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Sophia Kianni

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Sophia Kianni
Kianni in 2022
Born (2001-12-13) December 13, 2001 (age 23)[1][2]
NationalityAmerican
Alma materStanford University
Occupation(s)Climate activist, Public speaker
OrganizationClimate Cardinals
MovementSchool strike for climate, environmental movement
Websitesophiakianni.com

Sophia Kianni (born December 13, 2001) is an Iranian-American climate activist. She is the executive director of Climate Cardinals and the youngest member of the United Nations Secretary-General's Youth Advisory Group on Climate Change.[3]

Activism

Kianni speaking at the Black Friday climate strike in 2019

Kianni became interested in climate activism while in Middle School in Tehran when one night the stars were obscured by smog. Kianni described it as "a signal that our world is heating up at a terrifying pace."[4] She later joined Greta Thunberg's group, Fridays for Future, and took time off from school to support action on climate change.[4] She also helped organize the 2019 Black Friday climate strike.[5] In 2019 she became a national strategist for Fridays for Future and national partnerships coordinator for Zero Hour.[6][5]

Jane Fonda (left) and Kianni (right) at Fire Drill Fridays DC event held in front of the Capitol Building.

In November of 2019, Kianni skipped school to join a group of protesters organized by Extinction Rebellion who intended to stage a week-long hunger strike and sit-in at the Washington, D.C., office of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, demanding that she speak with them for an hour on camera about climate change.[7] Locally, there were roughly a dozen participants; at 17 years old, Kianni was the youngest, and one of two women.[2][8] Kianni was not a member of XR, and only participated in the first day of the sit-in, but gave a prepared speech and interviews to the press, and continued the hunger strike remotely.[2][9] Kianni wrote about her participation in the protest for Teen Vogue.[4] In February 2020, Kianni was named a spokesperson for Extinction Rebellion.[10][11]

In the spring of 2020, Kianni's physical activism was curtailed by the school closing and social distancing requirements of the COVID-19 pandemic, and her scheduled speaking engagements at colleges including Stanford University, Princeton University and Duke University were delayed.[12][13] Kianni was able to continue her activism remotely with her talk at Michigan Technological University.[14] In addition, Kianni decided to accelerate development of a planned website, Climate Cardinals, that would translate climate change information into different languages.[12]

In July 2020, Kianni was named by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres to his new Youth Advisory Group on Climate Change, a group of seven young climate leaders to advise him on action for the climate crisis.[15][16] Kianni was the youngest in the group, which ranged from 18 to 28 years old.[17] She was the only one representing the United States, and also the only one representing the Middle East and Iran.[18][19]

In September 2021, Kianni was one of 4 co-chairs of the Youth4Climate event in Milan, preliminary to the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference or COP26.[20][21] Climate Cardinals translated the resulting Youth4Climate manifesto into the 6 official languages of the United Nations.[22] At COP26 itself, in November 2021 in Glasgow, Kianni spoke at several panels, and met with António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations.[23]

Recognition

In December 2020, Kianni was named one of Vice magazine's Motherboard 20 Humans of 2020, for being the U.S representative for United Nations Youth Advisory Group on Climate Change and starting Climate Cardinals.[24][25][18] In December 2021, Kianni was named one of Teen Vogue's "21 under 21" for her climate activism.[26] In November 2022, she was named one of the Forbes 30 Under 30 for Climate Activism for 2023.[3]

Climate Cardinals

Climate Cardinals is an international youth-led non-profit organization founded by Kianni in 2020 to offer information about climate change in every language. It was named for the northern cardinal, the state bird of Virginia, and a metaphor for information flying around the world.[27][12] Kianni was inspired by the years she spent translating English-language climate change articles into Persian for her Iranian relatives, as Iranian media barely covered the subject.[12] She says she noticed informational content about climate change is either available only in English, or at best in Chinese and Spanish, which made them inaccessible to speakers of other languages.[27]

Climate Cardinals was launched in May 2020, and had 1100 volunteers sign up to become translators on its first day.[28] They also partnered with Radio Javan, an Iranian language radio with over 10 million followers, to share graphics and translations with Iranians.[27][29] Climate Cardinals is sponsored by the International Student Environmental Coalition as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, which allows students who participate in its translations to earn community service hours for their work, either fulfilling school requirements or improving college applications.[27] By August 2020, the group had over 5,000 volunteers, with an average age of 16.[30] By December 2020, it had 8,000 volunteers and partnerships with UNICEF and Translators Without Borders.[18]

