Oct 10
Organizing for Climate Justice in Germany and Beyond
How are young people in Germany mobilizing to support climate action, social justice, and democracy? What strategies, narratives, and questions can spark change in multiple political venues? Hear from Luisa Neubauer and Helena Marschall, two of Germany’s leading climate activists about their work in organizing protests against climate injustice and the far right in Germany, community building, and connections between climate change, social justice, and labor movements.
Luisa Neubauer is the leading voice on the climate crisis in Germany and the climate justice movement's most prominent representative. In 2018, Luisa started building the climate youth movement "Fridays for Future" in Germany and has grown the movement internationally. The TIMES listed her on the 2022 list of the 100next. In 2021, she and others sued the German government for its lack of climate action in a landmark constitutional court ruling „Neubauer vs. Germany“ - and won. She has met with multiple heads of state including Barack Obama, Emmanuel Macron and Angela Merkel, and published three best-selling books on the climate crisis. She is also host of the Spotify Original Podcast "1.5 degrees" and is a frequent speaker, columnist and contributor for large outlets and events.
Helena Marschall is a 21-year-old climate activist and one of the key organizers behind Germany's largest climate and democracy mobilizations and protests in recent years. At 16, Helena organized school walkouts for climate with tens of thousands of participants in her city. Since then, she has coordinated dozens of national and European campaigns targeting big corporations, pushing for a coal phase-out in Germany, stopping LNG expansion, or taking back TikTok from the far right. Though born in Germany, Helena grew up partly in Massachusetts, where she attended elementary and middle school. Transatlantic dialogue has deeply shaped her activism and convinced her that learning the stories of movements around the world is necessary to inspire action at home.
from German Department