Though Greta Thunberg is not the leader of the youth climate change movement (which defines itself as leaderless), she has emerged as an eloquent spokesperson and almost singlehandedly has fashioned a powerful moral narrative for the movement. She has done so by using imagery, subconsciously resonating with pop culture, pushing social boundaries, and evoking moral authority. […]

India is often referred to as the world’s largest democracy, but one may question what kind of democracy imposes martial law on its own people. The Meira Paibis (“women with bamboo torches”) of Manipur in northeast India have been organizing for decades against the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), a controversial act that has spurred police impunity in the region. […]

Student climate strikers have sought to get local and national authorities to “treat the climate crisis as a crisis” by passing climate emergency declarations. The NGO Climate Mobilization now estimates that over 221 million people are represented by governmental entities that have made such declarations. This fundamental reframing work is a strategic first step in galvanizing power of ordinary citizens around the world to pressure their governments to take action.

“This is a fight for democracy and decolonization… The people are asking for respect, transparency, and a decolonization process,” Puerto Rican activist Javier Smith Torres said. The talk of revolution, a radical change to the entire system of government, is still afoot in Puerto Rico. What has already crystallized here this summer, though, is that ordinary people have become the protagonists in their political sphere. […]

We can engage through small acts of support, by improving our knowledge about movements, and by applying that knowledge in our daily activities and conversations. If profiles as diverse as an anthropologist in Puerto Rico, a director of a good governance NGO in Zimbabwe, a citizen journalist in Singapore, a National Minister of Culture in Armenia, a professor of peace psychology, and a front-line activist against modern-day slavery in Mauritania can do this, then ordinary, conscientious world citizens like us can too. […]

For the past 40 years, the community of Tallaboa Encarnación, in the municipality of Peñuelas, Puerto Rico, has been the site of sustained civil resistance campaigns against environmental polluters in the area. Yet the struggle has intensified in the past few months. […]

Uganda’s forests are disappearing at disturbing rates. After tireless but unproductive advocacy efforts, a small group of young farmers in the remote district of Amuru may have found a hack to curb deforestation with direct action. This year they’ve already impounded 27 truckloads of charcoal […]

As the climate crisis becomes more prominent and imminent, we often look for top down change when problems so profound and systemic must also be addressed from the bottom up. Everyday citizens can slash emissions and move the planet toward environmental sustainability—especially if they leverage their power at the community and city levels. Around the world, this is already a growing reality […]

Una poderosa insurrección civil por la democracia en Sudán que ha derrocado a un dictador que ha permanecido por mucho tiempo en el poder, y con el sucesor aún en proceso de designación los sudaneses están esperanzados de obtener una completa transición a la democracia. […]