means a new beginning and I want to help give animals a new beginning. Sanctuaries and rescues are often severely underfunded, so I felt drawn to create an organization that could direct donations toward those most in need.

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A 10-year old's vision for healing the planet | Genesis Butler | TEDxCSULB

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Climate change and biodiversity loss threaten the future of humanity. These youth activists are standing up to save the planet. You can join us in taking action on related issues here.
In recent years, a global surge in youth protests, advocacy, and organizations around climate change and biodiversity loss has fueled momentum for climate action.

Young people worldwide have learned about the dire state of the planet and have refused to buckle under the weight of despair. Instead, they insist that current economic models can be transformed, our collective relationship to nature can be reimagined, and the environmental crises engulfing the planet can be overcome.

The nonprofit Action for Nature recently honored 17 pioneering youth as part of its Eco-Hero Awards for their efforts in protecting the planet.

"These children, pre-teens, and teens have shown that the next generation is refusing to simply stand on the sidelines but instead is turning its passion for helping the planet into projects that have tangible, positive impacts on the environment now," said Beryl Kay, president of Action for Nature. "Through their commitment, these young activists are shaping the world around them and inspiring other young people to take action to protect our Earth."

Kay told Global Citizen that the prize often acts as a jumping off point for youth winners, who go on to pursue broader careers of activism later in life. Getting recognition early for their action helps to instill a commitment to causes of social justice.

"People will listen to youth when they're young, whereas if they gave the same speech when they're an adult, people won't listen to them," Kay said. "They have a great opportunity to be listened to and to make a difference."

"We want them to take action to be empowered," she said. "It's a great feeling to get results, and you don't always get results, but you have to keep persevering."

Read about five of the winners and their accomplishments below (view the full list here).

Rylee Brooke Kamahele / Mililani, US / Age 12

At the age of 12, Rylee Brooke Kamahele has already championed legislation that has become law in Oahu, Hawaii. The tireless youth activist helped lead the push to get the Promise to Our Keiki, Keep Hawaii Hawaii bill passed at the local level and is now working to get it enacted statewide. The law aims to promote environmental stewardship, restoration, and conservation throughout the state.

Kamahele has been a dedicated environmental activist for years, having founded the organization the Catalyst Club, which supports and empowers other youth activists, organizes beach cleanups, and rescues and rehabilitates animals.

She also travels to schools to teach kids about the importance of conservation and wildlife protection.

"I love what I do!" Kamahele told Action for Nature. "Every single program or project I create is sparked by a passion I have or experience I've gone through that called for change. I want to grow my organization to be bigger than the YMCA and give kids something to do."

Sofia Molina / San Luis Potosí, Mexico / Age 11

Sofia Molina believes that small, everyday actions of conservation can protect the planet, but only when they happen at scale.

The youth activist has organized more than 1,500 students through her conservation nonprofit Cococu, named for the first syllables of her favorite words: concientizar (to raise awareness), conocer (to know), and cuidar (to care). Molina travels throughout Mexico giving lessons on conservation, raising awareness for the United Nations' Global Goals, and encouraging youth to take part in community actions.

Action for Nature notes that Molina was able to help secure 30,000 acres of land for conservation, a victory that will help her guide her peers through ecosystem renewal projects.

"I am sure that the climate crisis can be combated by children being guided in a simple and professional way, and above all by giving us a voice so that through a plan created by us, we can demand respect for nature," Molina told Action for Nature. "If children can fulfill our dreams, there will be a better world!"

Lazar Dukovic / Budva, Montenegro / Age 15

After visiting an science exhibit at a local museum, Lazar Dukovic was inspired to learn more about the engineering that undergirds electricity and water access.

A few years later, he put his knowledge to the test by scavenging parts, raising money, and ultimately building a water pump and a solar power system for a remote community in Montenegro. The pump uses gravity to provide water to houses, and the solar system supplies electricity to eight homes.

Dukovic maintains both systems and plans to expand them in the years to come. His early ventures have shown him that there is basically no limit to his ability to reduce poverty and expand access to basic human rights.

In addition to building new sustainable systems, he's working on ways to protect bees and harvest rainwater for everyday use.

"When I started, I suspected that I, as an individual, can't change much. I believe that is the global youth problem," Dukovic told Action for Nature. "I changed my mind on that after I acknowledged that every individual has to contribute for positive change to happen."

Duncan Jurman / Weston, US / Age 16

Duncan Jurman has been fascinated by butterflies since he was 4 years old. Early on, he learned that butterfly populations were declining globally due to human activity so he developed gardens and a vivarium at his home, where he raised more than 5,000 butterflies to be released.

In 2018, Jurman developed a large butterfly garden and vivarium at his high school, which has since attracted 28 species of butterflies, including two endangered species. The vivarium has also attracted other wildlife, including birds, lizards, and insects.

Jurman is committed to protecting butterflies by restoring natural habitats. He travels to high schools to share his knowledge and encourage others to help in his quest.

He's now working with gardeners and local residents in the region to rescue endangered butterfly species and create better habitats in general for wildlife.

"From teaching, I recognized that most students don't know the essential roles butterflies play in our ecosystems - as pollinators of plants and key food sources for numerous animals, such as birds and lizards - and the diversity of species in South Florida," Jurman said. "Most also don't know that butterfly populations worldwide are in serious jeopardy. Students today as a whole are more technology-oriented and have far less concern for, and knowledge of, gardening, insects, and nature in general than previous generations."

"I want to change this situation and realize there's an opportunity to raise youth awareness of the importance of butterflies, the many threats facing them, and the relatively little effort necessary to have an immediate impact on the future of butterflies," he added.

Lesein Mutunkei / Nairobi, Kenya / Age 15

Every time Lesein Mutunkei scores a goal in football, he works with his teammates to plant 11 trees. He started the Trees for Goals initiative when he was 12, when he first learned about the scale of deforestation globally.

Since then, he's planted more than 1,000 trees and has spurred more than 5,000 peers to join his cause.

Mutunkei has also become an educator around issues such as climate change, deforestation, and plastic pollution.

"My goal is to have FIFA take Trees For Goals to world football," Mutunkei told Action for Nature.

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These 5 Youth Activists Are Fighting to Save Wildlife

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The Eco-Hero Awards by the nonprofit Action for Nation honor pioneering youth environmental activists.

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Home & Family - Youth Actor and Animal Activist Lou Wegner

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Gus Kenworthy and the Sochi Pups: A Fresh Start

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Gus Kenworthy jokes he's been superseded by Mamuchka, the dog, with his own mother.

Nearly four years after helping rescue Mamuchka and her litter from Sochi, Kenworthy knows his place.

"My mom is actually obsessed with her," Kenworthy said. "She likes the dog more than she likes my brothers and I. She has a grandchild now. My oldest brother has a daughter, and between the daughter and the dog, she's like, I don't care about anybody else."

Kenworthy became the most famous for rescuing strays from the Sochi Olympics, but several others brought home dogs from those Games. Snowboardcross star Lindsey Jacobellis rescued a pup, as did Amanda Bird, the marketing and communications director for USA Bobsled & Skeleton. Both named their dogs Sochi.

Four years later, all are doing well.

Kenworthy also helped rescue Jake and Mishka, who were part of Mamuchka's litter. He says he helped because Robin MacDonald, Kenworthy's boyfriend at the time, stayed behind an extra month and did the work. MacDonald hasn't gotten enough credit for all he did to save the dogs, Kenworthy said.

Kenworthy didn't come out publicly until 2015, so he didn't feel he could say his boyfriend when describing what MacDonald was doing to bring the dogs to the United States. Calling MacDonald a friend allowed media and others to give Kenworthy more and MacDonald less credit than each deserved.
More: More: Pence: Don't let North Korea hijack Winter Olympics Winter Olympics shines spotlight on dog meat trade in South Korea
"I had basically said, 'Look at these dogs. I need them. I want them,'" Kenworthy said. "He was like, OK, if you want them, we'll figure it out and we'll bring them home. And that's the type of guy he was and is."

The couple later broke up, and Jake and Mishka live in Vancouver with MacDonald. (You can follow them on Instagram @thesochipups.)

"They're doing really well. He takes the most amazing care of them," Kenworthy said. "They don't live with me, and probably for the better because they have an awesome life in Vancouver and I'm always on the road."

The constant travel is part of why Jacobellis has had her parents watch Sochi at their home in Vermont. With the Olympic silver medalist recently moving to Southern California, Jacobellis says she gets shot down any time she mentions moving him out there.

"My father is not giving Sochi back to me," she said, with a laugh. "I am a little bummed, but it's hard because Sochi has like five acres back home. My mom just got a new puppy, and he's been really, really liking that scenario. It means I just have to go rescue another dog and swap him out for my dad if I want to ever see Sochi again."

Bird's dog, also named Sochi, overcame parvo and distemper but is now healthy.

"He's a 50-pound dog that thinks he's a 10-pound lap dog. He steals our spot in bed as soon as one of us gets up and heats us up by wiggling his way between us if we show a moment of weakness," she said. "He goes ballistic when you say the word 'walk,' and thrives in both the sun and snow. It may sound he's your typical loving, goofy dog, but he really a member of our family that we couldn't live without."

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Rescued stray dogs doing well four years after Sochi Olympics

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Gus Kenworthy's mom has one of the dogs he helped bring home.

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Gus Kenworthy, 26, is an American freestyle skier from Colorado who recently made headlines after rescuing 90 dogs from a dog meat farm in South Korea while participating in 2018 Winter Olympics.

In 2014, during the Sochi Winter Olympics, Gus found two stray puppies near the Olympic Village and had to go through a long process to get them to America with him and now he took upon himself to save even more dogs.

"This morning Matt and I had a heart-wrenching visit to one of the 17,000 dog farms here in South Korea," he wrote on Instagram. "Across the country, there are 2.5 million dogs being raised for food in some of the most disturbing conditions imaginable. Yes, there is an argument to be made that eating dogs is a part of Korean culture. And, while don't personally agree with it, I do agree that it's not my place to impose western ideals on the people here. The way these animals are being treated, however, is completely inhumane and culture should never be a scapegoat for cruelty. Despite the beliefs of some, these dogs are no different from the ones we call pets back home."

Together with his boyfriend Matt, Gus decided to take one of the dogs home. "I adopted the sweet baby in the first pic (we named her Beemo) and she'll be coming to the US to live with me as soon as she's through with her vaccinations in a short couple of weeks. I cannot wait to give her the best life possible!" 90 other dogs from the farm are taken from the facility to the United States and Canada for adoption with the help of Humane Society International.

Even though there are many more pups in bad conditions, every little attempt to help counts and it's so great that there are some amazing people, like Gus, who use their platform to spread awareness and help.

