Speak Up!

Adora Svitak is a Bay Area-based writer and public speaker who advocates for youth empowerment around the world. In 2010, she delivered the speech 'What Adults Can Learn from Kids' at TED. It has received over 5 million views on TED.com alone, and has been translated into more than 40 different languages. Adora was named one of the '30 Top Thinkers Under 30' by Pacific Standard Magazine and contributes to numerous publications including Huffington Post, Mashable, Women's Media Center, Bust, The Bold Italic, and the TED blog. She has spoken in front of audiences at Google, Mashable and the United Nations. In addition to amplifying the voices of youth via TEDx events, Adora also runs writing and public speaking workshops at local high-schools.Camila Pinheiro is an illustrator, artist, and mother living in São Paulo, Brasil. She studied fashion and design in São Paulo, and worked for Dior and several agencies before opening her own studio. Her influences range from Magritte, Matisse and Mondrian to Alexander Girard.

Speak Up! is a joyful celebration of 45 speeches by children and teenagers who have stood up for causes they passionately believe in and challenged adults in power to take note.

This collection is testament to the hopefulness and spirit of the next generation, and the positive belief that we can, and should, act to protect the things we love.

From ground-breaking scientific inventions to pleas for the environment, anti-war speeches to incredible testimony of lived experiences, the speeches collected here demonstrate the profound wisdom of youth and why it is important to speak up and out on what concerns us.

'A society that cuts itself off from its youth severs its own lifeline; it is condemned to bleed to death.'
-Kofi Annan

Speak Up! is the sequel to So Here I Am , both celebrations of voices and communities too often marginalised and muted by society. Speak Up! includes 45 inspirational speeches from children and young adults that have changed our world, how we see and experience it, and the conversation. Speakers include Nobel Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai, Nobel Prize nominee Greta Thunberg and award-winning inventor and cancer researcher Jack Andraka.

Introduction

Joan of Arc - French heroine
Mario Savio - Student activist
Severn Cullis-Suzuki - Environmental activist
Rhiannon Tomtishen and Madison Vorva - Environmental activists
Jack Andraka - Inventor and researcher
Easton LaChappelle - Inventor
Kelvin Doe - Inventor
Madison Kimrey - Political activist
Joseph Kim - Human rights activist
Melissa Shang - Advocate for disability rights and representation
Jazz Jennings - Transgender rights advocate
Malala Yousafzai - Nobel Prize winner and education advocate
Patrick Kane - Disability rights advocate
Emer Hickey and Ciara Judge - Scientists
Raymond Wang - Inventor
Megan Grassell - Entrepreneur and clothing designer
Kenneth Shinozuka - Designer and inventor
Tara Subramaniam - Education reform advocate
Joshua Browder - Entrepreneur
Krtin Nithiyanandam - Scientist and inventor
Ishita Katyal - Youth advocate
Hadiqa Bashir - Activist against child marriage
Schuyler Bailar - Transgender rights advocate
Troye Sivan - Singer-songwriter, actor, and LGBTQ+ rights activist
Gavin Grimm - Transgender youth rights advocate
Tiera Fletcher (née Guinn) - Advocate for female representation in science
Melati and Isabel Wijsen - Environmental activists
Xiuhtezcatl Martinez - Environmental activist and musician
Elijah Walters-Othman - Advocate for equal access to education and job training
Muzoon Rakan Almellehan - Children's education advocate and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador
Josh Lafazan - Legislator and political activist
Zach Latta - Technologist
Memory Banda - Activist against child marriage
Kadallah Burrowes - Artist and accessible design advocate
Lauren Singer - Environmentalist and influencer
Sparsh Shah - Disability rights advocate
Amanda Southworth - Mental health advocate
Amika George - Activist fighting period poverty
Millie Bobby Brown - Actress and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador
Bana Alabed - Education and human rights advocate
Greta Thunberg - Environmental activist
Canwen Xu - Advocate for Asian-American heritage
Maya S. Penn - Philanthropist, environmental activist, entrepreneur, animator and CEO
Hilde Lysiak - Journalist
Anuna De Wever - Climate change activist

More Young People to Inspire
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Credits
Acknowledgements