Greta Thunberg is certainly the most talked about teenager of recent times. It all started on August 20, 2018 , when the young woman began to protest in front of the Swedish parliament against climate change. She did so for another 3 weeks, giving up school and inaugurating what would later become fixed appointments for millions of students all over the world: the Fridays For Future .
Since that August 20 for Greta everything has changed. And she has become a real symbol for the younger generations, managed to speak in front of the United Nations assembly and even ended up on the cover of Time magazine as the “Person of the Year” of 2019.
His is an incredible story of tenacity and conviction. You have embraced the climate issue and become its standard-bearer by catalyzing admiration and criticism. But what do we really know about the little girl who made the powerful of the planet tremble with her passionate speeches About her?
Let’s find out 10 curiosities about Greta Thunberg:
1. Who are your parents?
Greta comes from a wealthy Stockholm family. Her father is an actor and her mother is an opera singer. Both of her parents are convinced environmentalists and, for this reason, they have always supported her daughter Di lei. Greta began to take an interest in the problem of climate change as early as the age of 8.
On the left, Greta’s mother, the Swedish mezzo soprano Malena Ernman. On the right the father and actor Svante Thunberg. Sources Wikipedia and Instagram @gretathunberg. Changed size
2. Asperger’s syndrome
At the age of 13 she was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome. The pathology belongs to the broad spectrum of autism even if it does not involve linguistic disorders and intellectual disabilities. It seems that many illustrious personalities have suffered from it, including Mozart and Steve Jobs . This condition has often been used by her detractors to discredit her and to downplay her battles to “obsessive manifestations” .
Greta Thunberg has been living with the diagnosis of Asperger’s syndrome since the age of 10. Source Instagram @gretathunberg. Changed size
3. The handwritten sign
Greta is famous for her handwritten protest sign “skolstrejk for klimatet” which literally means school strike for the climate . She never separates from him and even during her last appearance in Italy (on the occasion of the Fridays For Future in Turin on December 13th) she had him with her.
The “school strike for the climate” sign that made her famous and from which she never separates. Source Instagram @gretathunberg. Changed size
4. Sources of inspiration
The organization of Fridays For Future seems to draw inspiration from the student demonstrations of the boys of Parkland. On February 14, 2018, 19-year-old former student Nikolas Cruz enters Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida and commits a massacre; 17 victims and numerous injured. The affair rekindled the debate on the possession of firearms. The survivors, thanks to an incredible rumor on social networks, managed to organize the March for Our Lives in Washington which was attended by over 500,000 people. Even the famous director Michael Moore was amazed by the mobilization that arose from the idea of a few young students, so much so that he wanted to meet them personally. Also for Greta and for the movement ofFriday the director showed the same interest.
5. Severn Cullis-Suzuki
In 1992 there was a case similar to that of Greta. A Canadian girl of just 12, Severn Suzuki, gave a speech at the United Nations Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. She and she remembered as the little girl who shut the world up for 6 minutes.
Frame from the video of Severn Suzuki’s speech at the United Nations in 1992 on the occasion of the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. You Tube United Nations channel
6. The crossing on a sailing boat
Greta Thunberg never takes the plane to limit carbon dioxide emissions. For this reason you have chosen to reach the New York Climate Summit by sailboat. She on the Malizia II she was accompanied by a very respectable crew; among others Prince Pierre Casiraghi and his father Svante Thunberg .
A shot with the crew of the sailing boat * Malizia II ”during the Atlantic crossing from Plymonth (England) to New York (United States) to participate in the Climate Summit. Source Instagram @gretathunberg. Changed size
7. The books
Despite her very young age, Greta Thunberg has already published 2 books . In Our house and in flames she tells her story about her and how a solitary gesture has managed to trigger a worldwide mobilization that does not seem destined to stop. No one is too small to make a difference instead it is a collection of her most important speeches.
The cover of his second book “Nobody is too small to make a difference” which collects his most important speeches. Penguin publishing house, cover image by Anders Hellberg. Source Instagram @gretathunberg
8. The message
“Don’t steal our future!” , in these few words all Greta’s thoughts are concentrated. The time to save the planet is running out and it is time for governments to take action. His recipe is simple but it implies a radical change in the current economic system: protecting forests, restoring damaged environments, investing in renewable energy.
Frame from the #naturenow video visible on Greta Thunberg’s You Tube channel. The video tells the causes and solutions of the ongoing climate change
9. Person of the year
Greta Thunberg is the youngest personality ever chosen by Time for the December cover dedicated to the person of the year. As the editor-in-chief of the magazine Edward Felsenthal declared to the CBS program – Today Show , she “is the symbol of a generational change in the political and cultural sphere”. We have chosen to “pay homage to the power of youth”.
The cover of the December 2019 “Time” magazine dedicated to Greta Thunberg. Source Instagram @gretathunberg. Changed size
10. Greta in Italy
On December 13th, on the occasion of the 50th Fridays For Future , the sixteen-year-old Swedish participated in the Turin event. You reached the Piedmontese capital by train after taking part in the Cop25 in Madrid. Greta seems to have a particular respect for the Savoy activists. She had already celebrated them in a tweet calling them “incredible” .
Greta Thunberg together with the Friday For Future demonstrators in Turin on 13 December 2019. Source Instagram @gretathunberg. Changed size