More info: Instagram

Gus Kenworthy, 26, is an American freestyle skier from Colorado

He recently made headlines after rescuing 90 dogs from a dog meat farm in South Korea while participating in 2018 Winter Olympics

"This morning Matt and I had a heart-wrenching visit to one of the 17,000 dog farms here in South Korea," he wrote on Instagram

"Across the country, there are 2.5 million dogs being raised for food in some of the most disturbing conditions imaginable"

"Yes, there is an argument to be made that eating dogs is a part of Korean culture"

"And, while don't personally agree with it, I do agree that it's not my place to impose western ideals on the people here"

"The way these animals are being treated, however, is completely inhumane and culture should never be a scapegoat for cruelty"

"Despite the beliefs of some, these dogs are no different from the ones we call pets back home"

Together with his boyfriend Matt, Gus decided to take one of the dogs home and named her Beemo

"She'll be coming to the US to live with me as soon as she's through with her vaccinations in a short couple of weeks"

"I cannot wait to give her the best life possible!"

90 other dogs from the farm are taken from the facility to the United States and Canada for adoption with the help of Humane Society International

It's so great that there are some amazing people, like Gus, who use their platform to spread awareness and help

We need more people like Gus in this world!

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US Olympic Skier Gus Kenworthy Rescued 90 Dogs From Korean Dog Meat Farm

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Gus Kenworthy, 26, is an American freestyle skier from Colorado who recently made headlines after rescuing 90 dogs from a dog meat farm in South Korea while participating in 2018 Winter Olympics.

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The person behind one of the fastest-growing animal rescue organizations in the United States can't even vote yet

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LOS ANGELES - The person behind one of the fastest-growing animal rescue organizations in the United States can't even vote yet. And neither can most of the people leading its 10 chapters across the U.S.

Lou Wegner, a 16-year-old actor and singer from Columbus, Ohio, started Kids Against Animal Cruelty when he was 14. The organization, which uses social networking to encourage adoptions at high-kill animal shelters, has helped 20,000 pets escape euthanasia in two years.

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Lou said he became aware of euthanasia at shelters when he went to Los Angeles to make the short film "Be Good to Eddie Lee." The director suggested that he volunteer at an animal shelter.

Until then, Lou thought shelters were safe havens for strays and lost pets. "It was heartbreaking. All these dogs crying in their cages. Knowing they would be put down broke my heart," he said.

The group started with Lou and his friends, carrying signs on street corners, and a Facebook page with 47 friends. Now it has more than 12,000 U.S. members and 50,000 members, supporters and partner coalitions across the globe, he said.

The group gets a boost whenever Lou hits the red carpet or the airwaves. He had a small role in Clint Eastwood's Trouble With the Curve, just finished a pilot called The Thundermans for Nickelodeon, and co-hosts a weekly Global Voice Broadcasting radio show called Love That Dog Hollywood! Kids & Animals.

Brenda Barnette, the general manager of the Los Angeles Department of Animal Services who has been on the show, said Lou is "a well-spoken advocate for animals and for peer involvement." At events where he'll be photographed or when the paparazzi are lurking, he's seldom without a T-shirt with a Kids Against Animal Cruelty logo, she said.

With that kind of exposure, the group's goal has become global - getting people to adopt from shelters, to spay and neuter pets, and educating them about pet responsibility, Lou said. He advocates a no-kill policy, and hopes adults will join in because "they know so much more than we do."

The growing popularity of the teen, who is also a member of the pop band Blonde, helped save a shelter dog that might have otherwise been euthanized. Tommy Joe, an 11-month-old black Lab in South Carolina, wasn't too popular when his photo was posted on the group's Facebook page. Lou said the post garnered no likes or comments.

He recalled that the dog "was skinny and he looked sad. I thought he was doomed." So he posted online messages to the dog, drawing attention to its case and leading a group called For the Love of Dogs in Chester, S.C., to save Tommy Joe.

KAAC chapters around the country are run by teens, including a pair of sisters in New York City who worked with several groups to find lost animals and get food to people whose pets were starving in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy. An Arizona chapter is run by one of Lou's nephews, and a cousin heads the Minnesota chapter.

Lou hopes to have a chapter in every state eventually, "because the bigger the group you work with, the bigger difference you can make."

"They euthanize just as many animals every day as we have saved. It's like throwing a Band-Aid in a river," he said.

Lou said there's also the need to educate children who commit cruelty to animals

He said there's also the need to educate children who commit cruelty to animals, as in the recent cases of a 12-year-old California boy arrested after police said he got mad at his family's dog and hung it on a door handle. In Las Vegas, police say two 11-year-olds threw rocks at a cat giving birth, killing her six kittens. Lou said he would make those children witness what happens in the euthanasia room at a shelter.

Robin Harmon, who runs a small dog transport program for Best Friends Animal Society Los Angeles and met Lou at a shelter, said she "was especially impressed that at a young age, he could control his feelings and the sadness that we all feel when we are helping at high-kill shelters."

"I have barely been able to do this and I am old enough to be Lou's grandmother," she said.

The sadness is hard to deal with, Lou agreed.

"Saving one keeps you going," he said.

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Fastest-growing animal rescue outfit in U.S. is run by a 16-year-old with global goals

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The person behind one of the fastest-growing animal rescue organizations in the United States can't even vote yet

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18-year-old actor and activist Lou Wegner is the founder of the national movement Kids Against Animal Cruelty. He currently lives and works in Southern California.

NSP: What you are most passionate about?

LW: I am most passionate about spreading awareness to my generation to be pet-responsible. I was devastated to learn that 4 to 6 million pets are euthanized in U.S. shelters every year and wanted to do something to make a difference. I don't think people are aware that shelters are horribly overcrowded and that animals have to be euthanized to make room for the ones coming in. I spend a lot of time with my organization, Kids Against Animal Cruelty, that I founded to help save lives through education, social media networking and volunteering at local shelters.

NSP: What is it that inspired you to start Kids Against Animal Cruelty?

LW: When I was 14, the director of my first film, Be Good To Eddie Lee, asked me if I had ever been to a shelter. At the time, I had three rescued dogs but they came from rescue groups. I had never been to a shelter, and started to volunteer. It's there that I quickly learned that animals (pets of all kinds) are euthanized for space. I was devastated. I had to do something.

NSP: What has contributed most to keeping you on the path you are on now?

LW: When you are faced with odds like millions of deaths, it is daunting and depressing, BUT saving lives and seeing the joy on an the animal's face with its new family is so rewarding. The depressing turns into happiness.

Thankfully, and fortunately, I have relied upon the teamwork, expertise and contributions of amazing adults: rescue and animal welfare organizations, animal control workers, and shelter volunteers. All help guide and educate me in the best way possible to help save lives.

NSP: What's surprised you most about what following your passion has brought you?

LW: What surprised me most is understanding that one person can make a difference and beat the odds. My most favorite story is about two kids: Golfer Francis Ouimet and his 10-year-old caddy, Eddie Lowry. It's a story about bravery and courage and beating the odds when they are stacked against you. They went on to win the 1913 U.S. Open - that's incredible!

More personally, Kids Against Animal Cruelty is now a national movement and has assisted in saving thousands of lives. We have chapters in 15 states run by kids/teens. We are making a difference for shelter animals.

NSP: What are you most proud of?

LW: I am most proud of my 15 state chapter presidents. They are kids/teens who are dedicated and passionate about saving the lives of shelter animals in the states they represent. Also, I was recently appointed as the American Humane Association's National Youth Ambassador.

And I'm very proud that Kids Against Animal Cruelty is represented by organizations and companies that support and have faith in what we do: Subaru, ASPCA, The Humane Society of the U.S., Best Friends Animal Society Los Angeles, Pet Philanthropy Circle, Pilots and Paws, The Onyx and Breezy Foundation, and the American Humane Association.

NSP: Do you have anything to say to others about the value of following their own dreams? Any advice on to how get started?

LW: My advice is to always believe in yourself. I didn't realize until I stood on a street corner holding a sign for people to please adopt from a shelter, that one day I would be on CNN talking about how I got started. Always believe.

Lou can be reached at louwegner@yahoo.com and on Facebook at Kids Against Animal Cruelty. Website: www.kidsagainstanimalcruelty.org

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Lou Wegner: Kids Against Animal Cruelty - North State Parent magazine

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18-year-old actor and activist Lou Wegner is the founder of the national movement Kids Against Animal Cruelty. He currently lives and works in Southern California. NSP: What you are most passionate about? LW: I am most passionate about spreading awareness to my generation to be pet-responsible.

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Join Lou Wegner in the Remember Me Thursday® movement. Learn how to become involved in the global awareness pet adoption campaign now!

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Emma Watson is a British actress, model and activist. She rose to prominence through her role as Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter films. After the Harry Potter, movies Emma developed a passion for fashion, which was cemented when she was chosen as the new face of Burberry in 2009.

In 2010, Emma began studying at Brown University in the United States and spent her third university year at Worcester College at the University of Oxford. She graduated in May 2014 with a bachelor's degree in English Literature.

Dubbed the "Voice Of a Generation", in recent years, Emma has been a spokesperson on women's rights and other social issues. In 2014, she was appointed a UN Women Goodwill Ambassador and helped launch the UN Women campaign HeForShe, which advocates for gender equality. Since the launch of the HeForShe movement, Emma has participated in many events that have sought to promote women's rights and women's political participation. In January 2016, she started the feminist Goodreads book club, Our Shared Shelf, which aims to raise the topic of gender inequality by discussing scientific articles and books on the subject.

Emma joined One Young World as a Counsellor in 2016 and attended the Summit in Ottawa with ten young leaders who had won the One Young World Emma Watson Scholarship. This scholarship was for people who had shown positive activism and were leading change in gender equality through their own work and through leading positive change in this field.

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Emma Watson is a British actress, model and activist. She rose to prominence through her role as Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter films. After the Harry Potter, movies Emma developed a passion for fashion, which was cemented when she was chosen as the new face of Burberry in 2009.

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British actor Emma Watson was appointed UN Women Goodwill Ambassador in July 2014. The accomplished actor, humanitarian and recent graduate of Brown University will dedicate her efforts towards the empowerment of young women and will serve as an advocate for UN Women's HeForShe campaign in promoting gender equality.

At just 24 years of age, Emma has already been involved in the promotion of girls' education for several years and previously visited Bangladesh and Zambia as part of her humanitarian efforts. She has worked to promote fair trade and organic clothing and served as an ambassador for Camfed International, a movement to educate girls in rural Africa.

"Being asked to serve as UN Women's Goodwill Ambassador is truly humbling," said Emma. "The chance to make a real difference is not an opportunity that everyone is given and is one I have no intention of taking lightly. Women's rights are something so inextricably linked with who I am, so deeply personal and rooted in my life that I can't imagine an opportunity more exciting. I still have so much to learn, but as I progress I hope to bring more of my individual knowledge, experience and awareness to this role."

About Emma Watson

Emma is best known for her role as the iconic character of Hermione Granger in the globally successful "Harry Potter" films. Her performance in the first film of the series, "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone," won her a Young Artist Award for Best Leading Young Actor.

