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Be The Face Of Change by James Rint

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Nelson Mandela once said. ‘The youth of today will be the leaders of tomorrow,’ but what does this quote mean? It means that you, yes you, no matter how old you are, if you have any sort of disability or whether you are considered unworthy because of your gender or your race, you can still be the person people look up to. 

And no, it does not just mean that go to the house of parliament and say ‘I want to be the Prime Minister.’ It means that you become the leader of change whether it is about pollution, climate change, poverty or something rarely talked about.  

We need more young people today to drop their phones, stop scrolling through social media and focus on real world problems. Studies have even shown that only 70% of young people know what is going on in the world today. The generation that is meant to be leading our children are ever so slowly drifting away.  

And you do not have to be the perfect leader people look up to, leaders can be imperfect and make mistakes because as Albert Einstein has said ‘Anyone who has never had a mistake, has never tried something new.’ When you are a leader, it is about being the best version of yourself.  

Because your voice can empower and guide others, your voice can change lives of people you do not even know and your voice can be the stamp for others in the future. 

But if you think that you cannot be a leader because of persecutions in your life, well do not worry, all of our leaders today, and the past, have been through such persecutions. And let us remember what one song writer once said,  

Never gonna give you up
Never go let you 
Never gonna ran around and desert you. 

And even though this does not have any personal meaning it has a few words to learn. It is to never give up and desert our dreams of being a leader of tomorrow. Thank you for your time. 

The Youth of Today Have Such Potential For Tomorrow by Tyra Ernst

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2050, 29 years from today

I’ll be 44 going on 45

And thinking about that, a lot comes to mind.

 

Now that’s far into the future to think about,

Yet, without a doubt,

I know that like me there are others worrying about the state of the world.

And let’s not pretend there’s no reason to be concerned.

 

But in case you’re genuinely confused what I could be worried over

I’ll list them, the few things I could think of were

The threat of nuclear war,

The rapid extinction of species,

Increased use of biotechnologies,

And how that leads to increased chances of biological warfare.

The endless stream of greenhouse gases being pumped into the air.

The escalating housing crisis,

Overpopulation which only seems entice us, to have MORE children

Rapid deforestation

Decreased productivity in producing food, and this isn’t a random observation.

It’s linked to our very well known friends, climate change and global warming.

Don’t forget the acidification of land and water, which most governments seem to be ignoring.

The food shortage threat

AND THE EVER GROWING AMOUNT OF WORLD DEBT

 

As much as I wanted to stand here and complain for 4 minutes straight,

I’m going to offer my opinions for a better future that we can create.

While maybe bringing up things I don’t like or things that bother me.

Now my goal isn’t to be controversial,

But I’m not very thrilled about our society.

I believe that there should be things that are just universal.

 

Education, health services, access to food and water.

Such basic needs,

Yet it’s almost like they don’t matter.

Why is it we live in a world where the country and financial situation you were born into have such a big impact on your chance at life.

And don’t get me started on how race and gender play a role.

It just seems so hard to bring up these inequalities without causing strife.

 

This is where the youth of today come in,

Our patience is  running thin.

Most experts agree that “Gen Z” has the biggest chance to bring around change.

And to some, this need to be different or the excessive stubbornness may be strange.

But it’s because the current systems in place just don’t work.

From educational, to political, to justice, to economic,

This is where the problems begin to lurk.

90 percent of the time only specific groups of people are completely benefitted,

While everyone else is stuck, still people deny the systems need to be renovated.

 

WE see these issues though, WE live through it, WE don’t like it

And to make a difference we are willing to commit.

Kids and young adults need to be empowered and encouraged,

Hate is taught, however can be unlearned and discouraged.

 

We don’t want to work at a job we hate for the rest of our lives,

And yes, most of us want to do more than nothing while glued to our device.

Even if we don’t “know enough” about capitalism or economics,

We want change, change that’s good for everyone, not just some quick fix.

