Seventeen's 2019 Voices of the Year: 11 Young People Who are Changing the World
Whether you're cheering on your school's football team, screaming at your sibling to turn their music down, or chanting while protesting climate change, you know there is so much power behind your voice. What you say matters, and it's only enhanced by the scope of the internet and social media. From spreading a petition on Instagram, to speaking up for someone who is not given the safety and privilege to fight for themselves, there is so much that a single voice can do to impact the world.
So, stand tall, and belt out what you believe in. You'll be in good company. There are so many young people around the world making a huge difference in our collective future. This year, Seventeen is honoring 11 people under the age of 25 as the 2019 Voices of the Year. These thought leaders are fighting for what they believe in, and inspiring people everywhere to help make the world a better place.
Jamie Margolin has one question: "How am I supposed to plan and care about my future when my leaders aren’t doing the same?" That's why the high school senior has become a climate champion, founding the movement Zero Hour and protesting since she was fourteen.
Calling it the key to all justice, Margolin, 17, believes that, in order to solve climate change, we must "dismantle all the systems of oppression that caused it in the first place." In order to do this, Margolin has learned that "you can't motivate the world with one giant existential crisis, but you can motivate them with a hope of a brighter future."
So, that's exactly what she's doing. In between SAT prep and college applications, Margolin travels the world promoting Zero Hour's cause, and informing the public of the need to act now.
It's been a whirlwind year for Billie Eilish, but despite releasing an album, traveling around the world on tour, and gracing multiple magazine covers, the singer has still found time to use her platform to discuss the important issues.
In her music video for "All the Good Girls Go to Hell," Eilish, 17, depicts a winged creature bogged down by black goo, a metaphor for the countless animals affected by oil spills. "Our earth is warming up at an unprecedented rate, ice caps are melting, our oceans are rising, our wildlife is being poisoned and our forests are burning," she wrote on an Instagram story where she also announced her support for the climate strike and the Green Peace movement.
In September, the singer took to her Instagram stories again, this time ahead of a show in Atlanta. Due to Georgia's laws prohibiting abortion, Eilish announced that she would donate a portion of the money she made to Planned Patenthood. "We need this organization more than ever," she wrote.
Eilish has also spoken out about the need for better gun control, especially in the wake of recent mass shootings. The singer has voiced her support for organizations such as Everytown, encouraging fans to get in touch with the non-profit as well.
Inspired by the Carrying The Weight movement, Jace Ritchey and a group of activists marched across the Northeastern University campus carrying a twin XL mattress. "It was a moving metaphor for the emotional weight survivors walk with every day," Ritchey said, and it was the first political action they ever took. "I found myself deeply motivated by the power reclaimed in that action."
Since then, Ritchey, 23, has jumped fully into the fight for survivors' rights, fighting against the criminal justice processes that leave many affected by sexual assault — like people of color and undocumented immigrants — without survivor-centered resources.
"At the end of the day, this is a fight for essential rights to safety, to education, to fulfilling our potential," they said. "We won’t stop fighting — we can’t, because our generation has everything to lose."
In 2020, Lachlan Watson knows what they want to accomplish. "My goal is to find and/or create the world where I can be my most authentic self," they said. "And I can't wait to share that space with the world."
In reality, though, Watson, 18, has been working toward this goal for a while now, partnering with non-profits like the Trans Justice Funding Project, which works to support grass roots movements fighting for human rights. "TJFP is a group that gives funding and a metaphorical mic to trans-lead organizations that otherwise would not be able to do what they do, and right now we need to hear those voices more than ever," they said.
Watson has also been making strides in the world of acting, portraying one of the youngest non-binary characters on TV in Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. Of course, their road hasn't always been easy, but they encourage other LGBTQ+ youth to find their own power in themselves. "Stop giving weight to who the world thinks you should be and take time to listen to YOU."
It all started when Amika George stumbled upon a BBC report about young women forced to miss school because they didn't have access to period products.
"I remember thinking, 'How can that be right?'" she said. "Periods aren't something we opt into." When George, 20, saw that nothing was being done to help these girls, she decided to take action herself. So, she founded Free Periods with the goal of ending period poverty in the UK.
From her bedroom, George created a petition that called on the UK government to provide free menstrual products in schools around the country. In 2018, the government pledged 1.5 million GBP to tackle the issue, with an additional pledge in 2019 to make funds available so every primary school, secondary school, and college can offer free period products, but George's fight isn't over.