Since the completion of the eight-film series, Emma has shown her versatility as a performer with her first screen roles, including the 2011 Golden Globe-nominated "My Week with Marilyn" and the 2012 award-winning coming-of-age film "The Perks of Being a Wallflower," for which Emma picked up the People's Choice Award for Favorite Dramatic Movie Actor and Best Supporting Actor Award at the San Diego Film Critics Society Awards for her role.

Emma was most recently seen in "The Bling Ring," the apocalypse comedy "This is the End," and the epic biblical tale, "Noah." Her upcoming projects include "Regression" opposite Ethan Hawke and the film adaptation of "The Queen of the Tearling."

In 2012 Emma was honoured with the Calvin Klein Emerging Star Award at the ELLE Women in Hollywood Awards, and in 2013 she was awarded both the Trailblazer Award at the MTV Movie Awards and the GQ Woman of the Year Award.

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UN Women Goodwill Ambassador Emma Watson

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British actor Emma Watson was appointed UN Women Goodwill Ambassador in July 2014. The accomplished actor, humanitarian and recent graduate of Brown University will dedicate her efforts towards the empowerment of young women and will serve as an advocate for UN Women's HeForShe campaign in promoting gender equality.

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Every Girl Should Know This | EMMA WATSON | MOTIVATIONAL SPEECH | WINNER GIRLS

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First-year Miami activist campaigns against gun violence

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Peren Tiemann creates local change in Oxford by starting a gun control-advocacy group and encouraging voter registration.

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Young Activists Take Stand Against Gun Violence

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On Jan. 17, volunteer activists with Students Demand Action, a national gun violence prevention organization led by young voters and students of all ages, took a quick trip to Vegas. Few of the group were of age to gamble in the casinos or hit up any bars, but all were old enough to speak up for the safety of their peers to the people putting them directly in the line of fire. So that's what they did, asserting themselves as leaders of a digital activation and protest against gun lobbyists, manufacturers, and buyers attending the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF)'s annual trade show, known as the SHOT Show.

The students stood outside of the convention center, holding out QR code-pasted flyers with their own welcome for attendees of the "gun show." They marched with signs reading, "Guns are the #1 killer of kids and teens in America." They projected 50-foot messages on the sides of buildings - "While the gun industry parties, kids die." - and hoped drivers paid attention to the billboards projecting the same messages on the side of the convention causeways. The peaceful, and yet powerful, disruption guided viewers to a petition and list of 17 demands, outlining the safety, educational, and marketing issues informing the nation's growing gun crisis.

For the youth activists, this is all par for the course, another step on years-long journeys to feel safe in schools and public spaces as the country struggles with continued gun violence.

According to the Gun Violence Archive, less than a month into the new year, the nation already has witnessed 40 mass shootings, which the data-collecting organization defines as an event in which four or more individuals are shot, whether killed or injured. These instances of gun violence include the shooting of a first-grade teacher by her 6-year-old student and the devastating mass shootings in Los Angeles County and Monterey Park, California.

Founded in 2016, Students Demand Action is an offshoot of national organization Everytown for Gun Safety. It's one of many youth-led and youth-focused organizations that have spent years advocating for the protection of young lives from the threat of gun violence, including March For Our Lives, Team ENOUGH, and educational campaign Project Unloaded. Many of Student Demand Action's leaders started in the organization very young, middle schoolers entering their first year of high school already motivated to make change. Others joined later, working fervently to start club chapters at their own schools and colleges. Many volunteers help host on-the-ground protests or participate in the organization's Text Team, which offers peer-to-peer communication about gun policy and activism.

It's a uniquely generational movement, and one that activists hope will drive common sense gun reform that relieves the responsibility from future young organizers.

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But as 2023 grinds on, the burden of safety is still falling on these students, children in many senses of the word. Though it's easy to let their work be sidelined in the bad news media churn, thousands of youth activists will continue to organize their peers to demand change. Here's what just four of them have to say about their work and where the country is headed.

Ade Osadolor Hernandez, 21

Ade Osadolor Hernandez is a Students Demand Action National Advisory Board member and third-year student at the University of Chicago. She got involved in gun violence prevention during her sophomore year of high school after researching the prevalence of deaths by firearms. "I was just completely shocked by all the statistics that I saw and found myself feeling responsible for creating change, and for lifting up communities are most impacted by gun violence," she said.

To that end, Osadolor Hernandez sees the work of Students Demand Action as a community-building, mutual aid opportunity. "It's about uplifting other people's voices, especially children and young adults that are heavily impacted by gun violence, where gun violence informs parts of their daily lives," she told Mashable. This belief led her to participate in the organization's Summer Leadership Academy, which provides mentorship for local activists interested in becoming a part of the movement. "These kids are heavily affected by gun violence, and we teach them how to become community organizers. How to find their own voice."

Osadolor Hernandez wants the nation to understand that young activists in this space are still hopeful, they're still working to enact localized change, and they're balancing it with emotionally and physically demanding scheduling. "How is it being in school and doing all this work? It's a sense of responsibility. If I'm willing to create change and find ways to make America a safer space for everyone, then I'm also carrying the burden of the deaths of thousands of people that are dying from this gun violence crisis every day," she said. "During Las Vegas, I was literally waking up early in the morning to finish a physics preset and write an essay, and a couple hours later, I was putting up yard signs and getting responses from these SHOT Show attendees. While it can be hard at times to balance, I find it necessary."

She also wants to ensure the general public, and potential activists, understand that incremental change is necessary. "The movement is not a sprint, but a marathon. It takes a long time. There are small changes; sometimes it seems like just moving backwards, but we're not."

Avi Rubin, 18

Avi Rubin grew up in the Chicago area and is now a freshman at Arizona State University. He joined Students Demand Action in 2018, the summer between his eighth- and ninth-grade years, after he learned about the legal status of "ghost guns," or untraceable DIY firearms, in Illinois. The topic became an organizing anchor for him in his local activism, and it paid off when the state became the first in the Midwest to ban the clandestine weapons.

Rubin has volunteered for Students Demand Action as a virtual field office leader during the beginning of the pandemic, as a member of the organization's Text Team, and as a protest participant at events like the SHOT Show. In his eyes, the vitality of the movement relies on young people getting involved in areas close to them, physically and emotionally. "I think that it's important to take action from all different channels: online, in person, on the ground, on social media. It's important to have a multivariable approach," he said, and pointed to his home state as a positive example of local work. "Illinois just passed a major assault weapons ban. I'm really excited about that, and I think that that should be something that happens across the country with gun manufacturers - where they take the initiative."

And for those looking to support gun violence prevention in the new year, Rubin has some suggestions. "There's two very different, but very important things, that people can do. One of them is for gun owners to lock up their guns. Get good gun locks, because a lot of shootings can be prevented if guns are simply locked up and stored properly. A second really great thing for the public to do is to just know their laws, and know what they do."

He recommends people follow in his footsteps and join the movement online, text JOIN to the Students Demand Action information number at 64433 to sign up for SDA updates, and stay up-to-date on local laws using Everytown's gun law rankings website. "Make sure that the gun industry is held accountable for profiting off of people dying."

Peren Tiemann, 18

Peren Tiemann joined the gun violence prevention movement at the age of 14, motivated by a collective fear and anxiety following the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. "I've since learned that gun violence is so much more than mass school shootings. And to have this problem still be prevalent in our country is terrifying," they said.

Tiemann now runs a Students Demand Action chapter at their school, Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. "For me, this issue is part of my daily life. Every day, I wake up and think, 'OK, what am I going to do in my campus, or in my community, to work on gun violence?'" Tiemann sees a growing excitement in the movement, building off a social and legislative momentum which began last year. "It's not so much that something has changed within our movement, it's that we've proven that what we're doing works. Last summer, after the Uvalde shooting, when the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act was passed, that was proving that our years of work in this space are paying off," they said.

Continuing forward this year, Tiemann is really focused on addressing the marketing tactics used by the gun industry, and building self-awareness among young people who are targeted by these companies. "I think our next big thing is figuring out the most successful ways for students to engage with industry accountability," they explained. This is a nod to Students Demand Action's main strategy: Get more eyes on the insidious influence of the gun lobby and firearms industry. That's not just a single swing at manufacturing bigwigs or lawmakers, it's a multifaceted attack against the economic, political, and social factors that are still pushing guns into the hands of Americans. "This is not a one-segmented issue. We need to be addressing it from all sides."

Sari Kaufman, 20

Sari Kaufman is a survivor of the Parkland shooting, an Everytown and Students Demand Action organizer, and a junior at Yale, where she recently initiated the university's first SDA chapter. Kaufman was also involved in the planning for the SHOT Show activation, figuring out the best ways to effectively counter an event of that scale, how to empower young people to talk about industry profits and exploitation, and ways to engage the general public about their list of demands. "We definitely got some pushback," she said. "It was, in an odd way, a reaffirming fact that what we were doing was important. That they were seeing the signs and clearly had some issue with us raising awareness about the facts of the impact of gun violence."

Kaufman was motivated to join Students Demand Action after organizing with her fellow survivors through March For Our Lives. "This advocacy work is a way for me to cope with the tragedy that happened at my school, and it helps give me a purpose in my life," Kaufman reflected. She explained that creating connection with students across the country is a significant motivator for her continued activism. "That gives me a lot of hope and inspiration. I also think it gives me an emotional support network."

The 20-year-old Political Science major also explained that one part of the recent gun violence prevention movement is targeting the marketing tactics of gun sellers, including the way these powerful forces use social media influencers to normalize gun ownership. She says that this is a less known but potentially effective way to hold manufacturers accountable for gun violence, as they currently hide behind legal loopholes like the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA), which shields firearms manufacturers and dealers from liability when guns are used in crimes. "Even if PLCAA is not repealed, there is potential to still hold these gun manufacturers liable and raise awareness that these gun manufacturers are purposely advertising to specific people. That is a harmful practice that no business or industry should be doing, especially in an industry that sells deadly weapons."

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In 2023, Kaufman says she wants to build on the enthusiasm of students looking to attend community events on their college campuses, which she thinks prompts more engagement than digital means. She also hopes that youth voices gain more respect at a national level.

"It's amazing that young people from across the country are the ones leading this fight," she said. "I also think it sometimes creates a challenge, because older folks will look at it and think, 'Oh, they're young and naive.' That bothers me the most. Yeah, sure, we're young. But we are sophisticated in our thinking."

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Youth gun reform activists are still organizing. This is what they're fighting for in 2023.

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Following a year of increasing gun violence, youth activists are still leading the charge in gun violence prevention - and reflecting on the state of the movement.

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Emily-Anne Rigal, WeStopHate Founder - ABC Family & Seventeen Magazine's Delete Digital Drama Rally

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If you've been on YouTube, you know that you might find the funniest, cutest videos ever. You might see babies giggling and super-cute kittens being - what else? - super-cute.

But you also might find not-so-nice stuff there, too. Even on the sweet and funny videos, people sometimes leave rude or mean comments.