Humans created the very injustices and inequalities currently on display,,

We created the very world that runs on exploitation and unfair power everyday.

But the idea that it can be changed is “radical” or even “insane”.

 

We are tired of this generational Ponzi scheme,

Where present adults decide to do things in their interest, even if the consequences for the future seem extreme.

Pushing all responsibility onto the kids they’re raising, or future generations they don’t even know,

None of them wanted to do anything about the later mess, until their own glass started to overflow.

 

Time has run out,

And the idea that these issues will only start happening in the far future isn’t an accurate account.

2050? Try 2035, try 2030, wait, try right now.

Because of the carelessness and greed,

These devastating things have already started to proceed.

 

We may not know what to do completely,

But we have to do something, and we aren’t gonna ask discreetly.

Although controversial isn’t my goal,

I don’t really care if I am.

Because it looks like we have to take control,

We just don’t want to continue the generational scam.

 

The youth of today have such potential for tomorrow,

Even though some of us already have to take action against the sorrow.

But once you start listening, I’m sure the positives will follow.

Spoken Word Response To ‘The Youth Of Today Are The Leaders Of Tomorrow’ by Vempoijala Trief

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Rising seas

Plastic Pollution

Necks under knees

Digital Evolution

 

We want you to say her name

Women to be the same

You see, fishes are dying

And black mothers are crying 

 

You can call us liars

But those Australian fires

If you couldn’t tell

Seemed like they were sent from hell

 

Look, what i’m trying to say

Is that this world has many a problem

And i don’t know we’re gonna solve ‘em

But what i do know is

 

WE

The youth of today

Will be the ones to save the day

You’ll see

 

Because WE

Will be the ones making decisions

Amending divisions

You’ll see

 

WE will be the leaders of our future

We will nurture change

Not just sit in a cage

 

Because WE

Know that this world isn’t just ours

It’s yours, it’s our children’s, it’s our grandchildrens

So we better make it better

 

We the Youth

Are the future leaders, that’s the truth

But we don’t wanna wait till it’s too late

So today we start to change our fate

 

Look, for example, at Greta Thunberg

Like the rest of us, she knows the world is an iceberg

We’re nearly at our melting point

So she makes a point

Of challenging world leaders to start addressing our changing climate

Showing us that no more should we be quiet

 

Look at Naomi Osaka

A young and gifted athlete

Using her platform to tell the world what matters

Yes, Black Lives Matter

 

Look at Melati and Isabel Wijsen

These sisters were only teens

When they helped Bali say ‘bye bye’ to plastic bags

What queens

 

Let their actions be a testimony

That regardless of age

We can begin a new page

And create a NEW chapter worth fighting for

A new chapter we can ALL benefit from

 

This is no tom-foolery 

Understand that we have the ability

To create and initiate change

We HAVE center stage.

 

So let’s light it up

And speak up

Before our time is up

 

The Youth of Today Are the Leaders of Tomorrow

But we are running out of time

So let’s make our future now

The time is now

 

Thank you.

 

We Are The Youths That Will Be Leaders Of Tomorrow.

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A wise man who goes by the name Nelson Mandela once quoted  “Youths of Today are the Leaders of tomorrow.” We are the youths, we are the future, we are the generation that will move forward. Youth is the most influential generation of this century. Born and raised in the digital age, we have the power to shape this world with our ideas and contributions. This is a powerful responsibility, one that we take very seriously. We are aware of all the major problems our society faces: climate change, violence, poverty…

Our generation is more than capable of taking this great responsibility and is already finding ways to solve these problems. Greta Thunberg, I bet that name might ring a bell to a few of you. In 2018 when Greta was only 15, she skipped school to sit outside the Parliament holding up a sign which wrote school strike for climate change.

Malala Yousafza spoke out about the prohibition of girls education, she was only 11 years old. And others like Yara shahidi, Jazz jennings, Isra Hirsi,hasan zafar, Marli Diaz,joshua williams, avi schiffman and So much more.

