Students will take to the streets in Galway tomorrow (Friday ) as part of an international movement that will see students across 150 countries strike in a demonstrative response to what they consider a lack of action by global leaders when it comes to climate change.
Organised by Fridays for Future, a movement inspired by young climate change activist, Greta Thunberg, it has become a global ideology with national and regional branches across the world. The origin of Fridays For Future stems from Thunberg’s 2018 protest which saw her set up camp outside the buildings of Swedish parliament, frustrated with the lack of action to combat climate change by global leaders. The first school strike took place that year, with four million protesters around the world, made up largely of school children who abandoned their classrooms and took to the streets in protest.
The Galway arm of the protest will begin in Eyre Square at 1pm. Students around the city and county will be leaving school early to participate as part of these ongoing school strikes for climate. The event will begin with some chanting and speeches and will include a march down Shop Street.
Environmental and Sustainability Officer for the University of Galway’s Student Union, Malena Thren, says that the university’s students will be out participating in the protest.
“Galway city is, like so many other cities across the world, threatened by rising sea levels, biodiversity crisis and more extreme weather. With a student population of 20,000 we are planning to use our voice tomorrow to demand a liveable future for all.
“The protest in Galway is organised by Fridays for Future Galway and students from many organisations such as Vegansociety, Environmental Society and the SU Climate crew will take part in the march. We will all demand a better tomorrow, free of fossil fuel reliance, with circular economies, animal rights and most importantly, climate justice.”
The Galway Fridays for Future team say that, although this is a movement led by young people, everybody who cares about our future and our planet is welcome to show their support and participate no matter their age and invite people to join them in this Friday’s protest.
“Our planet and our future are in danger. The world is being destroyed by those in power. Dozens of species of plants and animals go extinct each day, nearly a thousand times more than the natural figure for extinction. By mid-century, as many as 30-50% of the species on Earth will have disappeared.
“Temperature records are being broken internationally. Extreme weather events are becoming far more common and far more severe. We are running out of time. Join us in the fight for our future”