In her own little corner of YouTube, Emily-Anne Rigal won't put up with that. Her YouTube channel is called "We Stop Hate" and on it she welcomes videos from people who agree to these three simple rules:

1. Don't make fun of people who are different from you.

2. Think positive - not negative thoughts - about yourself.

3. Pick friends who make you happy, not stressed.

Middle school is an especially good time to start working on those goals, Emily-Anne said.

"The gossip that went on during middle school was outrageous," she said. "It was almost all we talked about! If I could go back to the beginning of middle school, I would have told myself to not stress about rumors and gossip as much."

Advice From YouTubers

Emily-Anne believes personal videos can help spread a positive message that everyone needs to hear. So far, more than 20 YouTubers have submitted videos to the channel. The list even includes a few celebrity videos from Disney stars Mitchel Musso and Monique Coleman.

The videos are a source of encouragement and advice from people who have learned a thing or two, even though most of them are still in high school. One teen boy said he thinks of teasing as negative energy that he can turn into positive energy. It's as simple as telling someone "I like your hair" or "nice shoes."

"The next time someone makes fun of you, turn right around and give someone a compliment," he said in his video. "Make someone else's day."

"Be who you are," advised Strawburry17. "That's how you make the friends you want to keep."

Ninth grader Emma, also known as "Funny With Freckles," says she wears her We Stop Hate bracelet to school every day.

It reminds me that it's OK to be different ... it's OK to just be you," she said in her video. "I always look at it and it reminds me that I shouldn't let the little stuff bother me."

Oceangela said she uses the bracelet to challenge herself. She tries not to think negative things about herself or other people. If she fails, she moves the bracelet from one wrist to the other wrist. When she goes 21 days without having to move it, she celebrates.

"Once you get in the habit, you won't even need the bracelet anymore," Oceangela said.

Now she's using the bracelet challenge to ensure that she gets exercise or at least spends time outside every single day. "You need to be good to yourself," she said.

Emily-Anne agrees and said that she's happiest when she's doing stuff she truly enjoys and not worrying so much about what everyone else thinks. She spends a lot of her time making videos of all sorts and would like to have her own TV show. She even has a YouTube stage name: Schmiddlebopper.

At 14, she began hosting a weekly radio segment, "Teens Going Green," at a local station. She's also president of the group at her high school that does the daily TV news announcements. And she was just honored with an award at the Allykatzz.com Tween Summit for starting We Stop Hate. If that's not enough, she just built her own website.

True accomplishments - like getting an A, learning to cook, or making a sports team - can definitely boost your self-esteem. But Emily-Anne thinks we all need a few cheerleaders, too.

"After giving something your all, the feeling of success and accomplishment is one of the best feelings in the world," she said. "Nevertheless, sometimes knowing another person believes in you can help give you a needed confidence boost."

Note: All information is for educational purposes only. For specific medical advice, diagnoses, and treatment, consult your doctor.

© 1995-2023 KidsHealth ® All rights reserved. Images provided by iStock, Getty Images, Corbis, Veer, Science Photo Library, Science Source Images, Shutterstock, and Clipart.com

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If you've been on YouTube, you know that you might find the funniest, cutest videos ever. You might see babies giggling and super-cute kittens being - what else? - super-cute. But you also might find not-so-nice stuff there, too. Even on the sweet and funny videos, people sometimes leave rude or mean comments.

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Emily-Anne Rigal was recently ranked as one of Newsweek 's 150 Most Fearless Women in the World. She's received the Presidential Volunteer Service Award from President Obama. And Lady Gaga has called the 19-year old her hero.

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So, what is the college student doing that's making such a splash?

Rigal is the founder of We Stop Hate, nonprofit dedicated to ending bullying by raising teens' self-esteem. Through posts on YouTube and other social media channels, the site gives bullying victims from all corners of the world a chance to open up about their experiences in a judgment-free zone.

In honor of National Bullying Prevention Month, we spoke with Rigal about her efforts fighting back against bullying and starting an organization at age 16.

What was your motivation to found We Stop Hate?

When I was in elementary school, I was bullied so badly that I had to switch schools. At my new school, I developed a new group of friends who became an amazing source of encouragement. The happier and more supported I felt, the more I wanted to help others feel that same way. So I started posting videos on YouTube to stand up for other kids who were bullied to give all of us a voice and provide a source of support.

You started the organization when you were just in high school-which couldn't have been easy! What were the greatest obstacles you faced?

The biggest challenge that I faced was not having a road map of what to do next and having to figure it all out along the way. The two things I knew when I started We Stop Hate was that I loved YouTube as a medium and that I had a real passion for spreading this message, since it was so personal to me.

I remember thinking, "Can I start this organization? I'm only 16!" Now, seeing what has happened and what the organization has grown into has been amazing.

We all know bullying doesn't necessarily stop after finishing school. What advice do you have for professionals who may be dealing with bullying in the workplace?

First, you have to realize that bullies have their own issues, insecurities, and agendas. What they say is not what matters, it's how you interpret and react to the situation. Having a small group of co-workers who are supportive and can help you keep focused on the work is important.

What is your top tip for people who are having a tough time at work to boost their confidence back up?

Do esteemable acts! Whether it's complimenting someone or making a small gesture that can boost another person's confidence, it will in return change how you are feeling about yourself for the better!

How can others help you on your mission with We Stop Hate?

I am really excited for the next phase of We Stop Hate, in which we are taking We Stop Hate into schools and starting Anti-Bullying Clubs so that kids can have that in-person support.

We also just kicked off a partnership with The Body Shop Foundation whereby proceeds from the sale of the company's Dragon Fruit Lip Butter will go to three nonprofit organizations-one of which being We Stop Hate. The organization with the most votes gets the largest amount of proceeds, so we have our fingers crossed! To vote, visit The Body Shop on Facebook.

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Emily-Anne Rigal: The 19-Year-Old Who's Banishing Bullying

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Ranked as one of Newsweek's "150 Most Fearless Women in the World," Emily-Anne Rigal is taking a stand against bullying.

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"HAHA I know, right," said his friend laughing too. "I heard that the new kid, Alex Libby has Asperger's," said someone on the bus laughing ridiculously.

Alex, a young boy who lived in Iowa city, got on the yellow bus cheerlessly every morning with his heavy books and a bag. People would stare at him and gossip about how he looked and how he has no friends. Why is this so hard I can't make any friends at all Alex thought sadly in his math class. He was slacking off in all of his classes because no one wanted to talk or be anywhere near him.

One day someone started poking him and punching him. Every day it got worse and worse. People would start choking and strangling him. People even threatened to kill him and break his bones.

He didn't want to say or do anything because he just wanted one friend in his new school, Edlin Oklahoma Middle school in Iowa city. Until one day Lee Hirsch, a high school student who rode on the same bus and saw the bullying, asked Alex if he would like to star in a documentary about bullying.

Lee Hirsch began filming the documentary about bullying and included five other people who were getting bullied as well as Alex.

After the documentary was published on the internet and people all over the world watched it, classmates from Alex's classes started talking to him. People realised that Alex was a nice and funny guy and started to feel differently about him. He now has lots of friends because of the documentary, 'Bully'.

People in Alex's school started being nicer to Alex and that made Alex feel happy and he felt much better about himself.

After that, Alex came to school every day with a smile on his face. Every morning he had someone to talk to on the bus. He was becoming much more confident day after day and he started talking to many more people in his classes.

The sadness has gone away and happiness came flashing by him. Slowly Alex grows tougher every day with friends and family beside him.

Now Alex talks to people who are getting bullied and helps them get through what he was going through. "If people are trying to bring you down it only means you are above them," Alex said. Now the world hears the voice of this young teenage boy from Iowa city and listens.

Authors note:

Alex got bullied until the end of Middle School, in eighth grade. He had no friends until the documentary that Lee Hirsch made about bullying. At Edlin Oklahoma Middle school, people were bullied because of theirs looks and how popular they were. Now Alex Libby is known all around the world. He even appeared on national T.V and he also went to visit the white house. He also meets many celebrities in the world like Victoria Justice.

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Sweet-natured Iowan teen Alex Libby checks back in with Indie Lens on his life after appearing in the film Bully.

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IT BEGINS WITH ONE. Hi, my name is Kerri Abney. I am hoping to be able to begin an early prevention program for ages 3-5. Studies show that children between 3-5 are most impressionable, and this age sets the foundation of how we will interact with people in general as we grow. Many parents and teachers have thought to introduce such things as a second language, due to younger age... Read more

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The BULLY Project is the social action campaign inspired by the award-winning film BULLY. We've sparked a national movement to stop bullying that is transforming kids' lives and changing a culture of bullying into one of empathy and action.

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I Am Jazz spoilers show Jazz Jennings creates an anti-bullying day camp for youth. She plans for this camp to be a place where LGBTQ youth and their peers can come together. Jazz Jennings says she knows all about being bullied. So, she can relate to kids who are dealing with the same issue. However, her hopes is to teach youth how to have confidence and not care what others think. Tonight's episode on TLC shows more on the "Jazz Hands Camp".

I Am Jazz: Jennings Encourages Kids To Be Themselves

Jazz Jennings says she enjoys being able to talk to LGBTQ youth on various topics. Given her public status she has been able to reach out to young children and offer advice. She attended numerous social events where she talks about her her personal experiences being transgender. The Florida teen has been a part of the transgender community for a very long time. However, she wants to be able to also help children who aren't transgender.

I Am Jazz spoilers reveal Jazz believes it is very important for kids to be taught to be themselves and not care so much what others think. She realizes that the experiences that children go through at a young age influence their development. The transgender teen wants to be able to teach kids these lessons "before they face these hardships".

.@JazzJennings__ wants to create an entire anti-bullying day for young kids, but is she ready to organize an entire camp? See how Jazz Hands Camp turns out on a new #IAmJazz TONIGHT at 9/8c! pic.twitter.com/y2uCPWBr0y

- TLC Network (@TLC) March 12, 2019

Jazz Jennings Wants to Work in Youth Advocacy

Jeanette Jennings has always been her daughter's biggest supporter on the TLC show and in life. She loves how her daughter is working to be an advocate for youth. The transgender teen has been through a lot in life. So, her mom thinks she can share with younger kids that may be going through the same things she did. Jazz Jennings's mom sees her daughter as paving the way for future transgender youth.

I Am Jazz spoilers show Jeanette believes that this anti-bullying camp will be a great way for her daughter to expand her advocacy efforts. The transgender teenager knows a lot about what it feels like to be bullied. So, it is perfect venue for her to talk to kids about the subject as she can relate to them.

Anti-Bullying Day Camp Allows Youth To Escape

I Am Jazz spoilers report Jeanette asking Jazz Jennings "what are you going to do?" The Florida teen doesn't want to create a support group. Because she doesn't think that is enough. So, she wants to create an escape for kids. It will be a full day of fun activities. She adds it's "a day where these kids can come together". That's the goal of the Jazz Hands Camp.

