Severn Suzuki – The Girl Who Silenced the World for 5 Minutes
0Severn Cullis-Suzuki is an environmental activist, speaker, television host and author. She has spoken around the world about environmental issues, urging listeners to define their values, act with the future in mind, and take individual responsibility.
Raised in Vancouver and Toronto, Severn has been camping and hiking all her life. When she was 9 she started the Environmental Children’s Organization (ECO), a small group of children committed to learning and teaching other kids about environmental issues. They were successful in many projects before 1992, when they raised enough money to go to the UN’s Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. Their aim was to remind the decision-makers of who their actions or inactions would ultimately affect. The goal was reached when 12 yr old Severn closed a Plenary Session with a powerful speech that received a standing ovation. In 1993, she was honoured in the United Nations Environment Programme’s Global 500 Roll of Honour.
Video of Severn’s speech at United Nations in 1992
She graduated from Yale University in 2002 with a B.Sc. in ecology and evolutionary biology. After Yale, Suzuki spent two years travelling. She co-hosted Suzuki’s Nature Quest, a children’s television series that aired on the Discovery Channel in 2002.
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