Many similar movements have sprung up to support the movement.
By Aiswarya Sriram.
Bangalore, April 8, 2019.
The Fridays For Future movement started by Greta Thunberg, a high school student who protested in front of the Swedish Parliament offices, asking them to make laws to protect the climate, has gained impetus, and other movements like #ParentsForFuture, #TeachersForFuture and #LawyersForFuture have begun lobbying for climate change.
All the people who began these movements have created Facebook and Twitter handles. Heidi Edmonds from “Australian Parents for Climate Action” says, “#FridaysForFuture is for anyone but it is youth-focused. This is why the parents who are involved as strikers for their own rights or supporting their kids as youth strikers have joined up to support and amplify each other through #ParentsForFuture.”
“There are also #TeachersForFuture groups and others. The focus is on the youth and the movement is youth-led, but through Greta’s great idea people of all walks of life are connecting.” The parents are posting pictures with their kids and asking for a better future for them.
Groups like the Dutch Parents for Future and German Parents for Future are actively working in support of their children. The movement is also gaining pace in India – Fridays for Future India has gone on a lot of protests. This past March in Bangalore and other large cities, the movement gathered students for a global climate strike march in the streets.
Students at Amity University, Mumbai conducting climate awareness workshops on single use plastics and carbon footprints.
What's happening in your institution? #ClimateAction #fffindia #awareness pic.twitter.com/v9mIzhud3w
— Fridays For Future India (@FFFIndia) April 5, 2019
Kajal Maheshwari from the group Fridays for Future India says, “There were lots of environmental protests happening in different parts of the country, and the #FridaysForFuture has just given a global platform.”
She says that the political ideology of the Indian government is not pro-environment. She says, “People are unaware of the fact that public spaces are actually for citizens to use, and that the government should just safeguard it. But what is happening instead is that the government treats it like it’s their property and tries to destroy greenery. The citizens should realize and not allow the government to do so.”
Environmentalist Akshay Heblikar says, “It is a great initiative. This will definitely bring some change, and students realizing that they need to protect their environment will ensure a better future for them.”