The transgender role model doesn't want her anti-bullying day camp to just be for youth in the LGBTQ community though. She wants it to be a day where LGBTQ allies and peers are welcomed. A camp where everyone feels like they belong and everyone can come together.

Find out if the camp is a success on a new episode this week on TLC.

Want more I Am Jazz? Check out Soap Dirt daily for all the latest news and spoilers.

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'I Am Jazz' Spoilers: Jazz Jennings Creates Anti-Bullying Day Camp For Youth - LGBTQ and Allies Welcome

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I Am Jazz spoilers reveal Jazz Jennings wants to create an anti-bullying day camp for youth. A day for LGBTQ youth and their peers.

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Transgender at 11: Listening to Jazz Jennings | 20/20 | ABC News

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Brief Intro

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Civil Rights - School Desegregation

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Sylvia Mendez - 2018  National Hispanic Hero Award

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Reader's Theater

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Sylvia Mendez is the daughter of Gonzalo Mendez, a Mexican immigrant and
Felicitas Mendez, a Puerto Rican immigrant, who fought so that Sylvia could
have an equal education through the landmark court case battle of Mendez v.
Westminster, et al.

In 1943, students of Mexican decent were required to enroll in separate schools
from Caucasian children. When Sylvia was in third grade, she and her siblings
were denied admission to the segregated, "white school" near their Orange
County home. The Mendez family fought back. Their 1947 victory desegregated
public schools in California and became an example for broader decisions, such
as the Brown v Board of education.

Sylvia Mendez's sole intent is to convey the importance of obtaining an education
by encouraging students to stay in
school and continue their education.
Sylvia is available to speak at schools
and other educational forums to
educate others regarding her parents
fight for desegregation of schools in
California.

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Sylvia Mendez is the daughter of Gonzalo Mendez, a Mexican immigrant and Felicitas Mendez, a Puerto Rican immigrant, who fought so that Sylvia could have an equal education through the landmark court case battle of Mendez v. Westminster, et al. In 1943, students of Mexican decent were required to enroll in separate schools from Caucasian children.

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Medal of Freedom Award

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Sylvia Mendez Receives Presidential Medal of Freedom

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Moments in Black History: Claudette Colvin

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Water protector Autumn Peltier speaks at UN

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UN Speech

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Autumn Peltier, 13-year-old water advocate, addresses UN

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North American Association for Environmental Education

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NAAEE's influence stretches across North America and around the world, with members in more than 30 countries. NAAEE and its 56 state, provincial, and regional Affiliate organizations in the United States, Canada, and Mexico have more than 20K members across business, government, higher education, formal and nonformal education, early childhood education, science education and STEM, and other sectors of society.
NAAEE Celebrates 50 Years

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About | North American Association for Environmental Education

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NAAEE's influence stretches across North America and around the world, with members in more than 30 countries. NAAEE and its 56 state, provincial, and regional Affiliate organizations in the United States, Canada, and Mexico have more than 20K members across business, government, higher education, formal and nonformal education, early childhood education, science education and STEM, and other sectors of society.

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Civil Rights Movement

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Few people know the story of Claudette Colvin: When she was 15, she refused to move to the back of the bus and give up her seat to a white person - nine months before Rosa Parks did the very same thing.

Most people know about Parks and the Montgomery, Ala., bus boycott that began in 1955, but few know that there were a number of women who refused to give up their seats on the same bus system. Most of the women were quietly fined, and no one heard much more.

Colvin was the first to really challenge the law.

Now a 69-year-old retiree, Colvin lives in the Bronx. She remembers taking the bus home from high school on March 2, 1955, as clear as if it were yesterday.

The bus driver ordered her to get up and she refused, saying she'd paid her fare and it was her constitutional right. Two police officers put her in handcuffs and arrested her. Her school books went flying off her lap.

"All I remember is that I was not going to walk off the bus voluntarily," Colvin says.

It was Negro history month, and at her segregated school they had been studying black leaders like Harriet Tubman, the runaway slave who led more than 70 slaves to freedom through the network of safe houses known as the Underground Railroad. They were also studying about Sojourner Truth, a former slave who became an abolitionist and women's rights activist.

The class had also been talking about the injustices they were experiencing daily under the Jim Crow segregation laws, like not being able to eat at a lunch counter.

"We couldn't try on clothes," Colvin says. "You had to take a brown paper bag and draw a diagram of your foot ... and take it to the store. Can you imagine all of that in my mind? My head was just too full of black history, you know, the oppression that we went through. It felt like Sojourner Truth was on one side pushing me down, and Harriet Tubman was on the other side of me pushing me down. I couldn't get up."

Colvin also remembers the moment the jail door closed. It was just like a Western movie, she says.

"And then I got scared, and panic come over me, and I started crying. Then I started saying the Lord's Prayer," she says.
'Twice Toward Justice'
Now her story is the subject of a new book, Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice.

Author Phil Hoose says that despite a few articles about her in the Birmingham press and in USA Today, and brief mentions in some books about the civil rights movement, most people don't know about the role Colvin played in the bus boycotts.

Hoose couldn't get over that there was this teenager, nine months before Rosa Parks, "in the same city, in the same bus system, with very tough consequences, hauled off the bus, handcuffed, jailed and nobody really knew about it."

He also believes Colvin is important because she challenged the law in court, one of four women plaintiffs in Browder v. Gayle, the court case that successfully overturned bus segregation laws in Montgomery and Alabama.

There are many reasons why Claudette Colvin has been pretty much forgotten. She hardly ever told her story when she moved to New York City. In her new community, hardly anyone was talking about integration; instead, most people were talking about black enterprises, black power and Malcolm X.

When asked why she is little known and why everyone thinks only of Rosa Parks, Colvin says the NAACP and all the other black organizations felt Parks would be a good icon because "she was an adult. They didn't think teenagers would be reliable."

She also says Parks had the right hair and the right look.

"Her skin texture was the kind that people associate with the middle class," says Colvin. "She fit that profile."

David Garrow, a historian and the author of Bearing the Cross: Martin Luther King Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, says people may think that Parks' action was spontaneous, but black civic leaders had been thinking about what to do about the Montgomery buses for years.

After Colvin's arrest, she found herself shunned by parts of her community. She experienced various difficulties and became pregnant. Civil rights leaders felt she was an inappropriate symbol for a test case.

Parks was the secretary of the NAACP. She was well-known and respected and, says Garrow, Parks had a "natural gravitas" and was an "inherently impressive person."

At the same time, Garrow believes attention to Colvin is a healthy corrective, because "the real reality of the movement was often young people and often more than 50 percent women." The images you most often see are men in suits.

Hoose says he believes Colvin understands the pragmatism that pushed Parks to the fore, but "on the other hand, she did it."

Hoose says the stories of Parks and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. are wonderful, but those are the stories of people in their 30s and 40s. Colvin was 15. Hoose feels his book will bring a fresh teen's perspective to the struggle to end segregation.

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Before Rosa Parks, There Was Claudette Colvin

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Most people know about Rosa Parks and the 1955 Montgomery, Ala., bus boycott. Nine months earlier, 15-year-old Claudette Colvin refused to give up her seat on the same bus system.

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Reader's Theater

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The Other Rosa Parks: Now 73, Claudette Colvin Was First to Refuse Giving Up Seat on Montgomery Bus

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DEAFENING SILENCE

She led protesters in six minutes and 20 seconds of silence, the time it took Nikolas Cruz to murder 17 students and staff

FLORIDA school shooting survivor shamed America's gun lobby with a powerful silent speech at the March For Our Lives protest.

She also hit out at Donald Trump after 17 of her classmates and teachers were murdered on St Valentine's Day. Here's her story.

Who is Emma Gonzalez?

Emma, 18, is a student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas high School in Parkland, Florida.

She was born in the US, the daughter of a lawyer who fled Fidel Castro's Cuba in 1968.

Emma describes herself as "Cuban and bisexual" in an essay for Harpers Bazaar magazine in February.

She wrote: "I'm so indecisive that I can't pick a favourite colour, and I'm allergic to 12 things. I draw, paint, crochet, sew, embroider-anything productive I can do with my hands while watching Netflix.

"But none of this matters any more."

Emma was one of the survivors when an ex-pupil rampaged through her school with a legal AR-15 rifle, killing 14 teenagers and three adults.

She hid in a dark room and checked her phone for news, then comforted other kids until emergency crews arrived.

In the days after the massacre, Emma hit the headlines with a fiery speech demanding stricter gun control.

She criticised politicians who have accepted millions in campaign donations from the National Rifle Association.

Emma told a crowd of protesters in Florida: "To every politician taking donations from the NRA, shame on you.

"They say guns are just tools like knives and are as dangerous as cars. We call BS."

She also singled out Mr Trump, whose election campaign was reportedly boosted by more than £20million from the NRA.

She said: "Is that how much these people are worth to you, Trump?"

What did Emma Gonzalez say at the March For Our Lives?

On March 24, Emma was invited to speak at the March For Our Lives rally in Washington DC.

Half a million people marched in cities across the world demanding an end to gun violence.

Emma began her speech - screened live on national television - by listing the names of the 17 people killed at her school.

She then went silent for six minutes and 20 seconds, the time it took for Nikolas Cruz to carry out his murder spree.

It was hailed as "the loudest silence in the history of US social protest".

Another survivor who spoke at the rally was Samantha Fuentes, who was shot in both legs and had shrapnel in the face.

She vomited behind the lectern, then said: "I just threw up on international television, and it feels great!"

What did Kanye West say about Emma Gonzalez and why did she snub him?

On April 28, Kanye West sent a tweet praising Emma as "My hero".

He also posted a picture of his shaved head, which he said was "inspired by Emma".

She did not reply to the rap superstar, but instead tweeted: "My hero James Shaw Jr", with a picture of the diner who disarmed a gunman at a Waffle House in Tennessee.

Kanye has recently sent a series of bizarre tweets calling Donald Trump "my brother" and was pictured wearing a Make America Great Again baseball cap from Trump's campaign.
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All about massacre survivor Emma Gonzalez and her powerful gun control speech

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DEAFENING SILENCE She led protesters in six minutes and 20 seconds of silence, the time it took Nikolas Cruz to murder 17 students and staff FLORIDA school shooting survivor shamed America's gun lobby with a powerful silent speech at the March For Our Lives protest.

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Parkland Survivor Emma Gonzalez Is Mobilizing Young Voters | All In | MSNBC

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Parkland Student Activists Talk Gun Control

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Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.

Outside the United Nations headquarters in New York, a group of about 25 students braced themselves against strong winds from Hurricane Dorian on Friday. Ranging in age from elementary to college students, they held signs that read "As the oceans rise, so will we" and "GREED KILLS," and chanted, "We are unstoppable, a better world is possible."

These student-led strikes have been going on in New York every Friday for 39 weeks and are known as Fridays for Future. This week's protest featured Greta Thunberg, the Swedish climate activist who began the school climate strike movement which gained traction worldwide.

