Francisco Javier Vera, the boy who has invented the concept that will save the world

The philosopher Baruch Spinoza (1632-1677) said that joy is not a fleeting state of mind but an emotion that comes from knowledge and reason, and that it becomes a political and ethical tool to transform society. Four centuries have passed and the world does not offer many reasons for joy, between the climate crisis and the rise of hate speech, but Francisco Javier Vera is determined, he says, to "resume the philosophy of the Dutchman Baruch Spinoza" and use joy to change the world. "It is not about denying reality, but about assuming it to try to imagine possible alternative futures not from anger or uncertainty but from joy," he argues.

He is still technically a child, but for nearly a decade he has been using his voice – and his joy – to denounce the climate and ecological crisis, and to defend the right of children to participate in the decision-making that will impact their future. And this is despite the fact that in this time there have been moments to lose hope, such as when he had to flee his native Colombia and move to live in Catalonia because of the threats he received, and still receives. "I always try not to focus on that but on the work being done for the environment," he tells me, to downplay it.

He has been living and studying in Catalonia for four years. Last January he participated in the ARA's Enfoquem forum, where he surprised everyone with his maturity and clarity. He is just starting his second year of high school. But Francisco Javier became world-famous when he was only 9 years old and founded, in Colombia, Guardians for Life, a movement that still mobilizes thousands of children and adolescents, especially in Latin America, but now also in Europe. That same year, 2019, he became the first child to address the Colombian Congress, where he demanded more action from politicians against the climate and ecological crisis. And in 2021 he participated in his first UN climate summit (he has been to four) and asked for the same from the 191 governments gathered at COP26 in Glasgow.

The Declaration of Eco-hope

Even more. At just 12 years old, Francisco Javier devised and promoted a new political concept, that ofeco-hope, with a declaration signed by more than 5,000 children and adolescents where he once again demanded that the world's governments "decarbonize the economy and put all their effort into not allowing an increase of more than 1.5 °C". Since then, they have personally taken this text to 14 presidents and heads of state from all over the world. Guardians for Life currently has more than 1,200 children mobilized in America and Europe, and Francisco Javier Vera, who is now 17 years old, is a youth defender for the environment and climate action for UNICEF.

With little time left before he technically becomes an adult, Francisco Javier has already given many lessons in maturity and remains involved in "all the struggles that seek to make a better world," he says, including the mobilizations against the expansion of El Prat airport. "Catalonia is a committed people and there is a social and organizational fabric that gives young people a very strong base to mobilize," he assures, and explains that he is not yet clear about the university degree he will choose –perhaps the double degree in political science and law–, but that what he does know is that he will continue to fight with joy for the planet.