Greta Thunberg is a Swedish environmental activist who gained global attention in 2018, at age 15, when she began a solo school strike. Following a summer of heat waves and wildfires, Greta sat outside the Swedish parliament for three weeks during school hours holding a large sign that read “SCHOOL STRIKE FOR CLIMATE.” Her demands were that the Swedish government reduce carbon emissions in accordance with the Paris Agreement, a legally binding international treaty aimed to prevent a global temperature rise of two degrees.

After Thunberg posted a photo of her first strike day on Instagram and Twitter, other social media accounts amplified her posts and other students and activists began to join her. Following Sweden's 2018 general election, Thunberg continued to school strike on Fridays and inspired youth across the globe to join, eventually forming the Fridays for Future movement.

Shortly after her first strike, Thunberg began participating in demonstrations across Europe and elsewhere, mobilized her online following, and made several high-profile public speeches about climate issues. In 2019, Thunberg addressed the U.N.'s Climate Action Summit in New York City.

“...How dare you! You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words…We are in the beginning of a mass extinction, and all you can talk about is money and fairy tales of eternal economic growth. How dare you!”

Thunberg’s impact inspiring others to take collective action and join the cause of climate justice has been coined “The Greta Effect.”

Over the years, Thunberg’s environmental justice work has become increasingly intersectional, as she’s aligned her advocacy with anti-capitalism and anti-fascist political activism. Most recently, she has been working to provide aid to Palestinian communities and is protesting to support ceasefire and free Palestine.

We’ll be looking at the real life Greta’s mannerisms and vocal intonations, as well as her powerful sense of purpose and iconic visual traits (braids! yellow raincoat!) as we create the character of Greta in our production. Here are a few extra videos for further exploration: