The Y-Teen, a youth group of the National YWCA of Korea, announced a statement titled “Our Demands of the 100” to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the YWCA Korea and address the climate crisis. The signature campaign for the statement took place from September 16th to 23rd, aligning with the global youth climate action day initiated by the Swedish high school student Greta Thunberg, known for her “school strike for climate.” A total of 104 youth representatives from 22 member YWCAs across Korea (including the cities Kimhae, Daegu, Daejeon, Donghae, Masan, Mokpo, Busan, Seoul, Sejong, Suncheon, Anyang, Ansan, Yeosu, Ulsan, Incheon, Jeonju, Jinhae, Changwon, Cheonan, Cheongju, Tongyeong, Pohang) participated in the campaign.
In the “Our Demands of the 100” statement, the youth emphasized the severity of the climate crisis and expressed personal commitments. For instance, Kwak Eunbin (Masan YWCA) stated, “The future of the Earth changes our own future! Let’s create a world without global warming!” Lee Eunwoo (Daejeon YWCA) urged, “Instead of thinking that I won’t make a difference, let’s start taking action ourselves!” Park Yewon (Donghae YWCA) voiced, “To protect the Earth, I will live by recycling everyday.”
The statement by the 100 youth was announced through Y-Teen’s official SNS (Instagram @yteen1922) and the YWCA Korea website (https://ywca.or.kr). Y-Teen is an autonomous youth movement organization where YWCA members aged 12 to 18 plan, execute, and evaluate activities within their respective clubs. Currently, Y-Teen is organized in 34 out of 53 member YWCAs nationwide, with approximately 5,000 youth members engaging in active activities across 176 clubs.