"We shouldn't be talking about 'believing' in the climate crisis," Thunberg said during the rally that followed the students' quiet protest. "Either you understand and accept the science, or you don't. As long as we keep talking about believing, or thinking climate change is real, then it's seen as something you choose to believe in, and then it gets turned into an opinion. And if it's an opinion, it can be debated."

Alexandria Villaseñor, the 14-year-old climate activist who organizes the weekly, student-led strikes in New York known as Fridays for Future, said that she wants to see world leaders reduce greenhouse gas emissions globally. The eighth-grader was present for about half of Wednesday's town hall. "I think any potential world leader needs to really realize what's at stake here and has to realize that they have to stand up for our generation, or else my generation will continue to demand that they do," she said.

The students have wide-ranging visions of an environmentally sustainable future, but they have identified three specific demands that they want to see enacted in New York. Sixteen-year-old Olivia Wohlgemuth read the demands: no more fossil fuels, a just transition to 100 percent renewable energy by 2030, and holding polluters accountable.

On Sept. 20, the students are planning a citywide strike beginning at 12 p.m. at New York's Foley Square and culminating in a rally in Battery Park at 3 p.m.

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This entire week has been incredibly depressing. But then today in New York I saw something amazing.

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Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters. Outside the United Nations headquarters in New York, a group of about 25 students braced themselves against strong winds from Hurricane Dorian on Friday.

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TED Talk

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The disarming case to act right now on climate change | Greta Thunberg

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The TED community is brimming with new projects and updates. Below, a few highlights. Malaria vaccine begins wide-scale testing in Malawi. RTS,S - the only malaria vaccine to successfully pass clinical trials - will be made available to 360,000 children in Kenya, Malawi and Ghana in the first round of implementation testing. Immunologist Faith Osier [...]

Continue reading

TED2019 may be past, but the TED community is busy as ever. Below, a few highlights. Amplifying 2 million women across the U.S. Activist Ai-jen Poo, Black Lives Matter co-founder Alicia Garza and Planned Parenthood past president Cecile Richards have joined forces to launch Supermajority, which aims to train 2 million women in the United [...]

Continue reading

The TED community is brimming with new projects and ideas. Below, a few highlights. Youth climate change protests kick off across the world. Students from 112 countries skipped school in mid-March to join climate activist Greta Thunberg's School Strike for Climate demanding government action on climate change. The global event was part of the Fridays [...]

Continue reading

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The TED community is brimming with new projects and updates. Below, a few highlights. Malaria vaccine begins wide-scale testing in Malawi. RTS,S - the only malaria vaccine to successfully pass clinical trials - will be made available to 360,000 children in Kenya, Malawi and Ghana in the first round of implementation testing.

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Alex Lin was a boy who was just reading the newspaper one day. He read an article about something called e-waste. He learned that it is the waste generated as people upgrade electronic devices. When people are done with things like computers, phones, mp3 players, etc. and throw them away, that's e-waste. He also learned that e-waste is dangerous to the environment. Yet this was not something that was not widely known. Alex decided to do something about it.

To help stop e-waste, Alex got help from his community service group, the Westerly Innovations Network (WIN). WIN spread the message about e-waste and gave people a chance to recycling and refurbish it instead. Before long, Alex and WIN were saving thousands of pounds of e-waste from being thrown away! They helped recycle e-waste and refurbish computers to donate to those in need in America and in other countries. Alex and WIN are helping save the environment, one old computer at a time! This video tells all about Alex's great efforts.

Additional Resources:

Here is an article about Alex and his efforts.

Here is an interview with Alex.

Click here for more InspireMyKids stories about the environment.

Find great books in our store, like Acting for Nature, about how children can help the environment.

This video is about recycling e-waste.

Topics for Discussion:

Think about all the electronics families have. How often do they get replaced? Where do the electronics go after the family is done with them?

One of Alex's inspirations is the quote "Brick walls are there for a reason. They give us a chance to show how badly we want something." Are there any "brick walls" in your life that you can get past if you just work harder on them?

Take Action:

Talk to family and friends about the danger of e-waste and tell them to recycle their old electronics!

Check out the Environmental Protection Agency website for information about how you can help recycle e-waste!

Teacher Features:

Here is a link to a Critical Reading Skills worksheet that you can use for elementary school students.

Here is a link to a Critical Reading Skills worksheet that you can use for middle school students.

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Alex Lin - Turning E-Waste Into E-Treasure - InspireMyKids

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Alex Lin was a boy who was just reading the newspaper one day. He read an article about something called e-waste. He learned that it is the waste generated as people upgrade electronic devices. When people are done with things like computers, phones, mp3 players, etc. and throw them away, that's e-waste.

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Craig Kielburger is a social entrepreneur and the co-founder of a family of organizations dedicated to the power of WE, a movement of people coming together to change the world. Along with his brother Marc Kielburger, Craig co-founded WE Charity, which provides a holistic development model called WE Villages, helping to lift more than one million people out of poverty in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Back at home in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, WE Schools and WE Day provide comprehensive service learning programs to 18,000 schools, engaging 3.5 million young change-makers. Lastly, he is the co-founder of ME to WE, a pioneering social enterprise, the profits from which help sustain the work of his charitable organization. His work has been featured on the Oprah Winfrey Show, 60 Minutes and the BBC.Craig is the youngest ever graduate from the Kellogg-Schulich Executive MBA program. He has also received 15 honorary doctorates and degrees for his work in the fields of education and human rights. Craig is a New York Times bestselling author, who has published 12 books, as well as a nationally syndicated columnist. Craig has received The Order of Canada, the Nelson Mandela Freedom Medal and the World Children's Prize. He was recently voted by Canadians as one of Canada's top most trusted influencers in a Readers Digest poll, and along with his brother Marc, he was named Canada's Most Admired CEO in the public sector.

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Craig Kielburger, Humanitarian & Co-Founder | WE.org

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Craig Kielburger is a social entrepreneur and the co-founder of a family of organizations dedicated to the power of WE, a movement of people coming together to change the world. Along with his brother Marc Kielburger, Craig co-founded WE Charity, which provides a holistic development model called WE Villages, helping to lift more than one million people out of poverty in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

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Craig Kielburger - Child Labor

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At 4 years of age Iqbal was sold by his father into bonded labour in a Pakistani carpet Factory in Punjab, in order to get his family a loan to pay for the wedding of Iqbal's oldest brother.

The debt incurred by the loan required that Iqbal weave carpets 12 hours a day, receiving one rupee for a full days work. However, due to the exorbitant interest of the loan, the loan just got bigger and bigger.

After he turned 10, Iqbal heard a speaker from the Bonded Labour Liberation Front (BLLF), a Pakistani community-based organization dedicated to freeing children from such child slavery. Iqbal obtained a copy of their Charter of Freedom, a pamphlet about the rights of children. Iqbal used this to get free. From that moment, he became an active campaigner against child slavery.

On 16 April 1995, at the age of 12, he was shot dead by the carpet mafia while cycling with his cousin in a village field.

DETAILS ABOUT IQBAL'S STORY
Iqbal is sold
In 1982 a baby boy was born to Inayat Bibi and Saif Masih. They named him Iqbal Masih. Sometime after Iqbal's birth, Saif Masih deserted the family. While Iqbal's mother worked, his older sisters took care of him and his older siblings. Iqbal did not go to school. Education was not compulsory or widely available in Pakistan. Very few poor children learnt to read and write. He spent his earliest years playing in the fields until he was ready to help his family by going to work.

By 1986 an older son of Saif Masih was about to get married. The celebration would include feasting and processions. Weddings are very important to the people of Pakistan. Wedding celebrations are often held even if a person is short of money or out of work. Saif Masih was no exception. He knew that as father of the groom, he had to pay for part of the festivities, even though he had deserted his family.

Like most impoverished child slaves, Saif had never been able to save much. No bank would give him a loan. He could not apply to the government for aid because there were few programs to help poor people. People such as Iqbal's father are forced to turn to local moneylenders, local employers, or landlords to get the money they need. In Muridke, many poor people simply borrow from a local thekedar, an employer who owns a nearby carpet factory. In return for the loan, the employer expects collateral, a guarantee of something of value to secure the loan. Said Masih's only valuable possessions were his children. Saif asked Iqbal's uncle to contact the thekedar. The thekedar was willing, probably only too happy, to lend Saif money. In return, one of Saif's children would go to work in this fast-growing business. Iqbal, a scrappy four-year-old, was considered ready to work. The uncle borrowed 600 rupees (approximately $12) from the contractor. Little Iqbal would weave carpets until all the money, including an undisclosed amount of interest and expenses, was paid back. This transaction is called a paishgee, a loan, and it ended Iqbal's childhood forever. From that day forward, Iqbal became a "debt-bonded slave."
Inhumane conditions
Iqbal's job at the carpet factory was essentially no different from that of millions of other young people who work day and night to help their families. At four o'clock in the morning, he was picked up by the thekedar and driven to the factory where he was to work for the next six years of his life. He was put in an airless room, big enough for about twenty looms. A small, bare light bulb gave out little light. It was sticky and hot inside the room because all the windows were sealed tight to keep out any insects that might damage the wool.

Iqbal took his place in front of a large wooden carpet loom. He was to squat on a small rutted wood platform. In some factories children sit on cushions. Other factories have trenches dug into the floor to hold the looms in place. The weavers sit on a plank with their legs dangling into a trench. These trenches also provide sleeping places for the children who work far from their families. Large balls of coloured wool were hung because of the gorgeous flowers, majestic trees, exotic birds, and sophisticated geometric designs woven in the carpets. The ustaad, teacher, explained the process called "knotting".

When Iqbal completed his work as an apprentice, he was then ready to weave carpets. He worked beside twenty other boys. His earnings amounted to one rupee a day (two cents), even though he worked from four o'clock in the morning until seven in the evening. The children in the shop were not allowed to speak to one another. "If the children spoke, they were not giving the complete attention to the product and were liable to make errors," Iqbal later told journalists. Many other freed child slaves told similar stories.

Lint and fluff floated in the air. Iqbal would breathe it in and cough it out. Sweat poured down Iqbal's face as he leaned close to the loom. The thekedar screamed, "Don't soil the wool!" At night he was driven back to his family. He was too tired to play his favourite sport, cricket. "I didn't have time to play ball," he explained later. It didn't take long for the bounce to fade from Iqbal's walk.

Iqbal and his fellow weavers were warned never to leave the factory during work hours. "If we tried to escape, we were threatened with being thrown in boiling oil," he said. "If we were too slow, we often got lashed on our backs and heads." Concentration was crucial. Mistaking a single knot led to fines or beatings. Daydreaming could have serious consequences. The sharp, crescent-shaped weavers' tool would slip and nick his fingers. This happened many times.

