is causing a lot of pain, but also a little bit of excitement because this is it; we are getting so close to a tipping point. People are revolting and organizing everywhere. Kids’ voices are trusted because there’s no way we have an agenda. I think a lot of people didn’t expect the power that was coming from the youth-led environment movement. For some people, it was just like “oh, cute kids with signs” and then it blew up and now it’s this huge force. And Fridays for Future allowed a lot of activists to focus on one type of action instead of having marches and other things. It was just that one name that unified it all across the whole world.
KF: What do you think might be the role of teachers in addressing climate change both inside and outside the classroom?
AR: Teachers have such a huge job. There is so much potential. Part of it will be answering questions their students might start having and addressing the eco-anxiety part of things which might be really hard for teachers to handle. Trying to navigate kids who want to attend the strikes and can they? Having classes come to the strikes can be educational for the kids as well, because we have speakers. And teach- ers are such a trusted voice. I know my parents trust teachers so much. It’s similar to when doctors speak out about something. The voices of teachers can convince other adults.
KF: One aspect of the youth climate movement that has been so impressive is the understanding of how social justice and climate change are linked. How does this impact your approach to activ- ism and how has it influenced your work and some of the demands Fridays for Future Toronto has put out?
AR: It is so huge. For me it went from the refugee rights movement to climate, so for me it is so inter-related. That aspect really started with our group when we talked about Indigenous sovereignty, and the notion that Indigenous peoples have been fighting for this land for so much longer than settlers. And for Indigenous communities it is not even really activism as we usually think of it but a way of life to protect the land. We have to recognize that we are not the first activists; we have a lot to learn from Indigenous peoples who are way more affected. When we start talking about climate justice, it means talking about marginalized communities, communities that have been disproportionately affected by cuts and austerity measures. These communities are also most affected by climate change. For our demands, we really thought that it can’t be just about minor tweaks to a system and plastic straws. It’s a whole system that has been harming a lot of people and violating our planet. We need to address that whole system.
KF: What is your biggest wish for 2020?
AR: So many, but the first is that any extraction project that Canada has planned sound ludicrous to people, in the same way that we now think of smoking cigarettes as ludicrous. I also really hope that we see governments apply a climate lens to budgets in the same way that some are applying a gender lens to budgets. I hope that more people stop saying they are inspired by youth and instead realize that being an activist involves fighting for what you care about so even if you are an oil and gas worker, you can be a climate activist. 2019 was the year of mass realization, so maybe 2020 can be the year that everybody feels the same empowerment to take action...a cultural shift.
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