Day of the Girl

9 Girls Who Are Changing the World

Sometimes the biggest source of inspiration are our youngest members of society. These inspiring kids and teenage activists
are fighting for a brighter future.

Written By: Marnie Schwartz

Marley Dias

Frustrated by the lack of books about kids who looked like her at her school’s library, then 10-year-old Dias started #1000BlackGirlBooks drive, with the goal of collecting and donating 1,000 books that feature Black girls as the main characters. She has collected more than 12,000 books and now, at 15, is the host of Netflix’s Bookmarks, a Reading Rainbow-like show where Black celebrities read children’s books featuring Black characters.

Mari Copeny

Known as “Little Miss Flint” Copeny became well known when, at age 8, she wrote a letter to President Obama urging him to visit Flint, Michigan to see the water crisis. Since then, the 13-year-old has gone on to become involved with the Women’s March as well as climate, youth, and bullying issues. She has also raised over $500,000 for her Flint Kids projects, which gives back to children in her community.

Avery McRae

A love of animals and the outdoors prompted McRae to raise money for endangered species as early as the first grade. In 2015, when she was in 6th grade, she became one of the youngest plaintiffs in Juliana v. United States, a lawsuit of 21 young plaintiffs against the government for contributing to the climate crisis.

Jahin Rahman

A high school senior, Rahman already has quite the activist and entrepreneurial resume—and has won many awards noting her work. She’s the founder of Efforts in Youth Development of Bangladesh (EYDB), an organization dedicated to fighting child poverty in Bangladesh. The nonprofit, which has more than 300 volunteers, has built libraries and computer labs, established a literacy program, and is working to establish a drug rehab center in Dhaka.

Thandiwe Abdullah

A founding member of the Black Lives Matter Youth Vanguard, Abdullah also helped to create the Black Lives Matter at School, campaign, being adopted by the National Education Association. The 16-year-old has been involved with BLM since age 10, and is also active in the March for Our Lives movement against gun violence.

Greta Thunberg

Now a household name, in 2018 Thunberg started a school strike for climate that is now Fridays For Future, and involves over 100,000 kids around the world. She has since addressed the United Nations and the World Economic Forum and led the largest climate strike in history. At age 17, she has quickly become the face of the movement for climate action.

photograph of young activist Greta Thurnberg giving a speech.

Sophie Cruz

The daughter of undocumented immigrants, Cruz became the face of immigration reform. She began her activism at age 5 when she passed Pope Francis a note asking for help to keep her parents from being deported. Since then, she met with President Obama, and spoke in front of tens of thousands at the Women’s March in 2017, at age 6. In 2018 the San Jose Museum of Art created a mural in her honor.

Autumn Peltier

An Indiginous climate activist whose work focuses on clean water, Peltier is a member of the Wikwemikong First Nation in northern Ontario. The 15-year-old started advocating for the universal right to clean drinking water at age 8, and has met with (and publicly criticized) Prime Minister Trudeau as well as addressed the U.N. General Assembly. She’s now the chief water commissioner for the Anishinabek Nation.

Anya Dillard

The creator of The Next Gen Come Up, an organization dedicated to encouraging youth activism and community service has a ton on her plate. The 17-year-old is also a spokesperson for period poverty awareness in her school, a member of the West Orange Youth Caucus which organized a Black Lives Matter protest of more than 3,000 people, and the 2nd black female student council president at her high school.