Once, when Iqbal was so exhausted he began to doze off, the sharp knife slid, digging into the flesh of his forefinger. "Hold your hand up!" the thekedar shouted. "Don't let the blood drip!" The carpet master did not want Iqbal's blood to stain the precious wool thread. To stop the bleeding, the carpet master dripped hot oil onto the wound. The oil, used to seal the wound, stung horribly and Iqbal screamed. His screams were answered with a slap on the head and an order to get back to work.

Every afternoon the child slaves were given a half-hour lunch break. Iqbal said, "We were kept hungry." The thekedar provided the youngsters a small portion of rice and lentils. Sometimes there would be a few other vegetables added to the meal. The cost of this simple meal was immediately added to the children's paishgee, increasing their debt.

The cramped, overheated conditions inside such factories often lead to disease. Weavers inhaling thousands of tiny wool fibres can get emphysema or tuberculosis. Many suffer from scabies and skin ulcers because of the "constant exposure to wool". More often than not, their posture is bowed because they are forced to squat on the wooden platform for long hours. Their hands ache with carpal tunnel syndrome and arthritis.

Iqbal said, "We weren't allowed many days off. Even sick children were not allowed to rest." If a child weaver complained that he was too sick to work, the chowkidar locked him in a dark closet known as the punishment room. "they also hung children upside down until they became sicker. Children were beaten," said Iqbal.

Although most bonded children are docile and obedient, they are are not afraid to talk back. These children are often hit, chained to their looms, or locked in dark, musty closets. Iqbal would often talk back. He was beaten more often than the other children because, time and time again, he defied the master. He spoke up when he thought something was not right. "Sometimes I was fined." In a way, the fines were worse than the beatings. They raised Iqbal's debt higher and higher. Instead of paying off his bondage, he was increasing the time it would take to earn his freedom.

In factories similar to the one where Iqbal worked, children are battered for all kinds of reasons. One young boy was not a good weaver, and the chowkidar constantly hit him with a stick. A researcher reports, "Once, after he made a terrible mistake, the foreman took a shearing knife and made a deep cut between Salim's thumb and index finger. The boy was so terrified of the foreman that he did not dare raise complaint."

MILLIONS OF CHILD SLAVES

In Pakistan, children are forced to work in brick kilns, agriculture, carpet factories, restaurants, and factories manufacturing all kinds of goods from furniture, and sports goods, to surgical equipment. They also work as domestic labourers, where they are often exposed to mental and physical abuse and separated from their parents, being kept in a state of virtual imprisonment.

Brick Kiln workers in Pakistan are a clear example of slave child labour. Bricks are produced in Pakistan in manual and industrial processes. Brick factory owners get their supplies of labour force from Zamadars, labour supply agents who hold labourers as prisoners while the factory needs their services.

Slaves are bonded to the owners through a system of advanced payments (paishgee) whose interest rates are so high that workers can never repay them fully. Their children and wives are then forced to take responsibility for the debt. That creates a pool of bonded or slave child labourers who are tied to the owners of the brick making factories for life, being unable to escape their "obligation." Workers and their children are traded from one owner to another. Some workers are sold more than 10 times. Wives of the workers are also bonded labourers; they are mostly exploited, both physically and sexually.

No education or medical facilities are available for these children. Escape is not possible due to the close associations between the owners and the local police force. About 60 percent of the children start work below the age of 13. The mortality rates among children are high and they suffer from blindness due to the presence of high degrees of lead in the mud. Blindness among older workers is around 15 to 20 percent. Owners insist that the children work unless they have to look after younger siblings. Mental torture for these children is horrific. They live in fear, witness physical violence meted out against their parents. Their reactions are different from normal children, according to Mrs. Asma Jehangir, a human rights advocate in Pakistan, "They do not surround a car or a vehicle entering the kiln premises but run away in fear."

Although women are an integral part of the labour force they do not receive any separate wages. Marriages of young girls are not encouraged. The labour-suppliers run prostitution dens and supply women to the owners. Several incidents were reported where widows and abandoned women were sold to recover outstanding debts of the workers.

Illiterate workers are unable to verify their outstanding debts. As a result they, along with their children, will be slaves for the rest of their lives.

Feudalism is very strong in Pakistan because in history since the country independence most of Pakistan's parliamentarians and ministers have come from the feudal class lords of Pakistani society. They hold thousands of hectares of lands for which they have never paid for. The feudal lords and politicians are not required to pay tax and have borrowed billions of rupees from banks that they have not paid back. Some of the prominent members of this class save their black money in bank accounts in Switzerland and other countries. Due to these economic practices, Pakistan's foreign debts exceed 38.8 billion dollars.

In 1967 the Bonded Labour Liberation Front of Pakistan (BLLF) began its campaign to both free the brick kiln bonded labourers, and totally abolish the paishgee debts. The BLLF fights against slavery, private jails, forced labour and child slavery in all sectors, including brick making, carpet weaving, leather trades, medical instrument manufacturing, agriculture, stone quarrying, domestic servitude, etc. BLLF freedom movement faces challenges and opposition from strong employers in these and other sectors.

From January 1999 until May 2009 BLLF freed 30,000 bonded labourers, men, women and children from four provinces of Pakistan. They belong to different sectors like agriculture, brick kiln, stone quarrying and carpet industries. 45% of them were children, 25% of them were women and 30% were men. These bonded workers were freed through Habeas Corpus applications, which were filed in High Courts. Due to BLLF's lack of resources, they have been unable to build rehabilitation programs for the newly freed bonded labourers and many of the children are still waiting to go to school.

"Our victories amount to a hardship," says Ehsan Ulla Khan, the BLLF's founder and guiding force. "The state has done nothing to enforce the anti-slavery laws or even to inform the public that child and bonded slavery have been outlawed. It's evident that if the enslaved workers are to be delivered from bondage, private citizens will have to do the delivering. That is, we will have to proclaim the end of slavery, educate workers, monitor employer compliance, and take legal action when necessary, because the state lacks the will and resources to do so."

With little funding, the BLLF wages a two-front war against the enterprises that use child slaves. While its legal advisers engage the courts and the legislature, its field staff shuttles around the country, informing workers of their recently acquired rights and distributing a pamphlet known as "The Charter of Freedom," which enumerates those rights in simple language. If a bonded slave child or adult asks for its help, the BLLF takes whatever legal action necessary to secure his or her release.
Iqbal Masih was one of those freed from slavery in the carpet factories by the BLLF.
These days a surprising number of workers are refusing the pamphlet and turning their backs on BLLF staff members. This is an expression less of ingratitude than of fear. Employers throughout Pakistan are cautioning their workers against consorting with reformers who spread "false rumours" about the end of bonded labour. Many workers have been threatened with dismissal or violence if they speak with "the abolitionists" or are caught with "illegal communist propaganda."

So effective is the factory owners' disinformation campaign that workers literally flee when approached by BLLF staff members.

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At 4 years of age Iqbal was sold by his father into bonded labour in a Pakistani carpet Factory in Punjab, in order to get his family a loan to pay for the wedding of Iqbal's oldest brother. The debt incurred by the loan required that Iqbal weave carpets 12 hours a day, receiving one...

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Iqbal Masih - Child Labor

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Quick Facts on Iqbal Masih, The Story of The Brave Child.

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Iqbal Masih became a debt slave in a carpet factory in Pakistan when he was a child. Five years later he was set free. He gave other children the courage to leave their owners.

Iqbal was threatened by the carpet factory owners and was murdered on 16 April 1995. He is a symbol for the struggle against child labour and in 2000, he received the first World's Children's Prize for the Rights of the Child posthumously (after his death).

Iqbal was around five when he started working in the carpet factory. He worked from early morning until evening and was often treated badly. When his mother Anayat needs money for an operation, she took out a loan from a carpet factory owner. The loan, or 'peshgi', was in Iqbal's name. That means that Iqbal owes Ghullah the 5000 rupees (ca 600 US dollars) that his mother's operation cost. Now Iqbal was a debt slave and the factory owner was in charge of his life. > Read the whole story about Iqbal's life and death here.

Experience Iqbal's life, liberation and death in this graphic novel. © WCPF

Learn more about Iqbal in the Globe Magazine (2009).

Text: Magnus Bergmar

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Iqbal was freed after years of slave labor in a Pakistan rug factory but was then murdered at 12 for fighting child labor. Watch video and read his story.

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Alex Lin Video - E Waste

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Alex Lin Helps Reduce E-Waste⎢TakePart TV

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What Kids Can Do

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Young people have a unique relationship with the environment: They are often the first affected when something goes wrong, yet the least represented when decisions are made.

They, more than any other generation, have been raised to feel a responsibility toward the environment. And that's important because they will be the first generation in charge of correcting the problems caused by the widespread pollution of the atmosphere and rampant misappropriation of natural resources.

Youth today feel the "clock is ticking in terms of the amount of time we have to deal with the major issues like clean air, clean water and global warming," says Sharon Smith, program director of Brower New Leaders at the Earth Island Institute, a support group for youth environmental campaigns and initiatives.
Growth in activism
Smith has seen firsthand the growth in environmental activism. "I graduated from college in 1999, and right in my first year out of college I went to an eco conference, which at that time was held in the Northeast. It was one of the largest environmental youth conferences held to date, and it had about a thousand people."

Contrast that with a 2009 conference that drew 12,000 young people from all 50 states, she said. "You can really see the growth of the environmental movement even over the past decade by looking at these conferences and the trainings designed and led and initiated by young people."

Canon Envirothon has seen similar growth in youth activism. A nonprofit specializing in the delivery of environmental education for high school students, the program has grown from three states in 1988 to 54 states and provinces in North America today.

Young people are "looking for avenues where they can make a difference and become knowledgeable, and then they can take and share that knowledge and experience," said Clay Burns, executive director of Canon Envirothon in Mississippi. They need to be "willing and prepared to work toward achieving and maintaining a balance between the quality of life and the quality of the environment."
Raising new leaders
But an increase in youth activism is not enough to stave off environmental peril - we need new ideas and new leaders, according to Eban Goodstein, economics professor at Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Ore., and co-director of the 2009 National Teach-In on Global Warming, a nationwide network of teachers at all educational levels that, on Feb. 5, engaged more than a million Americans in a "solutions-driven dialogue."

Eban says the U.S. must act aggressively in the next year or so to reduce global- warming pollution and invest in clean energy technologies or "you guys are going to be looking at a very different world in 2050," when the world will be 3 to 10 degrees Fahrenheit higher.

"To put that number in perspective, during the last Ice Age, it was only nine degrees Fahrenheit colder than it is on average today," he explained.

Goodstein says youth need to move beyond being the front lines of environmental activism to being the visionaries. Both the Brower New Leaders and Canon Envirothon have devoted more than two decades training them to do just that.

Earth Island Initiative was founded in 1982 by renowned environmentalist David Brower to support young people who have new strategies for saving the earth. In 2000, the organization started the Brower Youth Awards, which honor six youth ages 13 to 23 each year for their leadership and activism with a gala ceremony, campout and $3,000 prize.

"We felt like young people so often are sort of the workhorses of these campaigns and aren't always recognized, aren't always supported at a critical time in the development of their careers, in the development of their activism," Smith said.

