Home / Inspiring

Comparing Greta Thunberg’s First Climate Strike with Mass Demonstrations One Year Later

By Emma Taggart on September 25, 2019

“School Strike for Climate” (Stock Photos from Per Grunditz/Shutterstock)

It’s been one year and one month since Swedish teenage activist Greta Thunberg first skipped school to protest outside her country’s Parliament building for government action against climate change. Back then, the teen was relatively unknown, but today, she’s a 16-year-old hero to many throughout the world, and she's even been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.

Since her first solo strike, Thunberg has continued to miss school and strike every Friday throughout the last year. This act of dedication inspired many other school children around the world to do the same. Last week, on Friday, September 20, 2019, millions of people of all ages joined Thunberg in a mass demonstration to demand change. People from every corner of the globe joined forces to show their concern for the future of our planet, including a staggering 1.4 million in Germany and 250,000 in New York City—where Thunberg also protested.

The stark comparison between Thunberg's first, lone protest in Stockholm a year ago and the mass demonstrations on Friday led many on social media to compare the two moments—both of which will no doubt go down in history. Thunberg is proof that with persistence and determination, one person can make a huge difference. One Twitter user posted, “Stand for something, even if you have to stand alone at first.” Let’s just hope the world’s governments will listen!

Then and now: Look at how Greta Thunberg's lone protest one year ago inspired millions.

Thousands of students took New York City streets in Lower Manhattan to march against climate change on September 20, 2019 (Stock Photos from Ryan Rahman/Shutterstock)