Reimagine your world with four stories of youth activism!

We believe storytelling is an amazing and powerful tool for young activists! Stories can inspire people and help folks imagine how their world could be different.

This National Storytelling Week we want to share some amazing TRUE stories of young activists to get you inspired. 

What all of these young people have in common is that they started their activism journeys by looking at what they needed and using their own experience to inspire change. 

Keep reading to find out about 4 fantastic stories of youth activism:

The woman who pushed back on period poverty

Amika George was just 17 when she first read an article about young people in the UK who were missing school because they couldn’t afford sanitary products. Faced with this shocking truth she set up Free Periods and began spreading the word and campaigning for the government to provide sanitary products for all young people who needed them.

Through making petitions, protesting outside parliament, spreading her message on social media and partnering with the Red Box Project she managed to get this issue in the limelight.

Then in January 2020 she helped launch a legal battle against the UK government arguing that it was their responsibility to provide menstrual products to make education accessible to all children no matter their sex.

After a quick victory, the Department of Education began funding sanitary products in every school in England, something that had already been brought into Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish schools.

Click here to find out more about the Free Periods Movement she founded

“I started my campaign before I could even vote, and I think that’s a testament to the fact that, actually, you can achieve change as somebody who is not represented in politics.” 

-Amika George

The content creator who found community

Ella Willis is a wonderful content creator and illustrator from Newcastle who uses their own experience as a queer person with autism and ADHD to connect with people and raise awareness of the challenges and stigma that LQBTQIA+ and neurodiverse people face.

They were diagnosed as autistic as an adult and soon found an online community of autistic people they related to, who talked about their own experiences and showed how their different needs and challenges showed up day to day. This inspired them to post their own content and they’ve gained a large following of people from around the world. ​

They tell stories and share their experience through short, engaging and often very funny videos. Some of their recent videos discuss the meaning of the word neurodivergent and their different sensory needs. However, their content is also varied and includes videos about fashion, politics and what they get up to in their day-to-day life.

As well as their content creation work they have also illustrated a book for young people with autism all about how to make different outdoor activities fun and accessible and co-founded the Canny Queer Collective, a group in Newcastle that runs fun and accessible events for queer people in the area. You can find them on Instagram @cannyqueercollective 

You can find them on Tiktok @ellaellaw and Instagram @_ellawillis

"One of the most validating things is when people reach out and say ‘Your content has allowed me to be myself’ because online content allowed me to do that. So the fact that I have created that space for other people is very strange but very nice, and it’s validating and has become a form of therapy for me where I’ve been able to find like-minded people."

-Ella Willis

Two sisters who said no to single use plastic

Sisters Melati and Isabel Wijsen were inspired to get into activism after a lesson in school about people who have made big changes in society including Nelson Mandela, Lady Diana and Mahatma Gandi.

They started looking for things they could do to improve the lives of young people in their local area of Bali. So when they heard that less than 5% of plastic bags in Bali were being recycled they knew they needed to do something about it.

They began their campaign Bye Bye Plastic Bags in 2013 and got their friends and community involved. To get media attention and make practical change they gave presentations, TED talks and distributed alternative bags. In 2018 they organized Bali's biggest beach clean up with 20,000 people who collected 65 tons of waste.

This all caught the attention of politicians and they eventually got Bali’s governor at the time to ban single-use plastics.

​Click here to check out their organisation Bye Bye Plastic Bags

"No matter how old you are or where you come from, you can always lead by example. Don't wait for permission. Don't wait until you're older for someone to make that path for you. Make your own path - and go for it."

- Melati Wijsen

​The writer lifting the lid on life as a young disabled person

Melissa Cassidy is a Glaswegian writer and disability advocate who shares her life and experience with Cerebral Palsy, raising awareness of the challenges that young disabled people face.  

She started her blog at 14 years old simply sharing about her experiences growing up, writing in a smart, funny and engaging way about the challenges she found in mainstream school, the stereotypes and discrimination she experienced and the pressure she sometimes felt to match her able bodied peers.

She is now 19 and a lot has changed since she started her blog. She’s written a children's book with a fun story that raises awareness of the everyday challenges of disabled people and she started writing for Able Magazine which is the UK’s leading disability magazine. She’s also studying Film and Journalism at University with plans to continue developing her writing and filmmaking career in future.

Her blog is still thriving and is a great resource for young disabled people making the transition from school to university.
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A lot of Melissa’s writing shows how she’s been made to feel different because of her disability. Yet through her writing she’s able to connect with other young people who can relate to her experience. 
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 Click here to read Melissa’s blog Buttons and Ramps

"Eventually I had to let go of the internal desperation to be like everyone else and this is where I started forming better relationships with my assistants and even made a few friends."

- Melissa Cassidy

Aren't they all amazing?!

It just goes to show what's possible when you share your own story and open the door to finding a community of people who care deeply about the same things as you and are invested in making meaningful change. 

Drop us a comment and let us know who inspires you!

And if you'd like to write down your own story be sure to check out the free resources from the National Literacy Trust:

Click here for National Literacy Trust resources

Brainstorm from Ensemble Young Company

If you’d like to see more of young people’s stories then look no further than our upcoming tour of Brainstorm to venues around the North East:

Mortal Fools’ Ensemble Young Company presents Brainstorm - an honest, funny, and thought-provoking theatre show diving into the messy mechanics of the teenage brain!

​​Every day, 86 billion neurons connect, crash, collide, and clash. It’s a cocktail of chaos and constant change.

Brainstorm is a fast-paced exploration of the imperfectly perfect teenage brain, told by 11 talented young performers going through the highs and lows of the teen experience right now. Join them in discovering their relationships, needs, hopes, dreams, fears, and frustrations, in a whole new light.   ​

Click here to find out more about Brainstorm and book your tickets