Latest news with #Euro-environmental
Sydney Morning Herald
30-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
These kids want climate action. Here are the cutting questions they're asking CEOs
'You are not a powerful leader. You are a disgrace.' Skye Neville, a 13-year-old Welsh eco-activist, recently said this point blank to Nestle's global head of public affairs during a meeting about the food and beverage conglomerate's contribution to the climate crisis. She wasn't alone in criticising the company. Seven other children, aged from 10 to 15, sat intently around the same boardroom table, determined to make one thing clear: they believe the company is not doing enough. This powerful scene is captured in Future Council, a documentary film that follows eight children travelling across Europe in a vegetable oil-powered school bus to better understand the climate crisis, and to hold those in positions of power to account. Directed by and featuring Damon Gameau (That Sugar Film), Future Council is a stark reminder not to underestimate young people's understanding of the world around us – an insight that hit Gameau during the press tour for his 2019 documentary 2040, which also centred on environmental awareness. 'We did many classroom screenings for that film. I was shocked by the level of acumen the younger generation had around sustainability. My generation probably underestimated this new generation and how much information they're exposed to,' Gameau says. 'The ones who are passionate about sustainability actually know far more than most adults do. I just thought, these children need their own platform – a way to express their ideas, their concerns for the future, and why they should have a say in shaping their future given they're going to inherit it.' It turns out many children were craving such a platform – more than 1000 young people from across the globe auditioned to take part in Gameau's Euro-environmental adventure, making it a tough job to narrow the group down. 'But the final eight, they really chose themselves,' Gameau says. 'As soon as they were on camera, there was something in me that went, 'OK, they're coming on the trip'.'
The Age
30-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Age
These kids want climate action. Here are the cutting questions they're asking CEOs
'You are not a powerful leader. You are a disgrace.' Skye Neville, a 13-year-old Welsh eco-activist, recently said this point blank to Nestle's global head of public affairs during a meeting about the food and beverage conglomerate's contribution to the climate crisis. She wasn't alone in criticising the company. Seven other children, aged from 10 to 15, sat intently around the same boardroom table, determined to make one thing clear: they believe the company is not doing enough. This powerful scene is captured in Future Council, a documentary film that follows eight children travelling across Europe in a vegetable oil-powered school bus to better understand the climate crisis, and to hold those in positions of power to account. Directed by and featuring Damon Gameau (That Sugar Film), Future Council is a stark reminder not to underestimate young people's understanding of the world around us – an insight that hit Gameau during the press tour for his 2019 documentary 2040, which also centred on environmental awareness. 'We did many classroom screenings for that film. I was shocked by the level of acumen the younger generation had around sustainability. My generation probably underestimated this new generation and how much information they're exposed to,' Gameau says. 'The ones who are passionate about sustainability actually know far more than most adults do. I just thought, these children need their own platform – a way to express their ideas, their concerns for the future, and why they should have a say in shaping their future given they're going to inherit it.' It turns out many children were craving such a platform – more than 1000 young people from across the globe auditioned to take part in Gameau's Euro-environmental adventure, making it a tough job to narrow the group down. 'But the final eight, they really chose themselves,' Gameau says. 'As soon as they were on camera, there was something in me that went, 'OK, they're coming on the trip'.'
