Adelaide Charlier (born 9 December 2000) is a Belgian activist fighting for climate and social justice. She co-founded the Youth for Climate movement in Belgium. She is mainly known for her involvement in the fight against

climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

. Inspired by the actions of

Greta Thunberg Greta Tintin Eleonora Ernman Thunberg (; born 3January 2003) is a Swedish climate activist, climate and political activist initially known for challenging world leaders to take immediate action to climate change mitigation, mitigate the effec ...

, she is one of the leading figures, alongside Kyra Gantois and Anuna De Wever, of the first

school strikes for climate Fridays for Future (FFF), also known as the School Strike for Climate ( ), is an international movement of school students who skip Friday classes to participate in demonstrations to demand action from political leaders to prevent climate c ...

in Belgium.

Biography

Charlier was born on 9 December 2000, in

Namur Namur (; ; ) is a city and municipality in Wallonia, Belgium. It is the capital both of the province of Namur and of Wallonia, hosting the Parliament of Wallonia, the Government of Wallonia and its administration. Namur stands at the confl ...

. In 2018, she co-founded the Youth for Climate movement in Belgium with the aim of raising awareness and encouraging young people to act against climate change. Since then, she has organized several climate marches and

protest A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration, or remonstrance) is a public act of objection, disapproval or dissent against political advantage. Protests can be thought of as acts of cooperation in which numerous people cooperate ...

s and has been present in the media to talk about

global warming Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes ...

and

social justice Social justice is justice in relation to the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society where individuals' rights are recognized and protected. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has of ...

. Between 2018 and 2019, she became the French-speaking Belgian representative for

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...

. Since 2020, she has been a student in Political & Social Sciences at

Vrije Universiteit Brussel The Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Dutch language, Dutch, ; lit. Free University of Brussels; abbreviated VUB) is a Dutch- and English-speaking research university in Brussels, Belgium. It has four campuses: Brussels Humanities, Science and Engine ...

(VUB) and at

Ghent University Ghent University (, abbreviated as UGent) is a Public university, public research university located in Ghent, in the East Flanders province of Belgium. Located in Flanders, Ghent University is the second largest Belgian university, consisting o ...

(UGent). Adélaïde is also passionate about

sports Sport is a physical activity or game, often competitive and organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The number of participants in ...

: she was part of the swimming team at the

United Nations International School of Hanoi The United Nations International School of Hanoi is an international school in Hanoi, Vietnam. It is a private, non-profit organization founded in 1988 with the support of the United Nations Development Programme, United Nations Development Progr ...

and regularly practices

triathlon A triathlon is an endurance multisport race consisting of Swimming (sport), swimming, Cycle sport, cycling, and running over various distances. Triathletes compete for fastest overall completion time, racing each segment sequentially with the ...

Activism

Ecological awareness

Charlier became aware of the climate cause in her early teens, while living with her family in

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

. From 2012 to 2016, she attended the

, a United Nations school where the climate issue was particularly discussed.

Student strike for the climate

As the Youth for Climate "climate strikes" began in

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...

under the initiative of activists Anuna De Wever and Kyra Gantois, Charlier was asked to extend the mobilization to Wallonia. She quickly became one of the spokespersons and figures of the movement. At the time, she was still a student at

Collège Notre-Dame de la Paix Collège Notre-Dame de la Paix is a mixed Catholic primary and secondary school in Erpent, Namur, Belgium. Its origins go back to 1610 and the creation of the College of Namur by the Jesuits in the centre of Namur. After the suppression of the J ...

(

COP25 - Atlantic Crossing

In October 2019, Charlier crossed the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

by sailboat to attend the COP25 in

Santiago, Chile Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

, accompanied by other activists such as Anuna De Wever. During their journey, they learned that Chilean President

Sebastian Piñera Sebastian may refer to: People and fictional characters * Sebastian (name), including a list of persons and fictional characters with the name * Saint Sebastian, a Christian saint martyred in the 3rd century * Sebastian of Portugal (1554–1578 ...

had decided to cancel the COP25, following a severe social crisis in the country.

