With students across Canada back in school, the trend of youth adding their voices to different national causes continues to grow.
According to Julie Byrnes, a campaign coordinator with Change.org, more students of all ages are lending their support or starting their own movements to tackle many social issues.
"When we actually did the exercise of looking at the age of our petition starters, we realized that there was a real tendency on the platform right now of youth starters, and these are youth that are not only producing high-quality petitions, they're tackling systemic issues and they're very articulate," said Byrnes. "So we've been very inspired by these young petition starters."
Byrnes said that the use of the platform by students across Canada is growing, and students are more able and willing now than ever before to let their voice be heard for social change.
"They are a generation born in the digital era, and they know how to use digital technologies, and I believe they're more interconnected than ever to people around the world," she said. "They'll often be more connected to somebody that's in Turkey for instance than their actual physical neighbour."
Byrnes said because of this, students feel more empowered and encouraged that their voice can easily be heard, with many young people starting campaigns to raise awareness and cause changes concerning the environment, food waste, sexual assault, domestic abuse and other social issues.
