The girl who silenced the world for 5 minutes

I came across this speech and found it to be very moving.



This is an excellent speech presented by a 12 year old girl at Earth Summit in 1992. Cullis Suzuki's speech is very moving which is excellent in making her point. First she explains how she traveled 5000 miles just to get here and that they had to raise the money on their own. This shows how she has true determination in trying to change the world for the better. And the fact their only concerns are for the future shows that they are not at all greedy.

The way she uses first hand experiences is very powerful in presenting points. Such as how she use to fish all the time with her dad when she was younger. Now she no longer does because they found the fish to be full of cancers. Also the way she gets the audience to think is also very effective in seeing her view. She says how when she sees some butterfly or plant it makes her wonder if it will still be around when she has children. She then says that back when you were children you didn’t have to worry about that. Also she points out that you may be at this speech as a politician, business man, reporter, and so on; but remember that you are also all mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, and etc. So remember that when it comes to making a difference in the world.

Lastly she brings back the innocent child in you. You might remember things you did or said back as a child that may be moving to you. She explains how in kindergarten we are taught to respect each other, clean up after your messes, and to share with others. She says she finds it outrageous how you do the opposite of what you want us to learn. She then ends the speech with a very touching line. She says “my dad always says you are what you do, not what you say. Well, what you do makes me cry at night”.