Continuing Billie Eilish and Telekom Electonic Beats ongoing collaboration entitled #whatwedonext that empowers the youth to support each other as we all strive for positive change in the world, the two are championing and supporting six young activists, entrepreneurs and creatives.
The group of representatives shared their thoughts with Eilish on their collective designed to inspire and motivate their peers to rise up, go against the grain and bring positivity into the world through their work and actions.
On a surface level, the world is more divided than ever, but there is hope that however disparate and unconnected things may feel there is actually a lot of positive action happening through connectivity across the globe. Many are using their social platforms to showcase their activism, entrepreneurship and creativity to each other, forming stronger bonds, collectives and movements.
The collective consists of members such as former United Nations Youth Representative for the Netherlands and social activist, Jahkini Bisselink, musician, comedian and LGBTQI+ rights activist, Fabian Grischkat and sustainable fashion activist and founder and creative director of her own brand, Anna-Laura Kummer. The collective has already set to work and created a face filter for the #whatwedonext campaign. To activate the potential of Gen Z a face filter challenge has been created together with the Gen Z collective. All tasks were specially selected for topics that move Gen Z because a brighter future starts with a few small steps and by asking ourselves: what can we do next.
But their work doesn't stop there, 19-year-old Fabian told us he is currently juggling a number of projects with different topics and crises attached.
"Fighting for LGBTQI+ rights is obviously my main project but I also take part in different environment and climate change projects. I am 1 of 3 hosts at the Instagram Account 'ozon', a sustainability project from FUNK (ARD & ZDF) & I protest together with Fridays For Future. I also produced a music video together with FFF and 25 german artists. Some of my followers on my personal Instagram account are very young, but I think it is very important to show them how they can help to create a better world. Sometimes you have to start with very small steps. You have to learn and to listen. And by getting more and more knowledge (for example about the problems of LGBTQI+ people, women or BIPoC) I am sure that our generation will stand up for the right things. A movement is based on people and how could you reach more people than with Instagram and TikTok?"
The berlin-based 24-year-old founder of sustainable fashion brand The Slow Label, Anna-Laura Kummer is using her online platform to "educate on sustainability, focusing mainly on fair fashion and plant-based nutrition. With my brand The Slow Label I am actively trying to change the fashion industry by using innovative materials and transparently disclosing the supply chain and pricing."
She is currently on a mission to help educate the fashion consumer habits of young people encouraging them to "Shop less. Learn that happiness comes from within. Appreciate who you are and what you have and take good care of it. Repair, swap or borrow. Give vintage and second-hand fashion a chance. If all else fails and you need to buy something new, do your research and buy from the good guys (and girls)! We think buying more clothes will make us happy. And there is something to be said about this insecurity and fear being a big marketing tool for companies. Don't fall for it."
The unbelievably talented Jakhini Bisselink is way ahead of politicians 30+ years her senior. She has recently been bringing issues such as racial violence, social mobility and political enfranchisement to the table of the United Nations. She also supports her Instagram followers by sharing resources and tools to support her peer group whilst also managing her own consultancy company.
"I started my own consultancy firm because I noticed that young people are very poorly represented in places of decision making. This can be in government, but also in companies. More than half of the world population is under the age of 30, so I believe it to be a moral obligation to involve youth in decision-making processes. When I was 18 I started working at the United Nations as a youth representative from the Netherlands. While working there I noticed two things: how much work there is to be done when it comes to meaningfully involving young people in politics, but also how activistic young people are, the amazing ideas they have, the resourcefulness, creativity and perseverance they have all to make the world a better place."
Keep an eye on Telekom Electronic Beats for more on the #whatwedonext campaign challenge and the collective and make sure to follow these inspiring figures to see what they do next.