Journalism

Kianni wrote a 2019 article for Teen Vogue about the Pelosi office hunger strike.[4] In 2020, she wrote two articles about the effects of the coronavirus, for the Middle East edition of Cosmopolitan magazine about the effects on her extended family's celebration of Nowruz,[31] and another for Refinery29 about the effects on her daily schedule as a climate activist, which was widely syndicated.[1] She wrote an article for MTV News for the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, which she helped coordinate,[32] and another in 2022 for The Washington Post about how she lives sustainably in college.[33]

In 2021, Kianni began hosting a podcast for The New Fashion Initiative, interviewing experts involved in the fashion industry about addressing climate change.[34]

Personal life

Kianni lives with her mother, father, younger sister, and two pet lovebirds, in McLean, Virginia.[6][13] She studied at Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Middle School, where her team won the statewide Science Olympiad,[35] and at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, where she was a National Merit Scholarship Program semifinalist.[12][36] After graduating from high school in 2020, she attended Indiana University. She transferred to Stanford University in 2021, where she studies environmental science and public policy.[37][33]

Kianni received extensive media attention as an example of a teenager reacting to the social distancing measures related to the COVID-19 pandemic: CNN, Time magazine, and The Washington Post wrote about how she and her friends were moving personal interaction and even their physically cancelled senior prom to Zoom video chats, and TikTok videos.[6][13][38][39]

