The title on this Youtube video reads “the girl who silenced the world for 5 minutes”. This is Severin Suzuki, daughter of David Suzuki, speaking to the United Nations at the age of 13 in 1992 on behalf of ECO (Environmental Children’s Organization). This is a wonderful speech, spoken beautifully, emotionally, and truthfully.
This is worth the six minutes to watch, and so much more. Pass it on to your colleagues and your students.
Alec,
Thank you! I am truly inspired and plan on sharing this as often as I can.
Diana
Alec
Let you thing a little.. I will share it with the kids and teachers at school.
Thanks
Irma
“Did you have to worry of these things when you were my age?”
This concerns me. I’m hearing fear and helplessness in students’ voices – in the classroom and in their blogs. We are doing so much to make students aware of society’s problems, but are we crippling them with anxiety? How many of our dis-engaged youth are asking themselves – so, what’s the point? I think we need to use examples like this one to empower students, to show them that every single voice can count – that individual actions on a grand scale will bring about positive change. Thanks for sharing this!
Powerful.
Alec, thanks for sharing this video… the part when she said “We are afraid to share” sure makes you think…I think it’s important for both students, and adults to watch this video.
Interesting and powerful. I love the line about us being a “family, 5 million strong.” And I wonder what she is doing today…spent just a few minutes googling, but didn’t find anything.
I remember the first time I saw this like it was yesterday. Strong message, and I loved that her parents made the kids earn their own $$ to go to the conference. Her dad has been an inspiration for decades, and Severin is the apple that didn’t fall far from the tree. She came to Saskatoon this spring–a mature woman now, and still delivering a powerful message of activism and hope. Thanks, Alec.
I also am deeply inspired by her words, and want to spread the video as much as possible to help inspire others. I was thinking about putting it on my Facebook account, but the agreement says it has to be my work because of copyright issues. Does anyone know if this is OK if I get David Suzuki’s permission?