The Canon Envirothon also honors young environmentalists in a yearly competition that engages more than 500,000 high school students throughout North America. The Envirothon works in partnership with local conservation districts, forestry associations, educators and natural resource agencies to organize and conduct competitions on the local, regional, and state and/or provincial level. This year's hands-on problem-solving competition is Aug. 2-6 at the University of North Carolina at Asheville, where local finalists will compete for recognition, scholarships, and prizes.
Issues addressed
While recycling clubs abound at all age levels, more and more youth are expanding their efforts in other directions. In Massachusetts, young people involved in Gardening in the Community promote organic gardening and bicycle use. In Florida, a young man developed an interactive curriculum to educate youth about the plight of loggerhead turtles. In California, youth helped pass a bill requiring cosmetic companies to alert the Department of Health if their products contain carcinogens.

These are just a few examples. Youth across the country are cleaning up local wetlands, shutting down toxic waste sites, promoting clean energy and combating landfills. They have educated their peers, parents and the public on carbon emissions, reusable goods and conservation of resources.

Brower New Leaders have dealt with many such issues, and the Earth Island Institute currently oversees 60 projects, ranging from "Project Coyote" to the "Sacred Land Film Project," in 26 countries worldwide.

Students involved in Canon Envirothon pay special attention to natural resources, specifically those related to soils and land use, aquatic ecology, forestry and wildlife.

"Conservation is the big thing that we're involved in," Burns said, explaining that such work is more grassroots, and thus a more viable venue for youth activism.

And while most youth activism is local, many are entering the political realm to effect long-lasting change.

"There's a recognition that this is a time when we need major action from government if we're going to sort of lay the foundation and give you guys the tools that you're going to need to transform the world," Goodstein said.
New worldview coming?
Goodstein envisions a day soon when people automatically think about the environmental impact of their actions before they act. "We'll move on to a phase where we just sort of naturally mimic nature and create things that are in harmony with nature and don't produce waste and pollution."

Smith shares his optimism because she's seen the changes enacted by the youth involved in her program. "Just this year we were looking at the past 10 years of awardees, and at least 87 percent of our award recipients are still in leadership roles in the environmental movement. So it's a great sign that these young folks were committed when they applied to do this work and that hopefully the support we provided ensured they could stay committed and rise as leaders," she said.

The presidency of Barack Obama gives more reasons for hope. "It's rejuvenated the environmental movement in a number of ways," Smith said. "People have been really hitting their heads against the wall for eight years trying to push forward environmental initiatives."
Click here to read these Y-Press profiles:
Grind for the Green, San Francisco, CA
Urban Roots, East Austin, TX
West Oakland Urban Students Uprising against Pollution, Oakland, CA
Click here to read how students at two high schools are recycling and promoting environmentalism.

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Researchers from the United Negro College Fund went to West Virginia last year and asked 62 high school dropouts in the federal Job Corps program a simple, open-ended question. ¨What was it about school,¨ they wanted to know, ¨that caused you to quit?¨

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(5 Years Later)

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Apple's Tim Cook and Malala team up to fight for girls' education

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First Video of Malala and her story.

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Second video of Malala - Interview on The Daily Show

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The Daily Show - Malala Yousafzai Extended Interview

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Making Culture Pop. Find the latest entertainment news and the best in music, pop culture, sneakers, style, exclusive interviews, features, and original shows.

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Activists

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An activist is anyone who sees the need for change and devotes their time to doing something about it. And, as successful teen activists prove, structural, social, or economic barriers don't have to stop you from pursuing your passion and creating positive change. If you are interested in making a difference for a cause you care about, you can do so by educating yourself about the issue, finding ways to get involved in-person and online, and possibly even pursuing a career in a field related to your cause.

Add New Question

Is registering people to vote a form of activism?

Bridget Connolly has volunteered on political campaigns at the local and federal level for over 10 years, most notably for the 2008 Obama campaign in Nevada and Josh Harder's Congressional race in 2018. She has gone door-to-door to help register voters and get out the vote in both California and Nevada.

Yes! Registering people to vote helps remove barriers for people who have been marginalized by educational systems, culture, and misinformation about the importance of their vote. I've had so many experiences where every vote counts. If 500 people are registering people to vote in a specific county, and we each get 1 person, and somebody wins by 400 votes, that's a really big deal. I think it's a civic duty for people who understand how politics work and understand that voting is at the bedrock of all of that. The people who don't vote are essentially disenfranchised; they aren't playing a part in what's happening with their tax dollars and who is representing them at the local, state, and federal level. All levels. It takes a lot of work to stay informed, but that's how our system is set up. You're voting people into power, so it's a civic duty.

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This article was co-authored by Bridget Connolly and by wikiHow staff writer, Christopher M. Osborne, PhD. Bridget Connolly has volunteered on political campaigns at the local and federal level for over 10 years, most notably for the 2008 Obama campaign in Nevada and Josh Harder's Congressional race in 2018. She has gone door-to-door to help register voters and get out the vote in both California and Nevada. This article has been viewed 888,355 times.

Updated: November 19, 2023

If you feel passionately about an issue and want to become an activist, start by contacting local or online organizations with a similar mission. Ask them if you can volunteer your time or donate your money to contribute to the cause. Alternatively, you can also promote your cause on social media, share news articles, and circulate online petitions to raise awareness. Be sure to stay well-informed by keeping current with any news related to your cause! For tips on finding organizations that support your cause, read on!

Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 888,355 times.

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An activist is anyone who sees the need for change and devotes their time to doing something about it. And, as successful teen activists prove, structural, social, or economic barriers don't have to stop you from pursuing your passion and...

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Community Service Article

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Community Service Has a Number of Important Benefits

Engaging in community service provides students with the opportunity to become active members of their community which has a lasting, positive impact on society at large. Community service or volunteerism enables students to acquire life skills, as well as provide a service to those who need it most. These are some of the common benefits of participating in a community service program:

1. Psychological benefits: Volunteering increases overall life satisfaction and helps you feel good about yourself because you are helping others.

2. Social benefits: Volunteering engages students with the community, creates special bonds with the population being served, and increases social awareness and responsibility.

3. Cognitive benefits: Volunteering helps students enhance their personal knowledge, grow from new experiences, and develop important interpersonal communication skills.

Participating in community service not only makes a difference to the organization and people being served, but also makes a difference to every student's career prospects. Participating in community service activities helps to enhance student resumes by allowing students to obtain work-related skills prior to graduation, builds good references for employers in regards to community involvement, and provides a forum to network with future potential employers. It also helps students develop civic and social responsibility skills and become more aware of what their community needs.

You can also make a positive contribution to your community by earning an online degree in criminal justice or psychology. Contact us today for more information about our programs where you can learn how to help real people and leave a positive impact on the world.

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Why is Community Service Important? - Florida National University

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Community Service Has a Number of Important Benefits Engaging in community service provides students with the opportunity to become active members of their community which has a lasting, positive impact on society at large. Community service or volunteerism enables students to acquire life skills, as well as provide a service to those who need it...

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The world's biggest chocolate companies are now facing legal action for allegedly aiding and abetting the illegal enslavement of "thousands" of children on cocoa farms in their supply chains. Eight children who claim they were used as slave labor on cocoa plantations in Ivory Coast have named Nestlé, Cargill, Barry Callebaut, Mars, Olam, Hershey, and Mondelēz as defendants in a lawsuit filed in Washington DC. According to The Guardian, this is the first time a class action of this kind has been filed against the cocoa industry in a US court.

I wish this was getting national attention. You have eight former child slaves of the Ivory Coast taking on western capitalists. https://t.co/DsPUZokTzn
- Charles Preston (@_CharlesPreston) February 13, 2021

The plaintiffs - all of whom are originally from Mali and are now young adults - claim that they were forced to work without pay on cocoa plantations in Ivory Coast. The lawsuit filed by the human rights firm International Rights Advocates (IRA) on behalf of the eight former child slaves, reportedly seeks damages for forced labor and further compensation for unjust enrichment, negligent supervision, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Citing research by the US state department, the International Labour Organization, and Unicef among others, the class action alleges that the plaintiffs' experience of child slavery is similar to that of thousands of other minors.

The lawsuit alleges that despite not owning the cocoa farms in question, the defendants "knowingly profited" from the illegal work of children. The court documents claim that the defendants' contracted suppliers were able to provide lower prices by putting children to work than if they had employed adult workers with proper protective equipment. The companies have also been called out for actively misleading the public in their 2001 promise to "phase out" child labor as part of the voluntary Harkin-Engel Protocol. Since the original deadline for achieving the commitment by 2005 was not met, the World Cocoa Foundation - an industry body to which all the defendants belong - now aims to achieve the target by 2025.

In the lawsuit, all eight plaintiffs say that they were recruited in Mali through trickery and deception before being trafficked across the border to cocoa farms in Ivory Coast. They claim that they were forced to work there - often for several years or more - without pay, travel documents, and no clear idea as to where they were or how they could get back to their families. The class action also states that the plaintiffs, all of whom were under 16 years of age at the time of their recruitment, worked on farms in major cocoa-producing areas of the west African country where the defendants allegedly have "dominant" influence.

As per the court papers, one plaintiff was only 11-years old-when a local man in his hometown of Kouroussandougou, Mali, promised him work in Ivory Coast for $46 (25,000 CFA francs) a month. The boy allegedly worked for two years - often applying pesticides and herbicides without protective clothing - without ever receiving any kind of payment. Another plaintiff, who reportedly had visible cuts on his hands and arms from machete accidents, recalled being bitten continuously by insects during his years of forced labor between 2009 and 2011. He too claims in the lawsuit that he was given false promises of payment after the harvest.

Many of the children named as plaintiffs in the suit described being fed little, working long hours, and often being kept alone or isolated from other child workers. The plaintiffs' legal team said that during fieldwork for the case, they routinely found children using machetes, applying chemicals, and undertaking other hazardous tasks on cocoa plantations that were linked to one or more of the defendants. Such abuses against children represent a "humanitarian disaster," said the court papers, as they contribute to Ivory Coast's ongoing poverty in addition to being morally repugnant. The defendants have been accused of being responsible for developing the entire cocoa production system of Ivory Coast and the case documentation maintains that - as key participants in this "venture" - the defendants either knew or should have known about the "systematic" use of child labor.

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Eight children file child slavery lawsuit against Mars, Nestlé, and Hershey

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The world's biggest chocolate companies are now facing legal action for allegedly aiding and abetting the illegal enslavement of "thousands" of children on cocoa farms in their supply chains. Eight children who claim they were used as slave labor on cocoa plantations in Ivory Coast have named Nestlé, Cargill, Barry Callebaut, Mars, Olam, Hershey, and Mondelēz as defendants in a lawsuit filed in Washington DC.

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Her story and facts about her stance on education for all.

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Malala Yousafzai Story: The Pakistani Girl Shot in Taliban Attack | The New York Times