Swedish teenage activist Greta Thunberg will be featured on an upcoming cover of Time magazine in recognition of the global impact she has had in holding strikes for climate action outside Sweden’s parliament since August.
“Now I Am Speaking to the Whole World,” she wrote yesterday on Twitter, referencing a quote from the article featured in the magazine.
The tweet included a photo of the magazine’s cover.
Thunberg’s weekly protest outside parliament in Stockholm has snowballed since August 2018 and inspired students around the world to hold demonstrations calling for climate action under the #FridaysForFuture slogan.
In remarks to Time, Thunberg said her protest became a means to tackle severe depression that she experienced after studying climate change at school.
“I felt everything was meaningless and there was no point going to school if there was no future,” Thunberg said.
A month ago, the teenager met Pope Francis on the sidelines of a Vatican event in Saint Peter’s Square, where the Catholic leader encouraged her to continue her activism.
The 16-year-old has also recently addressed members of parliament in London, world leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, and those attending the UN climate conference held last year in Katowice, Poland.
“Before, I never really spoke when I was in my lessons or with my classmates,” Thunberg told Time. “But now I am speaking to the whole world.”
Thunberg shrugged off criticism she has faced online for her activism: “It’s quite hilarious when the only thing people can do is mock you, or talk about your appearance or personality, as it means they have no argument, or nothing else to say.”
The Time cover featuring Thunberg, taken from the magazine’s website.
