With things like climate change
and gun violence on the rise,
kids have a lot
on their minds these days.
So that got me thinking.
What exactly can kids do to help
change things for the better?
That's when I found out
that a whole bunch of kids
are gathering right here
in Toronto today
to talk about youth activism.
So what exactly is activism and
how do you even get started?
Let's go find out.
♪ ♪
I have never in my life
seen or heard of a politician
who has more power
or more strength than two
hundred thousand teenagers
 angry as hell and storming
 the streets in unison.
♪ ♪
Man: Welcome to the Youth
 Activism Summit.
Here's your
press pass.
Thank you.
I'm in.
♪ ♪
My name is Rayne Fisher-Quann
and I'm an activist
and an advocate for gender
equality, education,
and the voices of young people
in politics.
 As long as you're working
 toward something
 that you're passionate about,
 you're kind of always
 on the right track.
 The biggest thing
 you have to watch out for
 is making sure that you're
 not centring yourself.
Activism at its core is about
the collective.
It's about working towards
a better future for everybody.
[chanting]
No more cuts! No more cuts!
You led one of the largest
protests in Canada
for education.
 How did you make that work?
Rayne: I used social media
 primarily as the way
 to organize people.
And basically we just started
an Instagram account
with all the information that
you could possibly need.
With learning how to start
a walkout at your school,
how to lead protests,
and we just put those
resources out there.
I'm Abram Ilcisin,
A 16 year old climate striker
from Edmonton, Alberta.
I would recommend doing marches.
They are so visible
because everyone who's just
going about their lives
 sees you walking
 down the street.
 They see you chanting.
 They see you with signs.
[cheering and wooing]
I would recommend giving short
and fiery speeches because
 when you're wanting to rally
 crowds and things,
 you just want to
 have that energy,
you want to
kind of inspire people.
 My name is Habon Ali
and I advocate for health equity
and gun violence.
What would you say
to those kids or youth
who think that
they're too young
or that their voice
doesn't really matter
because of their age?
I would say that
they need to challenge
that narrative and sort of
believe in their voice and
their power and I think that
the most important work
and some of the most
radical recommendations
that shift us
 to a more progressive society
 come from young voices.
 My name's Samantha Walsh
 and I am an advocate
for child's rights,
mental health,
and 2SLGBTQ+ rights.
So how does one
become an activist
if they have some sort of
passion within them?
If it's something that you're
really passionate about,
I would say start small.
Start with maybe a school
leadership group
or a GSA or something like that,
which is what I did.
We live in a democracy.
All you have to do
to get the attention
 is to say that
 this is a problem.
 Because when you protest
 and when you strike
and when you show the entire
world what you care about
and what you're willing to do
for it, they have to listen.
[chanting]
