Hanna Aemilia
In a world that often dismisses young voices as naïve or inexperienced, the rise of youth in activism serves as a reminder that courage and conviction are not bound by age. Across the globe, young people are stepping into spaces where decisions about their future are being made, not with arrogance but with urgency. They are tired of waiting for others to take action.
Malala Yousafzai, who, at just 15, survived a gunshot to the head for daring to speak out about the right to education. Her voice, once confined to her hometown in Pakistan, now resonates and impacts many worldwide. Greta Thunberg, a teenager from Sweden whose solitary climate strike outside parliament grew into a global movement, forcing leaders to confront the reality of their inaction. These are not outliers; they are part of a growing wave of young people unwilling to accept complacency as the norm.
In Hong Kong, Joshua Wong began organizing protests as a teenager, challenging one of the most powerful governments in the world. His relentless fight for democracy has led to prison sentences, but his defiance is a reminder of the risks some youth are willing to take for change — for, in the end, it will be worth it. While his voice may be silenced behind bars, the spirit of his fight continues to inspire many today.
Young people have a unique ability to see the world not as it is, but as it could be. Every act is done with urgency because every delay is a price that costs them their future. Their energy and actions are not misplaced idealism — they are a refusal to settle for the systems that have failed generations before them that, if not changed, will fail them too. To ignore their voices is to ignore the potential for a better world — and to ignore the potential for a better world is to be complacent to a failing system that will crumble on the feet of the people before they are even born.
When young people speak, it is often uncomfortable for those in power. But discomfort is necessary. It sparks change. It is the greatest indication that something is amiss — that something must first be dismantled to make way for growth. Youth are not the leaders of tomorrow — they are already leading today, refusing to wait for permission to shape the future they will inherit. Those who listen will find not noise, but clarity.
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