Severn suzuki biography of williams
The Girl Who Silenced The World - Transcript and Activity Worksheet
The Girl Who Silenced The World - Transcript and Activity Worksheet
Speech Transcript
Background information
Severn Suzuki was born and raised in Vancouver, Canada. Thanks to the influence of her
environmentalist father, Suzuki recognised from a young age that the environment was at risk, and at
age nine started the Environmental Children’s Organisation, a group of friends committed to learning
and teaching other kids about environmental issues. They were successful in several small projects.
Then, in 1992, Suzuki and three members of the ECO raised money to go to the United Nations Earth
Summit in Rio de Janeiro, where 12-‐year-‐old Severn delivered a powerful speech that garnered
worldwide attention. Her speech to delegates had such an impact that she became a frequent invitee
to U.N. conferences.
Meeting with a group of activists and thinkers on Pender Island, they identified the need for a solutions-based organization to tackle environmental crises. The Foundation was incorporated on September 14, 1990. It has grown from a small group taking on national and international issues to a larger, bilingual one focusing on Canada’s place and role in a world facing multiple crises, from biodiversity loss to climate disruption. With offices in Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto, the Foundation focuses on evidence-based solutions aimed at climate resilience, ocean health, biodiversity protection, recognition of Indigenous rights and title, and public empowerment. At the Foundation, we believe respect for nature and interdependence with it must be our species’ top priority. We began DSF under the Worldwatch Institute’s urgent call for the 1990s to be the turnaround decade. The early years were tough, as we managed projects on no budget and no salaries. But the public wanted us to succeed and encouraged us at every step, driving us through three strong, focused and effective decades, preparing us for the big one we now face. Tara Cullis and David Suzuki, co-founders Foundation milestones Foundation milestones Canadian scientist and environmentalist This article is about the biologist. For the U.S. heavy metal musician, see Dave Suzuki. David Takayoshi SuzukiCC OBC FRSC (born March 24, 1936) is a Canadian academic, science broadcaster, and environmental activist. Suzuki earned a PhD in zoology from the University of Chicago in 1961, and was a professor in the genetics department at the University of British Columbia from 1963 until his retirement in 2001. Since the mid-1970s, Suzuki has been known for his television and radio series, documentaries and books about nature and the environment. He is best known as host and narrator of the popular and long-running CBC Television science program The Nature of Things, seen in over 40 countries. He is also well known for criticizing governments for their lack of action to protect the environment. A longtime activist to reverse global climate change, Suzuki co-founded the David Suzuki Foundation in 1990, to work "to find ways for society to live in balance with the natural world that does sustain us." The Foundation's priorities are: oceans and sustainable fishing, climate change and clean energy, sustainability, and Suzuki's Nature Challenge. The Foundation also works on ways to help protect the oceans from large oil spills such as the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Suzuki has also served as a director of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association from 1982 to 1987. Suzuki was awarded the Right Livelihood Award in 2009. His 2011 book, The Legacy, won the Nautilus Book Award. He is a Companion of the Order of Canada. In 2004, Suzuki ranked fifth on the list of final nominees in a CBC television series that asked viewers to select The Greatest Canadian of all time. Suzuki has a twin sister named Marcia, as well as two other siblings, Geraldine (now known as Aiko) and Dawn. He was born in 1936 to Setsu Nakamura and Kaoru Carr Suzuki in Vancouver, British Columbia, where .
Hello, I'm Severn Suzuki from E.C.O., The Environmental Children's Organisation. We are a group of twelve and
thirteen-‐year-‐olds from Canada trying to make a difference: Vanessa Suttie, Morgan Geisler, Michelle Quigg
and me. We raised all the money ourselves to come six thousand miles to tell you adults you must change your
ways.
Coming up here today, I have no hidden agenda. I am fighting for my future. Losing my future is not like losing
an election or a few points on the stock market. I am here to speak for all generations to come. I am here to
speak on behalf of the starving children around the world whose cries go unhear Our timeline
The David Suzuki Foundation was born out of public concern. So many caring people responded to David Suzuki’s 1989 radio series It’s a Matter of Survival that he and spouse Tara Cullis decided to follow the talk with action.
1991
1992
David Suzuki
Early life