No big deal guys but my 17 year old cousin (well, my aunt's niece) was one of the opening speakers at Rio+20 this morning. The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development marked it's 20th birthday today and who better to remind the 130 heads of state that not enough is being done to ensure sustainable development of our planet and communities than the eloquent Brittany Trilford.
She opened by saying "I'm here to fight for my future." Mixing homework (she has an assignment due when she gets back from Brazil) with dignitaries seems to come naturally for this bright spark.
Challenging global leaders to initiate change to ensure planet earth has many more seasons ahead, she boldly set down the task:
"You have 72 hours to decide the fate of your children - my children - my children's children - and I start the clock now."Brittany was selected by a panel of judges including Leonardo DiCaprio and public voting from contestants around the world for this 2minute speech she submitted:
The concluding lines from her speech this morning gave me chills:
"As I stand here to face you today I wonder; are you here to hedge your bets and see what happens?
To save face or to save us?"What a brilliant human!
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