We, the youth of Today have so much power, Gen Z, our Generation. Unlike past generations we have the right to let our voices be heard, to speak up about concerning issues. Statistics from the UN shows that there are about 1.2 billion youths all around the world, that’s about one sixth of the global population. We are the highest number of youths in history. Imagine how much we could change society  if every youth found a way to speak up, if every youth let their voices be heard. We have the ability, the mindset and the skills. Believe it or not, youths are capable of solving concerning issues like poverty, unemployment, equality, hunger and violence. Youths have already started changing the world, one issue at a time. Climate change, women’s rights, the rights to vote and equal education.

Looking in this room I see young people with a lot of potential, aspirations, intelligence and passion. So how could you as a young individual do your part? And I’m not telling you to go and find a new planet for us to escape to. But to do little things to help your community.

  1. Volunteer, oftentimes we have some natural disasters and you can help volunteer to aid those who are in need.
  2. Spread awareness, I’m sure most of you in this class have social media. One way to use it is to help spread awareness about what is going on in the world.
  3. Petitions, sign or create. Although they may be looked down upon, they help to get a lot more issues notices.
  4. Contribute, let your voice be heard. Speak what you think.
  5. And lastly Donate or charity. These help a lot of underprivileged people.

Remember small things make a big difference, besides it only takes a small pin to burst a big balloon.

The Hill We Climb. Amanda Gorman Inspires The Youth Of Today To Become Leaders Of Tomorrow.

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“You are never too young to lead and you should never doubt your capacity to triumph where others have not” – Kofi Annan. We, the youths of today, have so much potential which we can use to lead as the leaders of tomorrow. A great leader who exhibits this is Amanda Gorman.

Amanda Gorman is a 23-year-old American poet and activist known for her powerful poems about oppression, feminism, race, and marginalization. Gorman is an inspiration as she overcame speech and auditory processing challenges to end up performing one of her poems at the U.S presidential ceremony of President Biden early this year, 2021. Gorman courageously delivered her ‘The Hill We Climb’ poem that messages about hope, unity, healing, and resilience for America. She made a positive change that encouraged others to grasp opportunities and pursue their dreams despite the challenges faced. This positive change benefits aspiring poets, disabled people, people of color, and young women, including us, youths, to make our dreams a reality.

Born and raised by a single mother in Los Angeles along with a brother and her twin, Amanda Gorman developed a great love for poetry in third grade. Gorman developed an auditory processing disorder that caused a speech impediment after experiencing chronic ear infections when she was a baby. Despite being unable to pronounce certain consonants and sounds clearly, Gorman was determined to succeed no matter what. At the age of 16, Amanda Gorman became the Los Angeles youth poet laureate in 2014. A year later, she published her first poetry book, The One for Whom Food Is Not Enough. In 2017, she became the first young poet to open the Library of Congress’s literary season. In the same year, whilst studying sociology at Harvard College, where she graduated from in 2020, Gorman was selected as the first National Youth Poet Laureate of the U.S at the age of 19. She later rose to fame in 2021 after reading her ‘The Hill We Climb’ poem at Biden’s inauguration ceremony and is currently focusing on her career.

In 2016, Amanda Gorman founded her own non-profit organization called One Pen One Page that promotes youth literacy and leadership. Gorman believes that one kid, one pen and one page can change the world. With over 122 million illiterate youths in the world, according to the UN, One Pen One Page will prevent them from dropping out of school. Gorman aims to empower youths, like us, to use our voice and help eliminate inequality. She reminds us that voices are not meant to remain silent but to be heard. She, as a woman, a youth, a poet, and an activist, echoed the voices of youths around the globe. As the first youngest inaugural poet, Amanda Gorman, amongst many others, proved that age, flaws, color, or gender is irrelevant when change is needed.

In conclusion, Amanda Gorman has empowered, inspired and encouraged us youths to use our potential to shape the future generation. Her disability became her motivation. Her love for poetry became her passion. Her dream became a reality. We, the youth of today are the leaders of tomorrow.