1/20 Because someone has hacked my daughter's Twitter account, I am going to do something very unCanadian - I am going to showcase all the work she has been doing to create a liveable world over the past 6 years.
In 2013, CCL Canada held its 1st cconference. I ran it with no paid staff. I worked 80+ hours/week in the last 3 weeks before the event. My children neglected. At the event, Sophia found me in private room, climbed up on my lap & said, "you are doing this for me mommy aren't you?
Sophia started lobbying politicians to protect her world in Canada when she was seven and in the US Congress when she was nine. She has spoken to dozens of politicians. She has shown many adults how powerful children are when they speak to politicians. canada.citizensclimatelobby.org/blog-lobbying-…
In the summer of 2017, Sophia got an opportunity to meet VP @algore and the Honourable @cathmckenna in Toronto. With Minister McKenna they made a Pinky Promise to get adults to do more.
(Complacent adults & $$ denial machine root causes of are peril) thesudburystar.com/2017/08/01/pho…
(Complacent adults & $$ denial machine root causes of are peril) thesudburystar.com/2017/08/01/pho…
Sophia got straight to work. She convinced local restaurants to stop automatically giving out plastic straws with drinks. She made table top tents for them. Heartfelt thanks to Eddies, Glorias and Buzzy Browns. cbc.ca/news/canada/su…
Then I got a call from @releaf4us to help kickstart #Parachutes for the Planet for @motherearthmep in Canada + globally.
Sophia & 13 kids built a parachute with the Earth + Sudbury's Bridge of Nations as metaphor for global connectivity.
100+ hours
canada.citizensclimatelobby.org/6409-2/
Sophia & 13 kids built a parachute with the Earth + Sudbury's Bridge of Nations as metaphor for global connectivity.
100+ hours
canada.citizensclimatelobby.org/6409-2/
In August 2018, Sophia saw a YouTube video of Greta Thunberg. She asked if she could strike too. You have to understand, her father is East-Indian and "conservative". I too worried for her mental health b/c climate activism is hard on the spirit. We said wait and see.
Sophia asked if she could bring friends who helped build the parachutes to lobby in October. She brought her Canadian friend born in Kuwait & her other Canadian friend born in China. They did a stellar job helping at the conference & lobbying. These girls are only 11 years old.
Then came the turning point. There was an emergency debate in House of Commons about 1.5C IPCC report. We went HoC gallery to watch it. The commentary from these 3 eleven-year-old girls during the debate indicated to us that they know who is protecting them and who is not.
I turned to my "conservative partner" of 33 years and said, we will you let her strike now. And he said, "Yes, she obviously gets what is going on."
When we returned to Sudbury CTV Northern Ontario contacted us. It was in that media interview Sophia announced she is going to join Greta. Something profound also happened. When asked what she wants adults to do, she said "listen to experts + cooperate". northernontario.ctvnews.ca/mother-daughte…
Spoke with Greta's team to make sure we did got off to a good start. They were helpful. Simply it is the voice of youth that needs to be heard. No top down messaging. Stay within in the science. 100% purely grassroots. And then we built a website get FFF started in the Americas.
Here is some of the news coverage from Sophia Mathur's November 2 #FridaysForFuture strike thesudburystar.com/news/local-new…
Here is some of the news coverage from Sophia Mathur's November 2 #FridaysForFuture strike thesudburystar.com/news/local-new…
A lovely surprise on November 2 was when MP @CharlieAngusNDP & Northern Ontario dystopian novelist joined @sophiamathur in the park
Sophia's November 2 is documented in Wikipedia as the probably the first #FridaysForFuture strike in the America en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_st…
November 2 was an emotionally draining experience for me. We received criticism from local acquaintances saying we were coaching our daughter and other negative things. No that is not the story.
We wanted to make the strike on Dec 7 during #COP24 was conducted nationally in Canada CDN Website + @CitizensLobbyCa +@Canrac = youth 9 cities to #FridaysForFuture Dec 7.
Their efforts made the national news & Greta twitter her appreciation.
Their efforts made the national news & Greta twitter her appreciation.
Then I went to #COP24 and within in 20 minutes in the massive venue in Katowice, Poland I bumped into Greta. I said, I am Cathy, Sophia in Canada's mom. And Greta quietly asked me to thank Sophia and I said yes of course (or something like that).
canada.citizensclimatelobby.org/blog-finding-h…
canada.citizensclimatelobby.org/blog-finding-h…
January was cold. On the 1st Friday of the month it was still holidays so the kids planned for the 2nd Fridays of the month where they #FFF'd in front to the hospital and lobbied the HSN president to follow recommendations of Lancet Countdown canada.citizensclimatelobby.org/media-release-…
Some really cool announcements HSN / #LancetCountdown coming soon. Let's just say for now, youth are so powerful.
By mid-January a team across Canada determined Canada's national strike to be May 3. Sudbury youth planning for that event. The kids wrote a persuasive letter to their principal. Got their school to commit to joining May 3 FFF event. And they also struck up a steering committee.
On February 1below -30 with the windchill. Too cold to be outside. Spent most of the day in downtown Library researching, preparing speeches, making art, learning chants & songs. Had a media event where they asked adults to declare a #climateemergency. thesudburystar.com/opinion/letter…
IN FEBRUARY, Sophia gave a speech to the @SudburyLabour about the urgency of the climate crisis and asked them to help with #EarthStrike on September 27. . @jamiewestndp helped her get the appointment. Good news to announce soon. (One thing at a time people).
