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“If 16-year-olds are old enough to drink the water polluted by the industries that you regulate, if 16-year-olds are old enough to breathe the air ruined by garbage burners that government built, if 16-year-olds are old enough to walk on the streets made unsafe by terrible drugs and crime policies, if 16-year-olds are old enough to live in poverty in the richest country in the world, if 16-year-olds are old enough to get sick in a country with the worst public health-care programs in the world, and if 16-year-olds are old enough to attend school districts that you under-fund, then 16-year-olds are old enough to play a part in making them better.”
Those were the words spoken in 1991 by Rebecca Tilsen, 14, regarding lowering the voting age in America. Powerful stuff. It’s easy to forget when dealing with kids that youth have an opinion. Youth have a voice. And when both are used simultaneously, youth have power.
Since May 4th, China’s Youth Festival, is fast approaching, this month we’ll be looking at the power of youth and the positive impacts our younger generation can have. They are forging a better future. While young entrepreneurs like Edwin Broni-Mensah and Poppy Dinsey use creativity and their technological savvy to make their dreams reality (New Entrepreneurs: Young Guns Go for It), visionaries like Zuhal Sultan display utter gumption in their drive to contribute to and design a better society (Zuhal Sultan: I Forged Harmony amid Chaos).
And no one seems to realize when they mindlessly repeat the old proverb, “You have to start them young,” that it truly does apply in all things. Going green—reducing water consumption, composting your organic waste, etc.—is much easier under the withering stare of a child turned environmentalist (Environmental Change Starts from a Young Age). Getting a fresh prospective from youthful eyes can often help us to see the error of our ways, or the small mistakes of the everyday (The Young and the Perceptive).
Youth can not be ignored—nor, for the sake of our future, should they be. The power of youth is the hope of tomorrow. Let’s believe in them.
“如果十六岁的青少年已足龄饮用被你们管理的工业所污染的水，如果他们已足龄呼吸受政府建造的垃圾焚烧炉所污染的空气，如果他们已足龄在因禁毒灭罪不力而危机四伏的街头上行走，如果他们已足龄身处世界上最富有的国家却活于贫困中，如果他们已足龄在公共卫生保健系统全球倒数第一的国家里生病，如果他们已足龄去上学却面临所在学区资金不足的难题，那么他们也已足龄参与到改善这些境况的工作中。”
上面那些话出自十四岁小女孩丽贝卡•提尔森于1991年发表的一篇关于降低美国公民投票年龄的演说。这番话多么掷地有声。当面对与孩子有关的问题时，人们很容易忽视青少年的看法。青少年有其话语权。当这两者被结合在一起时，青少年就有了影响力。
随着“五四”青年节的到来，这个月我们会聚焦于青少年的力量以及年轻一代可能产生的积极影响。他们正在努力构建一个更美好的未来。像埃德温•布罗尼—门萨和波比•丁思那样的年轻创业者运用自己的创造力和娴熟的技术来实现他们的梦想（参见《网络创业达人：我有我精彩》一文）；同时，像祖哈尔•苏坦这样的远见卓识者则展现出一往无前的进取精神——发挥他们的能动性为社会做贡献并致力于构建一个更好的社会（参见《祖哈尔•苏坦：战乱中奏响和谐乐》一文）。
当人们不经意地重复着“要从娃娃抓起”这句老话时，似乎没有人意识到它确实适用于所有事情。孩子们对环保的热情和投入会令你无地自容，在他们的密切注视下，人们会更易于过上绿色生活——减少用水量，将有机废弃物制成肥料等（参见《青少年，让世界更美丽》一文）。从青年人全新的视角来看世界常常可以帮助我们看到自己错误的行为方式，或是日常生活中的一些小过失（参见《不惧权威，敢于质疑》一文）。
青少年的力量不容忽视——为了我们的未来，我们也不应当忽视他们。青少年的力量是明天的希望。让我们一起支持他们！
Those were the words spoken in 1991 by Rebecca Tilsen, 14, regarding lowering the voting age in America. Powerful stuff. It’s easy to forget when dealing with kids that youth have an opinion. Youth have a voice. And when both are used simultaneously, youth have power.
Since May 4th, China’s Youth Festival, is fast approaching, this month we’ll be looking at the power of youth and the positive impacts our younger generation can have. They are forging a better future. While young entrepreneurs like Edwin Broni-Mensah and Poppy Dinsey use creativity and their technological savvy to make their dreams reality (New Entrepreneurs: Young Guns Go for It), visionaries like Zuhal Sultan display utter gumption in their drive to contribute to and design a better society (Zuhal Sultan: I Forged Harmony amid Chaos).
And no one seems to realize when they mindlessly repeat the old proverb, “You have to start them young,” that it truly does apply in all things. Going green—reducing water consumption, composting your organic waste, etc.—is much easier under the withering stare of a child turned environmentalist (Environmental Change Starts from a Young Age). Getting a fresh prospective from youthful eyes can often help us to see the error of our ways, or the small mistakes of the everyday (The Young and the Perceptive).
Youth can not be ignored—nor, for the sake of our future, should they be. The power of youth is the hope of tomorrow. Let’s believe in them.
“如果十六岁的青少年已足龄饮用被你们管理的工业所污染的水，如果他们已足龄呼吸受政府建造的垃圾焚烧炉所污染的空气，如果他们已足龄在因禁毒灭罪不力而危机四伏的街头上行走，如果他们已足龄身处世界上最富有的国家却活于贫困中，如果他们已足龄在公共卫生保健系统全球倒数第一的国家里生病，如果他们已足龄去上学却面临所在学区资金不足的难题，那么他们也已足龄参与到改善这些境况的工作中。”
上面那些话出自十四岁小女孩丽贝卡•提尔森于1991年发表的一篇关于降低美国公民投票年龄的演说。这番话多么掷地有声。当面对与孩子有关的问题时，人们很容易忽视青少年的看法。青少年有其话语权。当这两者被结合在一起时，青少年就有了影响力。
随着“五四”青年节的到来，这个月我们会聚焦于青少年的力量以及年轻一代可能产生的积极影响。他们正在努力构建一个更美好的未来。像埃德温•布罗尼—门萨和波比•丁思那样的年轻创业者运用自己的创造力和娴熟的技术来实现他们的梦想（参见《网络创业达人：我有我精彩》一文）；同时，像祖哈尔•苏坦这样的远见卓识者则展现出一往无前的进取精神——发挥他们的能动性为社会做贡献并致力于构建一个更好的社会（参见《祖哈尔•苏坦：战乱中奏响和谐乐》一文）。
当人们不经意地重复着“要从娃娃抓起”这句老话时，似乎没有人意识到它确实适用于所有事情。孩子们对环保的热情和投入会令你无地自容，在他们的密切注视下，人们会更易于过上绿色生活——减少用水量，将有机废弃物制成肥料等（参见《青少年，让世界更美丽》一文）。从青年人全新的视角来看世界常常可以帮助我们看到自己错误的行为方式，或是日常生活中的一些小过失（参见《不惧权威，敢于质疑》一文）。
青少年的力量不容忽视——为了我们的未来，我们也不应当忽视他们。青少年的力量是明天的希望。让我们一起支持他们！