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N°02 · Global

Fridays for Future: a generation on strike for the planet

From one student sitting outside a parliament to millions marching in cities around the world.

Fridays for Future: a generation on strike for the planet

In August 2018, 15-year-old Greta Thunberg began sitting outside the Swedish parliament on school days with a hand-painted sign reading "School strike for climate". Her protest soon became a weekly Friday action, and the name Fridays for Future followed.

Students across Europe and beyond joined in. In 2019, coordinated global climate strikes brought millions of young people into the streets, from Paris and Berlin to Kampala, Sydney and New York — one of the largest youth mobilisations ever recorded.

The movement showed that young people did not need permission to lead. It linked climate science with everyday choices — what we eat, how we travel, what we wear — and made respect for nature a question of justice between generations.