Climate Activist Spotlight: Greta Thunberg

By Helen Gloege ’23

Staff Writer

Swedish activist Greta Thunberg has become a household name around the world. Thunberg is famous within climate activist communities for her organizing work and calls for action against climate change. In 2018, at the age of 15, Thunberg began spending her days outside the Swedish Parliament to call for action on climate change. Initially, she was alone in her protests, until other students began to participate in similar demonstrations within their own communities. This is where her well-known slogan “Skolstrejk för klimatet” (School Strike for Climate) originated. After the December 2018 general elections in Sweden, Thunberg and others moved to striking only on Fridays. This became Fridays for Future, an organized school climate strike movement which has now taken place for almost three and a half years. In addition to inspiring many young activists, Thunberg has also been given many honors and awards, including but not limited to being Time’s Person of the Year and three consecutive nominations for a Nobel Peace Prize between 2019-21.