PERMISSION TO SPEAK

PERMISSION TO SPEAK
Why Children Must Be Seen And Heard
Exclusive Interview with Lars Westra
Featured in 'Innerviews'
Hosted by Allié McGuire

At just seventeen, Lars Westra speaks with the clarity of someone who’s spent a lifetime being underestimated. At twelve, he stood before a room full of adults to ask them to take children seriously and was told to go play football. Instead, he chose to play a different game: one that challenges the rules of who gets to speak and who gets to be heard. With gratitude not for what he’s been given, but for what he’s discovered, which is the power of persistence, perspective, and voice, Lars reminds us that change doesn’t wait for permission. It begins the moment we decide to listen.

ALLIÉ: Let’s begin by going back. You were twelve years old, standing in a room full of adults, when a politician dismissed your words and told you that you were being used. For those unfamiliar with this part of your story, would you share what happened that day?

LARS: Of course. I had already been active for about three years at that point. I was twelve, and I was thinking from the vision of children, about projects that are usually only decided by adults. I believed that the perspective of children is different, and sometimes even better. 

​I stepped up to my provincial government parliament. I do not know the exact English term, but it was essentially the parliament of my province. I gave a speech saying that adults needed to listen more to children, that they needed to act now to combat climate change, and that every child deserved equal opportunities to develop themselves.

Afterward, I received many positive reactions from politicians. But one parliamentarian told me that I was being abused by others, that I was being used in a political game about climate change, and that it was not my own opinion. She told me I should go play football, chase girls, and leave decision making to adults.

I was twelve years old. I was very small. The microphone was too high. The room was filled with important adults, cameras, and journalists. I was completely flabbergasted.

On one hand, I realized how far we still had to go to ensure children’s voices were valued equally. On the other hand, I felt empowered. I realized I could not trust politicians like her to make decisions in my interest. That was the moment I knew I needed to step up, on behalf of young people, to claim an actual seat at the table. That was where this part of my activism truly began.

ALLIÉ: Looking back now, how did that moment shape the way you see power, prejudice, and what it truly means to be heard?

LARS: It showed me that we still have a long way to go, but also how important this work is.

What happened afterward changed everything for me. The next morning, while eating breakfast before school, I received a phone call and suddenly found myself live on a radio show. I realized the story had gone viral. It was everywhere. Newspapers, news outlets, social media.

But they were not talking about what I had said. They focused only on the politician’s comment. My family and I received hate messages and even threats. People could not believe that a twelve year old could have genuine concerns about the world.

I started noticing a pattern. When young people speak up, adults often look for reasons to dismiss them. They assume someone else put the words in their mouth. They rarely engage with what is actually being said. ​If that politician had said she disagreed with me and explained why, we could have had a real discussion. Instead, she dismissed me because of my age. That happens far too often. Young people are not taken seriously, and their ideas are not treated as authentic.

ALLIÉ: You gave a powerful TEDx talk where you describe children’s lack of maturity as a kind of superpower. Their ability to think beyond the boxes adults have built. What could adults learn from the way children see the world, if they truly listened?

LARS: That is actually very hard to learn. Adults have so much experience that they often think, “This is how we do it because this is how we have always done it.” I am already noticing that happening to myself as I get older.

Children look at the world with openness. They ask why things are the way they are and whether they can be improved. Some people call that naive, but I see it as idealistic. That is their superpower. If you combine the idealism of children with the experience of adults, you can accomplish incredible things. The solution may eventually exist within the box, but you often need to go outside of it first to find a better way back in.

ALLIÉ: Can you share an example of adults who got it right? Who listened not to respond, but to learn?

LARS: Yes. I started my work when I was nine, believing that combining different ways of thinking could lead to better outcomes. That eventually grew into an organization.

One example involved an organization that wanted to cheer up children in hospitals. They planned to build a virtual reality experience for children they could not reach in person. They asked me to review it. I watched it and then shared it with other children. We gave honest feedback. What was too long. What was boring. What worked. What could be improved. That is how it should be. If you are creating something for children, you should ask children. Not only because it makes sense, but because the final result will be better for everyone.

ALLIÉ: That idea echoes something we hear in other communities as well: nothing for us without us. One final question. If every child in the world suddenly had a microphone, and every adult was willing to listen, what would you want that first global message to be?

LARS: Children and youth are not a single group with one opinion. Just like adults, we are diverse. And that is a good thing. What I try to do in my work now is represent youth beyond my own perspective. I recognize how privileged I am, and I try to find common ground among young people.

What unites us is that we want a safe future, a healthy future, and a fair future. We want peace. We want to be included in decision making processes. We want a voice.

We are standing on the sidelines, ready. The time has come for us to be truly heard. ∎

Learn more about Lars and his work:
www.larswestra.nl
Find & follow on Instagram:
​@larswestra_nl