Meet 5 young people who add more meaning to World Children’s Day

Children's Day is believed to have been initiated in the mid-19th century by Reverend Dr Charles Leonard, a pastor in Massachusetts, the United States. Photo: Freepik

Today is World Children's Day, a special day celebrated annually in honour of children worldwide.

According to nationaldaycalendar.com, Children's Day was initiated in the mid-19th century by Reverend Dr Charles Leonard, a pastor of the Universalist Church of the Redeemer in Chelsea, Massachusetts, the United States.

In 1959, the UN General Assembly announced Nov 20 as World Children's Day to commemorate the Declaration of the Rights of the Child. World Children's Day is celebrated to protect children from war, hunger and harm.

It is also to increase awareness about the rights, education and welfare of children.Here are five people who have carved a name for themselves way before they are adults. These inspiring individuals are living examples that one is never too young to make significant changes to the world.

Lee aims to raise awareness of the deaf community and the challenges they face in hopes of creating a more inclusive environment. Photo: Serena Lee

Serena Lee (Malaysia)

Lee, 18, lost some of her hearing due to a virus when she was 15 years old. In 2018, she founded Sign For Malaysia (SFM), a deaf advocacy project to create awareness of Malaysian sign language (Bahasa Isyarat Malaysia). Last year, this college student received the title of Unicef (United Nations Children's Fund) Malaysia KitaConnect Champion for her efforts to create videos of students signing Negaraku at a KL-based private school.

Sisters Melati (left) and Isabel are passionate about reducing plastic waste. Photo: Instagram/melatiwijsen

Melati and Isabel Wijsen (Indonesia)

Sisters Melati, 20, and Isabel, 18, are climate activists who are passionate about reducing plastic waste in Bali. In 2013, at the ages of 12 and 10, the girls launched Bye Bye Plastic Bags to raise awareness about the issue. In 2017, the pair raised their concerns on plastic pollution at the United Nations World Ocean Day in New York City. As a result, the sisters were named one of the most influential teens in the world by Time magazine.

Thunberg is a vocal and passionate environmental advocate. Photo: Bloomberg

Greta Thunberg (Sweden)

This 18-year-old Swedish teenager cares about the environment and is willing to go the extra mile to protect Mother Earth. Two years ago, she sailed across the Atlantic Ocean from Plymouth, England, to New York, the United States, in a solar-powered yacht with underwater turbines. The outspoken environmental activist wants to reduce the effects of climate change and has voiced her concerns at numerous summits, the most recent being at the United Nations climate summit (COP26) in Glasgow.

Malala is a leading campaigner for girls’ education globally as co-founder of the Malala Fund. Photo: National Geographic Channel

Malala Yousafzai (Pakistan)

Malala is 24 years old now, but she has been passionate about women's right to education since she was 12. In 2013, she launched the Malala Fund, an international, non-profit organisation that advocates girls' education. Malala received the Nobel Peace Prize when she was just 17, making her the youngest Nobel Prize laureate and second Pakistani to get the award.

Paolini is the author of the Inheritance Cycle series of fantasy books. Photo: Elena Seibert

Christopher Paolini (United States)

This author was only 15 years old when he wrote his first book Eragon from the Inheritance Cycle series (which also includes three other books: Eldest, Brisingr and Inheritance). It was named the third bestselling children's hardback book of 2003 and won the Rebecca Caudill Young Reader's Book Award and the Young Reader's Choice Award in 2006. In addition, a film adaptation of the book was released in 2006, starring Jeremy Irons, John Malkovich and Ed Speelers.