References

  1. ^ a b Kianni, Sophia (April 22, 2020). "What It's Really Like To Be A Climate Change Activist In Quarantine". Refinery29. Archived from the original on April 25, 2020. Retrieved April 22, 2020. Also available as Kianni, Sophia (April 22, 2020). "What It's Really Like To Be A Climate Change Activist In Quarantine". Yahoo News. Archived from the original on April 24, 2020. Retrieved April 22, 2020. and Kianni, Sophia (April 22, 2020). "What It's Really Like To Be A Climate Change Activist During Coronavirus". MSN. Archived from the original on July 3, 2020. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c Felton, Lena (November 18, 2019). "Meet the 17-year-old climate activist who skipped school to hunger strike at the Capitol". The Lily. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  3. ^ a b Peluso, Olivia; Bosilovski, Igor (November 29, 2022). "Sophia Kianni". Forbes. Retrieved December 4, 2022.
  4. ^ a b c d Kianni, Sophia (December 11, 2019). "Why I Went on Hunger Strike at Nancy Pelosi's Office". Teen Vogue. Archived from the original on April 22, 2020. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  5. ^ a b Nayak, Anika (December 20, 2019). "Best Sustainable Gift Ideas for Your Environmentally-Conscious Friends". Teen Vogue. Archived from the original on September 28, 2020. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  6. ^ a b c Andrews, Travis M. (March 30, 2020). "We're all video chatting now. But some of us hate it". Washington Post. Archived from the original on April 26, 2020. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  7. ^ Will, K. Sophie (November 21, 2019). "Extinction Rebellion aims to turn up political heat with hunger strikes". Reuters. Archived from the original on March 5, 2020. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  8. ^ Holden, Emily (November 18, 2019). "Hunger strikers target Pelosi in push for Democrats to take action on climate crisis". The Guardian. Archived from the original on April 20, 2020. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  9. ^ "No Food No Future: Hunger Strike for Climate Action". The Years Project. March 2, 2020. Archived from the original on April 16, 2021. Retrieved April 22, 2020. Sophia went for days without food
  10. ^ Mosher, Eve (February 10, 2020). "Extinction Rebellion Congratulates Oscar Winner and Collaborator Joaquin Phoenix". Extinction Rebellion NYC. Archived from the original on July 1, 2020. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  11. ^ Monllos, Kristina (March 18, 2020). "How Extinction Rebellion is using social media and marketing to grow a movement". Digiday. Archived from the original on March 31, 2020. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  12. ^ a b c d e Natanson, Hannah (April 10, 2020). "Their schools and streets empty, teen climate activists find new ways to strike". Washington Post. Archived from the original on June 21, 2020. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  13. ^ a b c Malinsky, Gili (April 1, 2020). "Less Taco Bell, more investing: How a high school senior is learning about money while at home". Acorns. Archived from the original on April 6, 2020. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  14. ^ Christensen, Kelley (March 19, 2020). "Michigan Tech virtual World Water Day". The Mining Gazette. Archived from the original on April 16, 2021. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  15. ^ Blazhevska, Vesna (July 27, 2020). "Young leaders tapped to invigorate UN's climate action plans, hold leaders to account". United Nations Sustainable Development. Archived from the original on August 10, 2020. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
  16. ^ Lavietes, Matthew (July 28, 2020). "'Bold leadership': Seven young climate activists to have a say in UN". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on July 30, 2020. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
  17. ^ Hobbs, Joe (August 3, 2020). "First Person: Turning 'apathetic people into climate activists'; a young person's view". UN News. Archived from the original on August 5, 2020. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
  18. ^ a b c Ferdowsi, Samir (December 18, 2020). "The Activist Translating Climate Crisis Information Across the Globe". www.vice.com. Archived from the original on December 22, 2020. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  19. ^ Gibson, Francesca (September 28, 2020). "Meet Sophia Kianni, the Irani-American climate activist who is trying to change the world". Cosmopolitan Middle East. Archived from the original on October 2, 2020. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  20. ^ "Youth4Climate: Driving Ambition - Youth4Climate Manifesto released". Ministero della Transizione Ecologica. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
  21. ^ Spolini, Nicoletta (October 1, 2021). "Youth4Climate: dopo l'evento di Milano tutti in piazza con Greta Thunberg e Vanessa Nakate". Vogue Italia (in Italian). Retrieved November 18, 2021.
  22. ^ "Cop26, i key messages della "Youth4Climate" tradotti in sei lingue". Bio Pianeta (in Italian). November 9, 2021. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
  23. ^ Hartley, Eve. "Young activists call Glasgow climate conference 'last chance for humanity'". Yahoo! News. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
  24. ^ Ferreira, Becky (December 4, 2020). "Motherboard Presents: Humans 2020". Vice. Archived from the original on December 7, 2020. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  25. ^ "Humans2020". Vice. Archived from the original on December 24, 2020. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  26. ^ McMenamin, Lexi (December 14, 2021). "Teen Vogue's 21 Under 21 2021: The Young People Shaping Tomorrow". Teen Vogue. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  27. ^ a b c d Kart, Jeff (May 12, 2020). "Youth Activist Uses Quarantine To Start Nonprofit That Translates Climate Change Information From English To Other Languages". Forbes. Archived from the original on May 18, 2020. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
  28. ^ Kart, Jeff (May 26, 2020). "Climate Cardinals Website Enlists Students To Translate Climate Change Information, Earn Community Service Hours". Forbes. Archived from the original on May 28, 2020. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
  29. ^ Iannaccone, Stefano (August 5, 2020). "La storia di Sophia Kianni, la nuova Greta dei due Continenti". Impakter.it (in Italian). Archived from the original on September 25, 2020. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
  30. ^ Loiero, Alessandra (August 3, 2020). "La consapevolezza di Sophia Kianni: i giovani attivisti e l'aiuto all'ONU sul clima". La Voce di New York (in Italian). Retrieved August 6, 2020.
  31. ^ Kianni, Sophia (March 29, 2020). "How coronavirus has affected my celebration of Nowruz". Cosmopolitan Middle East. Archived from the original on March 31, 2020. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  32. ^ Kianni, Sophia (April 30, 2020). "Earth Day Has Passed. Now What?". MTV News. Archived from the original on May 6, 2020. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  33. ^ a b Kianni, Sophia (April 13, 2022). "Perspective | How a student tries to be sustainable: Biking, activism and food". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  34. ^ Kutz, Cat; Garcia, Olivia (March 23, 2021). "Meet Sophia Kianni: Young Climate Change Changemaker". Smithsonian. Retrieved June 7, 2021.
  35. ^ "Longfellow Science Olympiad team tops in Virginia". InsideNoVa. April 22, 2016. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  36. ^ "Two Hundred Thirty-Seven Students Named 2020 National Merit Semifinalists". Fairfax County Public Schools. September 17, 2019. Archived from the original on March 9, 2020. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  37. ^ Davis, Dominic-Madori (June 6, 2021). "This 19-year-old climate advisor who started her own nonprofit and worked on Greta Thunberg's youth strikes spends her days meeting UN officials and grabbing pizza with friends". Business Insider. Retrieved June 7, 2021.
  38. ^ Willingham, AJ (April 19, 2020). "Stuck at home, families find a new way to bond: creating TikTok videos". CNN. Archived from the original on April 20, 2020. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  39. ^ McCluskey, Megan (March 19, 2020). "How High Schoolers Are Planning Online Prom Parties Amid Coronavirus". Time. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
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