Interview with "Fridays For Future"-Würzburg

from 13.05.2019

For months, thousands of pupils have been drawing attention weekly with school strikes under the name "Fridays For Future". They are demonstrating for better climate policy and want to raise awareness of environmental protection. We from Sprachrohr met with 16-year-old Olivia. She is in year ten at Siebold-Gymnasium in Würzburg and is one of the coordinators of the Fridays For Future movement in Würzburg. With the official Instagram account of FFF-Würzburg, Olivia keeps interested parties up to date regarding weekly meetings. The meetings are organised openly; anyone can come along and contribute their own ideas. What Fridays For Future actually stands for and what we can all do for the environment, she tells us in this interview. 

Sprachrohr: "How long have you been involved with Fridays For Future?" 

Olivia: "This year in January was the first strike. Before that, I had already attended an open craft meeting where you could just turn up. I had already had the idea of doing something in that direction, but of course my parents were initially against it and on my own it's of course also quite difficult. But then I thought: if something like this ever happens in Würzburg, I'm definitely going to be part of it. A chain message with the name 'School strike for the climate on 18.01.' came into our class WhatsApp group. I definitely wanted to take part in that! After the first strike, there was also an Instagram account."

Sprachrohr: "Did you find out about Greta Thunberg through her speech at the UN?"

Olivia: "Yes, exactly. The speech was, I think, in December and of course became very well known." 

Sprachrohr: "To what extent does Greta Thunberg play a role for you?"

Olivia: "We definitely try to avoid saying that Greta Thunberg is our boss or leader, because she clearly isn't. Rather, she is a kind of role model. Because I think that many of those who are striking agree with what she says, but didn't dare to say anything beforehand." 

Sprachrohr: "How did the first strike go then?"

Olivia: "Before the first strike, there was a craft meeting that I went to, and at which I asked the organiser whether I might perhaps give a short speech. In the end, it actually worked out! Of course it was the first time, so it didn't go that well at first, but the next ones got better."

Sprachrohr: "Do the demonstrations take place regularly, that is, every week?"

Olivia: "Right at the beginning we voted that we would organise something every two weeks and always alternate between school strike during school time and demonstration after school at around 2 or 4 p.m. The idea was that many pupils said they would take part if the demonstrations took place after school time, because they are afraid of the consequences. Often parents are also a reason why many don't dare to go along; many parents are against it because of the threat of a warning. Although a warning doesn't say much. It only goes on the student record at most. In the end, however, more people come to the strikes than to the demonstrations, which is quite contradictory."

Sprachrohr: "What do you think that's down to?"

Olivia: "I'm not entirely sure. Perhaps we do too little advertising when a normal demonstration takes place after school. I think people then simply don't have the time or inclination to go to the demonstration. But I also don't know why. Even in our class, four pupils were there at the first strike, but nowadays I'm the only one who still goes regularly. Reasons for this are often the consequences. Unfortunately, almost the whole class said back then that they would go to the strikes if they took place after school. On the other hand, I think it's almost better this way. With those who also demonstrate after school, you know that it really matters to them. They also show that we're not doing it to skip school, but because the issue really matters to us."

Sprachrohr: "How many people roughly turn up each time?"

Olivia: "At the first strike, I think we were roughly 1,100. On 15.03., I think so too. At the demonstrations after school time, we're usually roughly 400 to 500. However, the numbers are always very disputed."

Sprachrohr: "Are most of the participants pupils, or do many students or apprentices also demonstrate?"

Olivia: "Most are actually pupils, which I see as a problem. Unfortunately, we're not managing to reach students at the universities and advertise. Many more students could come, especially in Würzburg. This problem also arises with older generations. A few weeks ago, for example, we started a demonstration after 4 p.m. so that working people could also take part. There were some there, also with their younger children, but still not as many as we would have liked. I would also like to make clear here that Fridays For Future wants to appeal to students and apprentices just as much as to pupils."

Sprachrohr: "What do you hope to achieve from the demonstrations?"

Olivia: "What we have definitely already achieved is attention. We have tried to educate people about it. We have brought the environmental debate back to the fore. Of course, we have also received attention from politicians; here in Würzburg we also had a meeting with the Lord Mayor. He invited us and really listened to us well and explained to us that the city is already doing a great deal in this area and that ten trees have already been planted on the Main. We are generally listened to well, but mostly we are told that politics is already doing enough for the environment."

Sprachrohr: "What are your concrete demands?"

Olivia: "This includes, for example, ensuring that the Paris Climate Agreement is upheld. Nationwide in Germany, for example, there is a demands paper written by Fridays For Future, in which, amongst other things, coal phase-out by 2030 is demanded and CO2 emissions should be reduced. The problem is unfortunately that we are not experts; however, politicians know exactly from scientists what is going wrong and what should be changed."

Sprachrohr: "Do you believe that everyone who strikes with you has really engaged intensively and, above all, in a differentiated way with the issue of climate protection?"

Olivia: "I'm afraid I do think that there is a part that simply goes to skip school. But precisely for this reason we organise demonstrations after school. At the strikes, there were also repeatedly people who provocatively walked around with McDonald's cups. Of course everyone shook their heads at that, but we really can't do anything about it. But that's really only a small proportion, which we of course don't support. Everyone should really inform themselves about the issue and question their own consumption."

Sprachrohr: "Did you engage with the issue before Fridays For Future?"

Olivia: "Yes, two years ago I started to engage with the issue and then also began to pester my parents about wanting to become vegan, because it's simply a fact that factory farming is one of the biggest climate culprits. Unfortunately, my parents are very much against it, which is why I haven't been able to enforce a vegan lifestyle so far, but nowadays I only have to eat fish once a week. Through Fridays For Future, however, I've realised that the issue of environmental protection is simply important, and every individual can make a difference."

Sprachrohr: "What can every individual do to improve the environment?"

Olivia: "For example, go to a demonstration, reduce meat consumption and shop seasonally and regionally. Generally pay attention to your consumption behaviour and make your lifestyle more minimalist, only buying things you really need. I still need to work on that. For short trips, it's better to travel by bus and train rather than taking the plane. Furthermore, of course, don't let water run endlessly and don't let lights burn pointlessly."

Sprachrohr: "Do you believe that the FFF movement will move politicians to act and that your demands are implementable? Are the participating pupils aware of what effects their demands could have, for example, loss of jobs and financial losses?"

Olivia: "Of course, we can't know for certain whether governments will respond to the demands, but in our view, coal phase-out by 2030 is possible. I think it's just lacking political will – it's questionable whether that will be found now. Besides, we are aware of the loss of many jobs; solutions still need to be found for this. I don't know whether our movement will change anything concrete, but the way things look, we simply have no other choice than to demonstrate. It's the best we can do, so we're definitely going to carry on."

Sprachrohr: "What consequences does skipping school bring with it and how do parents and teachers deal with it? You mentioned that you've already received a warning."

Olivia: "Most teachers support our action and are enthusiastic about it, even our school management, but they have to punish truancy with warnings. However, some schools don't issue warnings. We know that compulsory schooling exists and that we therefore don't actually have the right to strike, so we have to expect consequences. Our actions therefore take place alternately during and after school time. However, we only get attention when the demonstrations take place during school time. Since we ourselves are not yet entitled to vote, we need this attention. The only expectation on us is that we behave well and go to school. By not meeting this expectation, we draw attention from the media and adults. They are also not meeting our demands by protecting our future, so this remains our only choice. 

We have also already held a 48-hour vigil at the town hall. Hardly anyone heard about it because the media reported very little about it; only a few passers-by showed interest. Some of us spent their whole weekend there. With this vigil, we wanted to prove that it's not about skipping school. We are definitely planning another vigil.

The media often interview school heads instead of engaging with us pupils. In February, we were offered a meeting with Bavaria's Education Minister, but all local groups rejected this because we want to speak with the Environment Minister and have something to say to him."

Sprachrohr: "What challenges lie ahead for you?"

Olivia: "Trying to stop climate change and enormously reduce CO2 emissions. Furthermore, forests and thus the living space of many animals and the existence of biodiversity must not be destroyed on a large scale for food production for us humans and livestock."

Sprachrohr: "In your opinion, how should we prepare for climate change?"

Olivia: "I don't know exactly, but I'm certainly afraid of the future. We in Germany will probably be the least affected, rather the people in developing countries who have contributed the least. There will certainly be a lot of climate refugees; we need to take to the streets now, especially for them. I hope politicians do something soon. In my view, too little is happening so far."

Sprachrohr: "What do you want to leave people with as a parting message?"

Olivia: "People who don't believe they can change anything have already lost anyway. We have no other choice than to believe that we will improve the world a little."

Elisabeth Nötzel and Sophia Lietz