Speaking Up Can Change The World

Welcome to the October edition of First Friday Inspiration!

Today we feature climate activist Greta Thunberg because we want to center the next generation of young leaders and how they teach us to share leadership and power.

In 2018, Greta held a sign outside the Swedish parliament that said "School Strike for Climate." She was appalled by global leaders and former generations for their lack of responsibility for the health of the planet and the climate crisis. As a result, more than 20,000 students from 24+ countries joined Greta for "Fridays for Future" school strikes three months later. Today, millions of students lead the way together in a global youth climate justice movement.

But before 2018, Greta didn't speak up much. She could never have imagined addressing world leaders at the United Nations. Instead, she was known as the quiet girl in school "on the autistic spectrum" who kept to herself in the back of the classroom.

"I didn't have the courage to get friends," she says in a recent interview with The Guardian. "Now, when I have got many friends, I really see the value of friendship. Apart from the climate, almost nothing else matters. In your life, fame and your career don't matter at all when you compare them with friendship."

Read The Guardian's recent feature, "The Transformation of Greta Thunberg" and reflect on her leadership journey as you do. How are you inspired by her story? Where do you feel called to speak up? What's holding you back? Consider this as a relationship-building practice.

Let's keep listening to our youth as our equal learning partners.