October
2008
The girl who silenced the world for 5 min
16 years ago, 13-year old Severin Suzuki, daughter of a well-known environmentalist, heard about the first great international environmental gathering, the 1992 Rio Earth Summit. Surprised that her father wasn’t going to be attending, she said that she wanted to go, as children should be there as the conscience for the grown-ups.
Her father scoffed, and told her to forget the idea. But Severin went ahead and eventually raised $13 000 for her and a number of friends to attend.
This is the speech she gave.
Al Gore said that her speech was the best of the summit. She refused help from her father, and gave a speech that brought tears to people’s eyes, and silenced the world for five minutes. It’s sad that she could have given an identical speech today, as the leaders of the world continue to jockey for power and prestige, while the earth bleeds.
[...] So many of us place limits on ourselves, and think we can’t make much, or any, difference. This week’s video features a 13-year old girl who did, and still is, making a difference. View it here. [...]