German-US-American Youth Exchanges – USA-Special 2022
Is there financial support? Maybe even federal or regional public funding?
There is no funding from the govern- ment, except perhaps in the form of tax relief, but donations from charities as well as endowment funds are common here. We’re not an officially recognized organization, so endowment funds are not really relevant for us. Plus, applying for and managing such funds is a resour- ce-intensive business and a major hurdle for grassroots organizations if they have no permanent staff. We’re really lucky that we have a donation account. As an open collective, the account is fully trans- parent. Anyone can see the transactions.
What did your friends and family think about you relaunching the movement, and how did your peers react to your involvement? I really had a culture shock when I came back to the States. Sustainability and environmental protection are seen as new issues here. They’re considered radical. Whenever I brought up sustainability in normal conversations in my previous job, everyone used to say “Oh, here goes Kat again...!” Even though the environment is talked about on the news, it’s viewed in a different way to other issu - es and not taken very seriously. Today, almost all of my friends are activists. Many others had no idea about the kind of activism we’re involved in with Fridays for Future. They were more familiar with the kind of voluntary work that involves helping out in a soup kitchen or an animal shelter. They support me because they know and love me. My mother is now passionate about sustainability. She’s always supported sustainability, but now the term actually carries meaning!
So how does environmental education work in schools or in other settings?
It’s being introduced more and more, but usually by in- dividual teachers who happen to have a strong personal commitment to the topic. School curricula change very slowly here. That’s why private initiatives and organizati- ons that fill this gap and develop educational material on the environment for schools are so important.
Cue Parents for Future. How much support does the movement get from parents and schools?
Because of COVID, we haven’t had that many demonstra- tions here yet. But I can’t remember having seen schools or classes at any kind of demonstration. The school sys- tem puts so much pressure on students to get good gra- des that many wouldn’t skip class simply because of this. It would be better if these kinds of activities were offe - red as extramural activities. I have relatively few inter- actions with parents; it’s actually more the grandparents who write to us to say they want to support us. I think we need to seize the opportunities here in the US to get them involved too.
Do you notice a difference here between the genera - tions in terms of how the issue is radicalized?
I do think that this kind of activism is a new concept here. It’s much more difficult to go on strike under labor laws in the US than it is in Germany, which is why people rarely strike. I also think that sustainability as an issue has not yet arrived in the US. It’s seen more as a trend.
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