Xiye Bastida

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Xiye Bastida
Xiye Bastida.jpg
Bastida in 2020
Born (2002-04-18) 18 April 2002 (age 19)[1]
Atlacomulco, Toluca, Mexico
Nationality
  • Mexican
  • Chilean
OccupationClimate Justice Activist
Years active2017-present
Known forSchool strike for climate, Re-Earth Initiative
Notable work
All We Can Save
Websitexiyebeara.com

Xiye Bastida (born 18 April 2002) is a Mexican-Chilean climate activist and member of the indigenous Mexican Otomi-Toltec nation. She is one of the major organizers of Fridays for Future New York City and has been a leading voice for indigenous and immigrant visibility in climate activism.[2] She is on the administration committee of the People's Climate Movement and a former member of Sunrise Movement and Extinction Rebellion. She is co-founder of Re-Earth Initiative, an international not-for-profit organization that is inclusive and intersectional “just as the climate movement should be.”

Early life and education[]

Bastida awaiting Thunberg's arrival, 2019

Bastida was born in Atlacomulco, Mexico to parents Mindahi and Geraldine, who are also environmentalists,[3] and raised in the town of San Pedro Tultepec in Lerma.[4][5] She is of Otomi-Toltec (indigenous Mexican) and Aztec on her father's side and European Chilean of Celtic descent on her mother's.[6][7] Bastida currently holds dual Mexican and Chilean citizenship.[8]

Bastida and her family moved to New York City after extreme flooding hit their hometown of San Pedro Tultepec in 2015 following three years of drought.[9]

Bastida attended The Beacon School.[10] She began her studies at the University of Pennsylvania in 2020.[11]

Activism[]

Bastida began her activism with an environmental club. The club protested at Albany and New York City Hall and lobbied for the Climate and Community Leaders Protection Act (CLCPA) and the Dirty Buildings Bill.[8] It was then she heard about Greta Thunberg and her climate strikes.

Bastida gave a speech on Indigenous Cosmology at the 9th United Nations World Urban Forum, and was awarded the “Spirit of the UN” award in 2018.[12]

Bastida lead her high school, The Beacon School,[10] in the first major climate strike in New York City on 15 March 2019.[13] She and Alexandria Villaseñor officially greeted Thunberg upon her arrival from Europe by boat in September 2019 to attend the UN Climate Summit.[14] Xiye has been coined "America's Greta Thunberg" however has said that "calling youth activists the ‘Greta Thunberg’ of their country diminishes Greta’s personal experience and individual struggles".[15][16]

Teen Vogue released a documentary short We Rise on Bastida in December 2019.[17] Bastida has also collaborated with 2040 film to create a short video titled Imagine the Future exploring what future landscapes and cityscapes could look like in the future.

Bastida contributed to All We Can Save, an anthology of women writing about climate change.[18] She recently spoke at the Leadership Summit on Climate hosted by the Biden Administration, delivering a speech urging world leaders to participate more in climate activism.[19]

While unable to vote in the United States as she is not an American citizen, Bastida indicated support for Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren in the 2020 presidential election, although stressing the bipartisanship of the climate movement.[8]

Filmography[]

  • We Rise (2019)
  • imagine the future (2020)

References[]

  1. ^ @DiscipleGreta (18 April 2020). "Happy Birthday, Xiye Bastida! @xiyebastida
    Xiye is a amazing climate activist and all-around wonderful person. [URL] @AlexandriaV2005 @GretaThunberg @polyglotale @olivepit_ @maud14 @bridgekid @goldsgracie"     (Tweet). Retweeted by UN-Habitat Youth [@unhabitatyouth] – via Twitter.
  2. ^ Burton, Nylah (11 October 2019). "Meet the young activists of color who are leading the charge against climate disaster". Vox. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
  3. ^ Vincent, Maddie (17 August 2019). "Youth activists stress collaboration, urgency to respond to climate change". Aspen Times. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
  4. ^ "How an Indigenous Teen Climate Activist Plans to Change the World". Teen Vogue. 19 December 2019. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
  5. ^ Bagley, Katherine (7 November 2019). "From a Young Climate Movement Leader, a Determined Call for Action". Yale Environment 365. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
  6. ^ Perry, Aaron William (27 August 2019). "Episode 46 – Xiye Bastida, Global Youth Leader: "Strike with Us!"". Yale Environment 360. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
  7. ^ Tierra, Desafío (28 August 2019). "Xiye Bastida, la adolescente de madre chilena que recibió a Greta Thunberg en su llegada a Nueva York". CNN Chile (in Spanish). Retrieved 3 February 2020.
  8. ^ a b c Labayen, Evalena (10 December 2019). "Environmental activist Xiye Bastida says "OK, Doomers"". Interview Magazine. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
  9. ^ Lucente Sterling, Anna (25 September 2019). "This Teen Climate Activist Is Fighting To Ensure Indigenous And Marginalized Voices Are Being Heard". HuffPost. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
  10. ^ a b ""Young People Have Had Enough": Global Climate Strike Youth Activists on Why They Are Marching Today". Democracy Now. 20 September 2019. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
  11. ^ Meisenzahl, Elizabeth (28 March 2020). "Hailing from Tennessee to Indonesia, meet five members of the newly admitted class of 2024". Daily Pennsylvanian. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
  12. ^ "Xiye Bastida". Omega. 17 July 2019. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
  13. ^ Kamenetz, Anya (19 January 2020). "'You Need To Act Now': Meet 4 Girls Working To Save The Warming World". NPR. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
  14. ^ Cimons, Marlene (19 September 2020). "Meet Xiye Bastida, America's Greta Thunberg". PBS. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
  15. ^ "Meet Xiye Bastida, America's Greta Thunberg". Peril & Promise. 19 September 2019. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  16. ^ "My name is not Greta Thunberg: Why diverse voices matter in the climate movement". theelders.org. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  17. ^ Kirkland, Allegra (19 December 2019). "Xiye Bastida Opens Up About the Personal Costs of Activism In Documentary 'We Rise'". Teen Vogue. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
  18. ^ "Contributors". All We Can Save. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
  19. ^ "Mexican environmentalist, 19, reprimands world leaders for climate inaction". Mexico News Daily. 23 April 2021. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
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