2019 was a year of demonstrations and protests. But what was even more noticeable is that many of these demonstrations were led by children. Never before have children been such a large force of politics. And never again will children be ignored in political discussions.
The most obvious example of this is the School Strike for Climate rallies led by Greta Thunberg. Even so, this goes to show the testament of youth to raise an issue that they will have to endure that older generations will not.
But there are other examples of this. Following the Parkland Shooting, survivors David Hogg and Emma Gonzales led a “March for Our Lives” rally calling for stricter gun control.
Aside from climate and gun violence, there were general calls to end corruption and address global inequality. Notably in Chile, Iraq, Ecuador, France, and Lebanon. And again, many of these demonstrations were led by youth, such as in Chile, were many students joined protests immediately after their daily classes ended and they were let out of school.
The youth are now a force in the world. And they will use it to their advantage in a way that has never been seen before in human history.