Meanwhile she penned her first letter to the editor and it was published. She saw the paper during breakfast and ran to school clutching the paper. It was an adorable moment. thesudburystar.com/opinion/letter…
Sudbury held a strike at @LaurentianU. This time the "big kids" were running the show. Adam Kirkwood, a biologist doing climate impacts work in the Jams Bay region hosted the kids for the day and ran the show. He nailed his CBC interview cbc.ca/news/canada/su…
Adam was the media person and he did a stellar job. The March 1 event got tonnes of coverage AND he got over 100 scientists to endorse the #FridaysForFuture strikes in Sudbury. He also gave them lab tours and did experiments with them. thesudburystar.com/news/local-new…
Then there was March 15. It was spring break in Ontario. We decided to go to Toronto for their rally and the media coverage was unbelievable! Sophia was internviewed on The @TheCurrentCBC cbc.ca/radio/thecurre…
In February she had been on Day 6 cbc.ca/radio/day6/epi…
On March 15 @vicecanada followed her for the day and did a beautiful piece. video.vice.com/en_ca/video/we…
I have left out a whole bunch French interviews. Sophia is fully bilingual and has became quite comfortable giving media interviews in both of Canada's official language at the tender age of 11.
15 mars
ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/11584…
15 mars
ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/11584…
7 decembre 2018
ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/11405…
ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/11405…
janvier 2019
canada.citizensclimatelobby.org/icymi-intervie…
canada.citizensclimatelobby.org/icymi-intervie…
mars 2019
ici.radio-canada.ca/premiere/emiss…
ici.radio-canada.ca/premiere/emiss…
She also did a live interview on CTV national. All of these media requests on March 15 came directly to Sophia asking specifically for her. Humbly, I say also that on March 15 she in addition to many interviews in both languages, she managed to nail her speech at Queen's Park.
In April the kids spent much of the day preparing for May 3. Somehow Sophia got a media interview with Global National. Again the request came directly to her. globalnews.ca/video/5124702/…
April is the month of many birthdays in our house, plus Earth Day events, and Sophia does a fundraising dance event for with the Earthdancers. Many hours of practices and weekends sacrificed to raise money for people fighting for the planet.
And in the midst of all that in April we lost the roof of our house to the record breaking snows this winter (we are living in a hotel) and two family members were struck down with very serious illnesses: one terminal and the other life-threatening and utterly terrifying.
What held us all together in the lead up to #May3 #FridaysForFuture was the incredible steering committee. WHAT A TEAM. So much love.
TV coverage
northernontario.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=1…
northernontario.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=1…
Sudbury Star before
thesudburystar.com/news/local-new…
thesudburystar.com/news/local-new…
Sudbury Star - almost the entire cover page top and bottom Saturday paper was about the HUGE #FridaysForFuture strike and about a quarter of the interior page thesudburystar.com/news/local-new…
Northern Life has a great photo gallery
sudbury.com/local-news/cro…
sudbury.com/local-news/cro…
Sophia's "Daddu" (parternal grandfather) was an IPCC scientist 1st report, He was dying while Sophia was doing all this. There was another IPCC scientist at his funeral. He was so happy to see the legacy of Daddu being carried on through his granddaugher. ottawacitizen.remembering.ca/obituary/sukhd…
The hug shared between my father-in-law's IPCC colleague and my daughter is something I will remember forever.
Right after her grandfather died, Sophia was on Parliament Hill. She was tweeting about all that was happening. She met with MPs from three of the four parties. Sophia knows this is a non-partisan issue and is very careful to not take side. Sophia wants ALL adults to cooperate.
Sophia and Salma met the House Leader in Parliament
They also met a great environmentalist MP Richard Cannings
At #MakeTomorrow #Canada conference the youth got adults to dance and nailed their mock media interview
THIRD LAST TWEET
The Honourable @cathmckenna spoke of my daughter this week in the House of Commons during the emergency debates in the House of Commons. Sophia had just asked MP @MarcSerreMP to help Canada declare climate emergency
The Honourable @cathmckenna spoke of my daughter this week in the House of Commons during the emergency debates in the House of Commons. Sophia had just asked MP @MarcSerreMP to help Canada declare climate emergency
2nd LAST TWEET
Thanks Sudbury/Nickel Belt provincially+ federally. Your love for my daughter+ how you have helped her help the planet has been empowering for Sophia. We are so blessed for your service to our great country
@NickelBelt @jamiewestndp @LefebvrePaul @MarcSerreMP
Thanks Sudbury/Nickel Belt provincially+ federally. Your love for my daughter+ how you have helped her help the planet has been empowering for Sophia. We are so blessed for your service to our great country
@NickelBelt @jamiewestndp @LefebvrePaul @MarcSerreMP
LAST TWEET
The climate crisis is a non-partisan issue. Please heed what Sophia says. She wants ALL adults to cooperate and follow expert advice. That means being non-partisan, and working together - ALL OF US. Sophia is non-tribal b/c she is multi-racial. We must become one.
The climate crisis is a non-partisan issue. Please heed what Sophia says. She wants ALL adults to cooperate and follow expert advice. That means being non-partisan, and working together - ALL OF US. Sophia is non-tribal b/c she is multi-racial. We must become one.
