Severn Cullis-Suzuki (born 30 November 1979) is a Canadian environmental activist and writer. She has spoken around the world about environmental issues, urging listeners to define their values, act with the future in mind and take individual responsibility. She is the daughter of Canadian environmentalist David Suzuki.

Biography

Severn Cullis-Suzuki was born and raised in Vancouver, British Columbia. is a third-generation Japanese Canadian.

In 1993, she was honoured in the United Nations Environment Programme's Global 500 Roll of Honour. She moved to Vancouver, BC in order to start her new role as the Executive Director of the David Suzuki Foundation, which she began in September 2021.

She is related to two NHL players, Nick Suzuki and Ryan Suzuki.

Cultural tributes

In 2009, French guitarist MattRach and his band used extracts from her 1992 speech in their track Human Bullshit.<br>

In 2010, French DJ Laurent Wolf used her 1992 speech to turn it into a track : 2012 - Not The End Of The World.<br>

In 2016, NINSKEEN used part of her speech in the title Make Your Actions Reflect Your Words.<br>

In 2017, the French group Grands Boulevards used an excerpt from her speech in the track Children of Light 8.<br>

In 2017, the French group Way For Nothing used her speech in the title Consciousness.<br>

In 2016 and 2018, the French musician Owen Le Guen used excerpts from her speech in the tracks Before Our Eyes and They Exist.<br>

In 2018, a few lines of her speech can be heard from the vertical version of Alan Walker's Different World music video.<br>

In 2018, Louise Tilleke painted a portrait of Severn Cullis-Suzuki which she presented in her Parisian exhibition entitled Ask not the Earth….<br>

In 2020, more than 20 animation directors, under the artistic supervision of Simone Giampaolo, transposed her speech into a short film named Only a Child, which they describe as "a visual poem". It won the Ray Harryhausen Award for best animated short film.<br>

In 2022, for the thirtieth anniversary, the artist Selfish Patterns uses parts of the speech in the track 1992.

See also

  • Greta Thunberg – as a minor is also notable as an environmental activist since 2018
  • Licypriya Kangujam – Indian child environmental activist
  • Rachel Parent – activist who challenges Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) in food

References

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Further reading

  • Severn Cullis-Suzuki official website
  • "The Young Can't Wait" by Severn Cullis-Suzuki, Time magazine, August 2002
  • "Freedom and Rights" by Servern Cullis-Suzuki at Library and Archives Canada
  • "We Need to Win", Michael Archer interviews Severn Suzuki, "Guernica" magazine, April 2009
  • Democracy Now! interview from 2012