Documentaries

La Meuf du climat ("The Climate Girl")

In 2021, the

RTBF The ("Belgian Radio-television of the French Community"), shortened to RTBF (branded as rtbf.be), is a public broadcasting, public service broadcaster for the French Community of Belgium, French-speaking Community of Belgium. Its counterpart i ...

produced "''La Meuf du climat''", a 52-minute documentary dedicated to Charlier. Directed by Quentin Ceuppens, the documentary portrays the young woman from Namur by interviewing her close friends, family, scientists, and

, who has become one of her best friends.

Sœurs de combat

Charlier appears in the documentary "''Sœurs de combat",'' a film about youth engagement in favour of the climate, directed by

Henri De Gerlache Henri is the French form of the masculine given name Henry, also in Estonian, Finnish, German and Luxembourgish. Bearers of the given name include: People French nobles * Henri I de Montmorency (1534–1614), Marshal and Constable of France * ...

. The film was broadcast by the

I Am Greta

In 2020, Charlier appeared in the documentary by

Nathan Grossman Nathan or Natan may refer to: People and biblical figures *Nathan (given name), including a list of people and characters with this name * Nathan (surname) *Nathan (prophet), a person in the Hebrew Bible *Nathan (son of David), a biblical figu ...

, ''

I am Greta ''I Am Greta'' is a 2020 internationally co-produced documentary film directed by Nathan Grossman, following climate change activist Greta Thunberg. The film had its world premiere at the 77th Venice International Film Festival on 3 September 2 ...

''.

Awards and honors

In September 2019, Charlier was awarded the '' Medal of Walloon Merit'' by the Walloon government, on the occasion of the Fêtes de Wallonie. She is decorated by

Willy Borsus Willy Borsus (born 4 April 1962) is a Belgian politician. He is a member of the Reformist Movement (MR). He was the 14th Minister-President of Wallonia from the 28th of July 2017 to the 13th of September 2019. Political career Political ma ...

, Vice-President of Wallonia. In January 2020, she received the "''Namuroise of the Year''" award in the "Commitment to the Planet" category, for her leadership in climate marches. In February 2022, the Lobby Awards 2021 granted her the title of "Female Leadership of the Year".

Publications

Charlier is a co-author of the book "''Quel monde pour demain, dialogue entre générations''" (2020) with Esmeralda of Belgium, Anuna De Wever, and Sandrine Dixson-Declève. The book addresses climate issues in the form of a dialogue and proposes solutions for a more sustainable future.

Notes and references

Future generations Future generations are Cohort (statistics), cohorts of hypothetical people not yet born. Future generations are contrasted with current and past generations and evoked in order to encourage thinking about intergenerational equity. The Moral agenc ...

School Strike for Climate Fridays for Future (FFF), also known as the School Strike for Climate ( ), is an international movement of school students who skip Friday classes to participate in demonstrations to demand climate change mitigation, action from political le ...

* Youth for Climate *

Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5 °C The Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C (SR15) was published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on 8 October 2018. The report, approved in Incheon, South Korea, includes over 6,000 scientific references, and was prepar ...

Severn Cullis-Suzuki 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 re ...

, teenager who delivered a speech at the 1992 Rio Summit *

Murray Bookchin Murray Bookchin (; January 14, 1921 – July 30, 2006) was an American social theorist, author, orator, historian, and political philosopher. Influenced by G. W. F. Hegel, Karl Marx, and Peter Kropotkin, he was a pioneer in the environmental ...

Arne Næss Arne Dekke Eide Næss ( ; ; 27 January 1912 – 12 January 2009) was a Norwegian philosopher who coined the term "deep ecology", an important intellectual and inspirational figure within the environmental movement of the late twentieth cent ...

Derrick Jensen (activist) Derrick Jensen is an American ecophilosopher in the anarcho-primitivist tradition. Early and personal life Derrick Jensen was born in 1960 in Nebraska and was raised in Colorado. He attended the Colorado School of Mines with a scholarship a ...

Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American former politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. He previously served as ...

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Charlier, Adelaide Belgian climate activists Belgian women activists Belgian women environmentalists Living people Youth climate activists 2000 births People from Namur (city) 21st-century Belgian women writers