10 questions · Society & Everyday
Greta Thunberg is born in Sweden in 2003. Even as a child the climate crisis preoccupies her so deeply that she can hardly understand why adults do so little about it. In August 2018, at just 15, she does something that will change the world: instead of going to school, she sits down alone outside the Swedish parliament in Stockholm with a hand-painted sign: "Skolstrejk för klimatet", school strike for the climate. What begins as a lone protest grows within months into a worldwide youth movement: "Fridays for Future". Millions of schoolchildren in countless countries take to the streets on Fridays to demand determined action against global warming. The girl with the cardboard sign becomes the best-known face of the climate movement. Greta Thunberg stands out for her direct, uncompromising manner. At the United Nations in 2019 she gives an angry speech with the famous rebuke "How dare you", accusing the powerful of squandering young people's future. To make a statement, she even travels across the Atlantic by sailing boat rather than flying. She speaks openly about her Asperger's syndrome and describes it as a kind of "superpower" that helps her see things clearly and without excuses. With her courage, as a very young woman, to tell the powerful the truth, Greta Thunberg has become one of the most influential voices of her generation and a symbol that young people, too, can make history.
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Fridays for Future
Millions of schoolchildren worldwide demonstrated for the climate on Fridays.
💡 Did you know? Thunberg's lone protest grew into „Fridays for Future“: soon millions of students worldwide were striking for the climate.
school strike outside parliament
In 2018 the then 15-year-old Thunberg sat alone outside the Swedish parliament with a sign reading „School strike for climate.“
💡 Did you know? Her hand-painted sign read "Skolstrejk för klimatet".
climate protection
She demands determined action from politicians against global warming.
💡 Did you know? Thunberg demands that politicians „listen to the science“; her trademark is uncompromising plain speaking.
Sweden
She was born in 2003 and began her protest at 15.
💡 Did you know? From Sweden, Thunberg became the internationally best-known voice of the young climate movement.
How dare you
She gave the angry speech at the United Nations.
💡 Did you know? Her furious „How dare you!“ at the 2019 UN climate summit was quoted worldwide and became a symbol of the youth protests.
by sailing boat across the Atlantic
To avoid flying, Thunberg sailed across the Atlantic in two weeks in 2019 to a UN summit in New York.
💡 Did you know? She wanted to draw attention to the high CO₂ emissions of flying.
as her "superpower"
She speaks about it openly and confidently.
💡 Did you know? Thunberg calls her Asperger's syndrome a „superpower,“ because it helps her focus clearly on a goal without distraction.
young voice of the climate movement
Thunberg became the world-famous young voice of the climate movement and „Time“ magazine's 2019 Person of the Year.
💡 Did you know? She became one of the most influential voices of her generation.
Foto: Kushal Das · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Greta Thunberg
Greta Thunberg (b. 2003) is a Swedish climate activist whose school strike sparked the global „Fridays for Future“ movement.
💡 Did you know? At just 16, Thunberg became „Time“ magazine's youngest ever Person of the Year in 2019.
2003
Born: 3 January 2003 in Stockholm
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