Photo courtesy Lilly Platt.
12-year-old Lilly Platt describes herself as a Global Youth Ambassador, Speaker & Environmental Champion – she is in fact one of the biggest environmentalists in the world. She started with a simple aim when she was just 7 years old: to clean up the rubbish she found in public. In four years she has collected more than 100,000 pieces of waste. This movement, ‘Lillys Plastic Pickup’, has since gone viral. Lilly is passionate that “adults should let children speak,” stating, “after all, it’s not the adults who control the future, but we. Adults should not be allowed to determine the future of children, how much CO2 is emitted or how many trees are left over.” With this in mind Lily participates in the school strikes #Fridaysforfuture; she’s striked for 56 weeks and became the longest standing school striker in the Netherlands.
Lilly’s goal is to inform the world, including global politicians and policymakers, about the harmful effects of climate change and plastic pollution. Through her social media presence and numerous ambassadorial roles she is making great headway. At one point, she was ranked 28th out of 100 top influencers worldwide tackling plastic pollution on twitter and her dedication to the cause won her the International EcoHero Award in 2019.
Lilly Platt is inspirational because she is not just a believer, she is a doer. She is well-informed and she knows a crucial way to create meaningful change is to get politicians and leaders to commit to real actions, not empty promises. Not only that but Lilly sets an example and calls on others to do the same – and this has proved powerful. Lillys importance comes from her ability to inspire others to create change through her words and actions.