By Lorenzo Russo.

“FridayforFuture” – thousands of students and citizens respond to Greta Thunberg’s appeal. The movement is growing and it is preparing for the global march of March 15.

Greta Thunberg is a 16-years-old Swedish girl who has become in a short time an icon of environmentalism. She suffers from Asperger’s Syndrome and she only talks when it is necessary. The whole world noticed her a few days ago, in Davos, Switzerland, when she spoke before the big names of the Earth: “You are destroying my future; I do not want you to be hopeful, I want you to panic.”

We met Greta at the beginning of December when she addressed the UN summit on climate change (COP24) in Poland. “You are not mature enough to tell it like it is and even that burden you leave to us children,” she said.

At the start of the school year last fall, Greta decided to skip school every Friday morning to sit-in in front of the Stockholm Parliament. Her goal was to protest against climate change. In a short time she has become a reference point (she is only 16 years old !!!) for thousands of people – who soon became millions – all over the world.

In fact, unity is strength. Yes, because if at the beginning Greta was the only one who protested, a few weeks ago the rumor spread and in many cities around the world, strikes are taking place on Friday mornings for the campaign on climate change.

In Switzerland they were 22 thousand, in Germany 30 thousand, in Belgium 35 thousand. This is where three thousand scientists have signed an open letter to support the climate strike undertaken by these young activists: “As scientists, and based on scientific facts, we say that climate activists are right.”

They are students of all grades, primary through university: “we will go ahead until we are sure they have heard us,” said Adélaïde Charlier, one of the coordinators of Youth4Climate, the organization behind the march.

Also in Italy, for some weeks now, girls, boys, and citizens of all ages and without a specific political belonging meet in the streets every Friday, guided by the hashtags #FridaysForFuture and #ClimateStrike to make their voice heard for the climate campaign.

On February 1, rallies took place in the Italian cities of Brescia, Pisa, Bologna, Milan, Venice, Turin, Rome, Genoa, and Taranto. Please note that everything started from Greta who was successful in mobilizing all and sundry for the climate and because of a lack of stance on the part of political leaders in the face of what is happening to the environment.

The next big event is the Global March for Climate, scheduled for March 15, 2019. 40 countries (so far!) have already joined the initiative…

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