Young And Determined
THE WEEK|October 06, 2019
She is being compared with history’s enduring icons, from Mother Teresa to Martin Luther King.
Anita Pratap
Young And Determined

The transformation of 16-year-old Greta Thunberg from a lone Swedish schoolgirl to the world’s biggest climate leader is remarkable. Inspired by her, schoolchildren and adults have spilled into the streets in 185 countries, demanding their politicians save the planet. Greta proclaimed: “I have a dream that the powerful take the climate crisis seriously. The time for their fairy tales is over.”

Greta’s activism began with skipping class and holding a placard stating: “school strike for climate”. Within a year, schoolchildren around the world left their classrooms to hold protest posters, screaming together outside parliaments to force politicians to “listen” to climate science. Greta is now a global celebrity, featuring in Time’s 100 influential people, met the Pope who told her “keep doing what you are doing” and has addressed parliaments, congresses and the World Economic Forum where she told global leaders: “I want you to panic. I want you to feel the fear I feel every day.”

This story is from the October 06, 2019 edition of THE WEEK.

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This story is from the October 06, 2019 edition of THE WEEK.

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