Generation Z, citizens of the world?

The young who were born after 1995, are the generation with the greatest social activism, facing an uncertain future, we want a drastic change. And that does not mean that we are pessimistic, we are people aware of the failures of our society.

We were born and raised in the midst of a recession, in a world plagued by terrorism, high unemployment rates, inflation, a global pandemic and now a war.

This apocalyptic feeling leaves us with a hopeless future, even in fiction, tomorrow is painted more and more dystopian.

In recent years I have been to big cities like London, Milan, Athens, Madrid or Reykjavík and I have realized that the city is always the same, a point within another point inhabited by beings, versions of the same model, infinite combinations of young people who care about the same things. In Bilbao or in Athens, people dance to the same music and hallucinate with the same drugs, and seek the same thing, fight for something, make this world a better place, love, reasons to endure one more night...

The generation most aware of climate change, the most free of meat consumption... Many laughed at Greta, but I think she raised many consciences and as a result of the power of spreading her messages, local activists have emerged, and new Gretas, young people from all over the world who have come out and take to the streets to demand policies against climate change. Thank you Greta.

We are affected by what happens anywhere on the globe. Hmmm... does it affect us?

Homophobic attack in Oslo, bombing in Palestine, end to the right to abortion in the United States, the massacres in Ukraine, the situation in Afghanistan or Palestine...

We share news and facts that outrage us, we make visible and complain about the injustices that occur, but at the same time we have the feeling that there is little we can do to change problems of these dimensions.

I would not be able to tell you if they affect us in our lives or to what extent they do, but I will tell you that the first step is always to give voice to the problem, then each one will choose which cause they want to be more involved with, you cannot be all , besides it would be too frustrating, I'll just tell you to raise your voice for what really moves you and burns you inside, it's the best thing you can do to take a step towards change.

"Most of the times changing things generates conflicts, but they are necessary conflicts."

This stuck with me from a TED talk by an Argentine teenage activist named Yael Crupnicoff, she said that there are certain things that are worth fighting for. And it is that over time I have realized that it is necessary to raise my voice on many occasions, if a relative of mine makes a homophobic comment, I am going to argue with him. If I have a friend who is being sexist, I don't avoid the subject to keep the peace: I talk about it with that person, I listen to his opinion and I tell him mine without shame. Even if it is uncomfortable or sometimes scary.

For me, being or not a citizen of the world will depend on how we inform ourselves about other cultures, the consumption options we choose, how we welcome foreigners and refugees in our cities, in our communities, what we think of people, and the most distant countries; of how we react to the disasters and injustices that occur and above all of the attitudes that we transmit to our children, colleagues, friends, neighbors.

SMALL ACTIONS PRODUCE CHANGES, CHANGES ARE PRODUCED IF THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO DYNAMIZE PUBLIC OPINION.

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