'Fridays for the Future': Students rally for the climate

The school strike for climate or "Fridays for the Future" movement was inspired by Swedish activist Greta Thunberg. The movement calls on students to skip school on Fridays and attend demonstrations calling for climate change action. Rallies have been held in countries including Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, the Netherlands, Germany, Finland, Denmark, Japan, Switzerland, the UK and the US.

Thunberg held her first demonstration in August 2018 outside the Swedish parliament building. She has since become the face of the "Fridays for the Future" movement. In January, 16-year-old Thunberg was invited to talk at the World Economic Forum in Davos where she told business and political leaders: "I want you to panic. I want you to feel the fear I feel every day."

Thunberg has joined students at a number of protests, including in Brussels, Paris, Antwerp and most recently in Hamburg in northern Germany. "I think there is a lot of focus on me as an individual and not on the climate itself," Thunberg told DW. "I think we should focus more on the climate issue because this is not about me ... this is about the climate crisis."

Some of the biggest protests have been held in Belgium, with thousands of students taking to the streets in Antwerp and Brussels. Students there have been consistently holding protests every week since the start of 2019.

While most of the protests have been held across Europe, the movement has reached as far as Australia, where climate change demonstrations are not uncommon. Australians are particularly concerned about issues surrounding coal mining and the pollution of oceans.

Across the UK, thousands of university students, teenagers and even primary school children have joined the protests. Some parents have taken the time to accompany their young children to the demonstrations to ensure they don't miss out on having their voices heard.