Hello my name is Diane Lou.
I'm 16 years old and I live in La Chaux-de-Fonds, in the canton of Neuchâtel in Switzerland. I'm in Year 12 and I'm doing a sport-art-study in the field of circus arts.
I love music and sport and I hope to combine these two passions in order to spread my ideas about ecology. I dream of protecting animals. They are my best companions in life and they don't deserve to suffer from loss of territory, hunting, intensive farming, etc.
With my family, we went to take care of protected elephants, we saved an owl caught in flycatchers, we saved a mistreated pony... All these experiences made me understand that it is for animals that I want to fight.
I have been interested in the environment for a long time. We talk about it as a family, we travel to see the world, and we try to contribute as much as we can. We do simpler trips, like going on horseback to mountain huts.
Two years ago, Greta Thunberg (and her conference at the COP21) made me realise that I too could do something for the planet. So I called other students at my school and we divided the classes to create projects. We then,
- wrote an open letter to the Federal Council,
- set up an exhibition on ecological transition and climate change,
- thought about what changes we could make within our school,
- organised a waste collection in the whole village,
- raised funds to support the Erminea association.
I also announced to my teachers that I would go on strike for the climate every Friday. For a long time I had hesitated to do the strike proposed by Greta Thunberg. But I was tired of people criticising the fact that we were absent from class. So I decided to organise a speech strike.
What is it?
No talking to anyone for the whole day. Not with the teachers, not with the classmates.
What for?
To attend class while on strike. This way, the teachers notice the commitment of the young people within their institution and the students who did not go out to demonstrate in the streets also notice our efforts for a better and safer future.
Since then, I have created my own association bec-et-plumes (beak-an-feathers).
I have carried out many projects, and I support the association Little Citizens For Climate.
I hope that thanks to my efforts, we will all manage to save our beautiful blue planet without going back to living in caves!
Diane Llou
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PRESSE :
https://www.letemps.ch/suisse/urgence-climatique-lettre-jeunes-conseil-federal
https://www.letemps.ch/suisse/lecoliere-appelle-greve-silence
https://www.rfj.ch/rfj/Actualite/Region/20190516-Diane-Lou-du-silence-a-l-action-pour-le-climat.html
http://www.canalalpha.ch/actu/diane-lou-parmi-ses-camarades-pour-la-planete/