'Incredibly Moving' Photo Of Greta Thunberg's First Climate Strike Goes Viral

She sits alone outside the Swedish parliament in the picture.
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A photograph of teen activist Greta Thunberg holding her first climate strike in August 2018 is going viral following Friday’s mass climate protests around the world partly inspired by her #FridaysForFuture movement.

In the photo from last year, the then-15-year-old sits alone outside the Swedish parliament. Louise Macdonald, CEO of Scottish youth charity Young Scot, shared the image on Twitter:

I find this picture so incredibly moving. This is @GretaThunberg aged 15, sat alone outside the Swedish Parliament Aug 2018 - the first school strike. In just one year, she’s created a wave that will change the whole world. Never underestimate the power of one young person 💜💚 pic.twitter.com/84oYgJpnLj

— Louise Macdonald (@Louisemac) September 20, 2019

“I find this picture so incredibly moving,” wrote Macdonald. “In just one year, she’s created a wave that will change the world. Never underestimate the power of one young person.”

By early Saturday, the post had garnered more than 160,000 likes and been shared more than 40,000 times. Thunberg herself shared these snaps of her debut demonstration at the time:

Vi barn gör ju oftast inte som ni säger åt oss att göra, vi gör som ni gör. Och eftersom ni vuxna skiter i min framtid, så gör jag det med.
Jag skolstrejkar för klimatet fram till valdagen. pic.twitter.com/OyIvpdBiEq

— Greta Thunberg (@GretaThunberg) August 20, 2018

An estimated 4 million students and workers took to the streets in hundreds of cities and towns worldwide on Friday to demand action be taken to combat the climate crisis. Twitter users highlighted the difference between Thunberg’s initial strike and the latest round of demonstrations.

One year and one month apart pic.twitter.com/f2URDOVFm2

— Natalie Wolchover (@nattyover) September 20, 2019

@GretaThunberg in Aug of 2018 alone in her fight. She is not alone anymore!! #ClimateStrike pic.twitter.com/IlHSd6xgbn

— Gilles Goguen (@GillesGoguen) September 21, 2019

This is the best thing I’ve ever seen. 👊🏻@GretaThunberg https://t.co/1WgUFPJDqt

— Molly Jong-Fast (@MollyJongFast) September 21, 2019

Aug 2018 - Sept 2019

One girl can change the world. @GretaThunberg pic.twitter.com/cWBp2oG6ff

— Mere Smith (@EvilGalProds) September 20, 2019

This week has been agonizing for a lot of people. But I know hope because of this. https://t.co/QcNwM75Avx

— Brian Schatz (@brianschatz) September 21, 2019

2018 | 2019 pic.twitter.com/zH0vNClPRQ

— James Shield (@jshield) September 20, 2019

Photo of the year. 👇 #ClimateStrike https://t.co/eob9p5rDLx

— Alastair Humphreys (@Al_Humphreys) September 20, 2019

One person. One voice. One year.

Persistence. Resilience. Grit. I am so proud to walk the same planet as @GretaThunberg https://t.co/ld0QF6UvAH

— Carrie Wilkerson (@CarrieWilkerson) September 21, 2019

One year ago, @GretaThunberg was alone... now she has millions backing her up. Just think about that for a second. One, to millions. https://t.co/lTSBpPcc5s

— Valentina Valentini (@tiniv) September 20, 2019

Never say one person can’t make a difference. Greta Thunberg, climate activist protesting alone in 2018, and a world wide youth movement she motivated in 2019.... https://t.co/i9Z2sUnGIO

— Bessma Momani (@b_momani) September 21, 2019

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