"We are hoping to see if we can make similar change happen in other countries so that every country recognizes period poverty as something that needs to be eliminated," she said. George is also working toward ending the antiquated stigma around periods. "It shouldn't be something that we are embarrassed and shameful about. It's normal and natural and we don't need to apologize for them."
Rose Lavelle has had quite a year thanks to her win at the World Cup with the rest of the US Women's National Soccer Team. "I’ve looked up to the [1999 team] and the whole national team as idols of my own," she said. "I feel honored and humbled to be able to positively influence the next generation of athletes and I take pride in being a role model."
Now, Lavelle, 24, and her teammates are fighting for equal pay, accusing U.S. Soccer of gender discrimination. Right now, the women receive far less compensation than the men's team, despite the fact that they are the most decorated women's national team in the world, while the men haven't gotten close to winning the World Cup since they placed 3rd in 1930. The result: The women's team is suing the USSF with a trial set to begin on May 5, 2020.
Aside from that, Lavelle is looking toward the future, namely the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo where she will be headed with the national team. "There’s no limit to success, especially when you’re determined and put your mind into whatever you want to pursue."
Growing up in Bali, Melati and Isabel Mijsen, ages 18 and 16, were surrounded by nature. "We used to run around the rice fields toward the ocean," Melati remembered of her childhood. So, when their home started getting overrun with plastic bags, they knew they had to do something. "Plastic was everywhere," she said. "In the rivers, on the beach, in the fields and roads. There was no escaping it."
After learning that 40 other countries had already banned plastic bags, the Mijsen sisters didn't see why Indonesia couldn't follow suit. So, at just 10 and 12, they decided to take action and form the non-profit, Bye Bye Plastic Bags,
Fast forward six years and the sisters' goal was reached when Indonesia passed a law this year, prohibiting plastic bags, straws, and styrofoam in the country. But the sisters are not satisfied. BBPB is now focusing its efforts globally with 35 teams across the world fighting to end the use of single-use plastic.
Coco Gauff made waves in June when she beat Venus Williams in the first round of Wimbledon, after receiving a wildcard to qualify for the tournament. When she faced top-seeded Naomi Osaka in the third round of the US Open a month later, all eyes were on her, and the world watched as the two young women engaged in an intense match that ended with a sweet embrace between the two.
Since then, Gauff, 15, has emerged as an inspiration to young athletes, receiving messages and kind words from young people around the world. Gauff's advice for aspiring athletes is to continue to "dream big" and to find a great support system.
"I think you need to have great people around you to help with your development and it goes full circle with mental health and being happy with who you are as a person," she said. In the future, she hopes to have a hand in helping other young people reach their goals by "providing communities the opportunity to play sports and dream big just like me."
Edna Chavez began to dip her toe into activism following the 2016 presidential election, starting with voter registration and door knocking around her neighborhood in South Central LA. Motivated by her work, as well as her father's deportation to their home country of Guatemala, Chavez, 19, started doing "Know Your Rights" workshops for undocumented immigrants in her community.
"This is my future and the future of the younger generations," she explained. "We need to continue to talk about the issues that have been going on for decades." Chavez is now also an advocate for mental health and affordable housing, on top of her work with immigrant rights. She continues to fight for change and for a better future for those in her community, both in LA and Guatemala.
Hailey Hardcastle was not happy with her school's approach to mental health. Not only did it lack the appropriate education on various topics, but it also had zero resources for students experiencing mental health issues. Despite that, Hardcastle, 19, saw many of her friends and classmates dealing with the effects of mental disorders.
"Early education about mental well-being is the best way to be proactive rather than reactive about the mental health crisis," she said, which is why she is continuing the fight to address this gap in education in the upcoming year.
Hardcastle has already been highly succesful when it comes to mental health awareness. Thanks to her, Oregon became one of the first states to mandate excused mental health days for students. "People are more productive and successful when they’re happy but mental health challengers are a normal thing that everyone goes through," she said. "Students deserve to understand and have resources to help with their mental health."
Jude Valentin created the Mermaid Kingdom when they were a senior in high school as a place for "empathy, compassion, and accountability." Through their blog posts, motivational talks, and photography, Valentin, 23, has developed a space of acceptance and celebration for our differences.
"It's for the fat babes in the world, the queer babes in the world, the babes that struggle with mental health," they said of their online community. But that's not the only way that Valentin is disrupting the world of beauty standards and labels. They also have a YouTube page where they discuss everything from diet culture to what they call YouTube's diversity problem.
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