SEVERN CULLIS-SUZUKI ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVIST

Severn Cullis-Suzuki has been active in environmental and social justice work since kindergarten. At age 9, she started the Environmental Children’s Organization, a group of children committed to learning and teaching other kids about environmental issues. They were successful in raising enough money to appear at 1992’s Rio Earth Summit, and 12-year-old Severn delivered a powerful speech which gained worldwide attention. For this she received the UN Environment Program’s Global 500 Award at a ceremony in Beijing, China.

As a member of UN Secretary General Kofi Annan’s Special Advisory Panel, Cullis-Suzuki brought a document called the Recognition of Responsibility to the UN World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, South Africa. The trip also was the subject of a documentary film that aired on CBC’s long-running documentary series The Nature of Things.

Cullis-Suzuki has spoken worldwide on the necessity of redefining our values, acting with the future in mind, and listening to children. She co-founded the Skyfish Project, an Internet-based think tank that encourages youth to speak out for their future and adopt a sustainable lifestyle.

Cullis-Suzuki has completed a Bachelor of Science in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from Yale University, and more recently, a Masters in Ethnobotany from the University of Victoria, British Columbia.

view Severen’s 1992 speech at the summit in Rio:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAedbD2pIwY