Limerick activists head to Switzerland for global strike

THIS weekend, three young climate change activists from Limerick will travel to Switzerland to take part in a large-scale global meeting next week. 

Fourteen-year-old teenage activist Saoirse Exton, along with Caitlín and Róisín Ní Chaoindealbháin, will travel by ferry and train to reach Lausanne for the Summer Meeting in Lausanne Europe (SMILE) event. 

Over 400 members from more than 37 countries have decided to meet for a one-week meeting, with an aim to create a global cohesion and coordination through several conferences, workshops, and discussions.

The trio, who will travel with 17 other Irish delegates, will be alongside Greta Thunberg and other members of Fridays For Future Europe for the week-long event. “I will strike in Lausanne because the youth of today must have a say,” says Roisin, with Caitlin adding: “I have the right to a future with a healthy environment.”

Saoirse said she will strike “because unity is the key to overcoming climate change.” Every Friday, the group have protested outside Limerick’s 2030 building as part of the global Fridays for Future movement, where school students are deciding not to attend classes and instead take part in demonstrations to demand action to prevent further global warming.