Greta Thunberg has just become the youngest individual ever named Person of the Year!
Johannesburg, South Africa – Every year The United States news magazine “Time” features and profiles a person, a group, an idea, or an object that “for better or for worse… has done the most to influence the events of the year” and this year they have selected Greta Thunberg as the Time Person of 2019!
Thunberg has also become the youngest individual ever named Person of the Year. Other recent choices include Silence Breakers who spoke out against sexual assault and harassment in 2017, Donald Trump in 2016 and Angela Merkel in 2015.
Thunberg first became known for her activism in August 2018 when, at age 15, she began spending her school days outside the Swedish parliament to call for stronger action on global warming by holding up a sign saying (in Swedish) “School strike for the climate”. Soon, other students engaged in similar protests in their own communities. Together, they organised a school climate strike movement under the name Fridays for Future. After Thunberg addressed the 2018 United Nations Climate Change Conference, student strikes took place every week somewhere in the world.
In 2019, there were at least two coordinated multi-city protests involving over one million students each. At home, Thunberg convinced her parents to adopt several lifestyle choices to reduce their own carbon footprint, including giving up air travel and not eating meat.
Her sudden rise to world fame has made her a leader and a target. In May 2019, Thunberg was featured on the cover of Time magazine, which named her a “next-generation leader” and noted that many see her as a role model. Thunberg and the school strike movement were also featured in a 30-minute Vice documentary titled Make the World Greta Again. Some media have described her impact on the world stage as the “Greta Thunberg effect”.
Thunberg has been the recipient of numerous honours and awards, including fellowship of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society, has been named as one of the 100 most influential people of 2019, and was nominated for the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize.
Earlier this year, the young activist went viral with her powerful speech at the UN Climate Action Summit, which caused many to get upset.
In an emotionally charged speech, Thunberg accused the World Leaders of ignoring the science behind the climate crisis, saying: ‘We are in the beginning of mass extinction, and all you can talk about is money and fairy tales of eternal economic growth – how dare you?’
Thunberg was on a panel with other climate activists at the summit on the eve of the U.N. General Assembly to encourage countries to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2020.
Watch her powerful speech below:
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