Five child activists you need to know

1. Malala Yousafzai

2. Greta Thunberg

Swedish teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg started a school strike for the climate outside the Swedish Parliament. Since then Greta, 16, has become a global phenomenon and has helped spread the movement, dubbed Fridays for Future, around the world. 

Greta has spoken a climate rallies in Stockholm, Helsinki, Brussels and London. Just this week, the 16-year-old gave a searing and emotional speech at the United Nations, calling on decision-makers around the world to commit to meaningful climate change action.

“I want you to act as if the house was on fire. Because it is.” @GretaThunberg #FridaysForFuture pic.twitter.com/Ybh8W8VWw8

— UNICEF (@UNICEF) March 14, 2019

3. Bana Alabed

At just seven-years-old, Bana Alabed, now 10, became well known for documenting her experience of the siege of Aleppo in Syria through Twitter.

With the help of her mother, Bana told of the suffering for people inside and outside of Syria and gave a face to the everyday reality of life in Aleppo. Her Twitter account urged leaders to do more for the millions of children stuck in the middle of conflict.

Good afternoon from #Aleppo I'm reading to forget the war. pic.twitter.com/Uwsdn0lNGm

— Bana Alabed (@AlabedBana) September 26, 2016

4. Timoci Naulusala

Timoci Naulusala, 12, addressed world leaders in Bonn Germany.

His powerful speech on climate change during National Climate Week in Fiji lifted the spirits of many and reminded the world that we need to ensure the security and wellbeing of our young people and the future generations.

Timoci goes to school in Tailevu, which was one of the many districts severely damaged in February 2016 when Tropical Cyclone Winston ravaged Fiji, taking the lives of 44 Fijians, destroying homes, uprooting families, and inflicting serious damage to crops and farms.

Since then, some of the students and teachers have been forced to work and study under a tent.
 

5. Children around the world

“I saw Greta Thunberg speak at COP24. Her example showed me what I had to do," says Alexandria Villasenor, 13, to a group of young people protesting in favour of climate action outside the United Nations in March. 

On Fridays, throughout the winter, Alexandria took a cue from Thunberg and sat on a bench in New York to protest the lack of action on the environment.
  The marchers also demanded that leaders take to heart the landmark October 2018 report from the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimating the planet was only 12 years away from catastrophe unless “far-reaching and unprecedented changes” are taken.

This year, thousands of children across Australia and around the world have taken to the streets to protest about what is important to them and what the feel is being ignored by the world’s leaders.

Children have the right to have an opinion and expect to be heard.