A few months ago, One Direction announced its campaign called Action/1D where fans were invited to voice their opinions on what kind of world they’d like to live in. Fans all over the world shared their thoughts through videos and photos using the hashtag #action1D on all of their social media channels.
Putting aside the whole stereotypical boy-band-teen-girl-crazy-fan, this actually gave young girls and boys the opportunity to be heard and to feel like their opinions matter. It allowed for the future generations to voice how they want their future world to look. Including words like “I want to live in a world where every child has access to an education” or “I want to live in a world where human rights are respected” there are over 77,756 videos and/or photos with inspirational and hopeful messages.
Last week they released one special video titled “Dear World Leaders” where they combined all the videos sent from fans as a big message towards the leaders of the world asking them to just listen. A lot of times the younger generations are overlooked, with people claiming that they are just too young to be talking about world issues, but One Direction gave them the opportunity and platform to speak up and hopefully be heard.
As you watch the video you will see different clips of young girls and boys speaking up saying quotes like, “I am a little girl with big dreams” and showing beautiful scenery from countries all over the world, inspiring people to make a difference. I really think that this action/1D is an amazing thing done by One Direction and their fans. These kids are proving that they do actually care about what is going on around them and that they really want to be involved with changing the world.
Topics like gay rights, gender equality, racism, global warming, poverty, and hunger are all discussed. The boys themselves get involved in the video by talking about what they think should be changed.
Action/1D is not the first time One Direction and their fans have proven they want to make a difference. In fact, for every birthday of the boys they choose a charity where fans donate money. Just for Harry Style’s 21st birthday they raised $14,000 for the London Lesbian and Gay Switchboard. The boys have also been known for taking big parts in charities. As just last month Louis Tomlinson used the time he had during a few days off to hold a charity Cinderella Ball for children with terminal diseases. He played a part in giving those children a night they would never forget — and he raised a good deal of money for the Believe in Magic charity in the process.
I think it’s important to take notice of these types of campaigns and that it doesn’t just get ignored because of where it’s coming from. The younger generation is the one who has had to grow up with consequences of war, global warming, and so many more problems that the world faces. It’s important to listen to what these people have to say; if they just simply get ignored, how would you expect them to feel motivated to ever speak up again?
Like the video says, “It’s true I might only be one person, but in this I am not alone.”
