Environment Seminar: Youth Unstoppable, is Another World Possible?

Abstract: While the environmental movement emerged decades ago, the past year has undoubtedly seen a real surge in climate and environmental activism. The youth movement has been particularly prominent in the media and through social media, with Greta Thunberg becoming the face of the “School Strike for Climate” movement. Aliénor Rougeot, climate justice activist and coordinator of the Fridays for Future, will be talking on the youth climate movement around the world, and how it has emerged in Canada and Toronto. She will speak of her personal journey to activism and taking a leadership role in tackling the crisis. She has been speaking to crowds of all ages on these topics for the past year, hoping to empower others to step up by sharing tips, experience and fostering conversations about one’s own paths to activism. She will facilitate a conversation on how activism can be an integral part of all of our lives and how to stay motivated when faced with the threat of the climate crisis.

Brief Bio: Aliénor (Allie) is an Economics and Public Policy student at the University of Toronto. She has been an environmental and human rights activist since the age of 10, and has been passionate about sustainability and climate justice since high school. In January 2019 she took on the role of lead coordinator for the Fridays for Future movement in Toronto. Fridays for Future is a worldwide movement where students have been striking and protesting to demand bold climate action from all levels of government. Allie has been recognized for her work by the Canadian Voice of Women for peace with the Kim Phuc Youth Award, Toronto Post Magazine in “20 under 20”, Corporate Knights, and has received a Youth Climate Award at the Climate Arts Awards 2019. She is bilingual, french being her mother tongue, and lived in South of France before coming to Canada.