Picture – Rena Kawasaki

Rena

Nominated by Jennifer Henbest

All 2022 Children’s Peace Prize Nominees

Rena started fundraising projects when she was 8 years old, when she first found out that there were children who could not go to school due to the political situation in their country. Rena’s current projects have been targeted at the injustice that Japanese youth face in daily life, especially the educational system that rejects individuality and the government and corporations which discriminate against youth. Rena is the founder and director of Earth Guardians Japan, which she founded in 2020, when she was just 14 years old. Rena’s organization created a solution to this through a new system which allows children to be the change they want to see in the world. Her organization connects schools and their local political representatives via zoom to increase interest in Japanese youth in getting involved in politics. In addition to the above, Rena assists in river cleanings in the local river at Juso, Osaka, Japan. Rena’s organization is youngest youth organizations officially working with the Japanese government’s ministry of environment sector to include the voice of youth in government operations. Her organization has the youngest average age of members out of the 6, with members ranging from age 9 to 19. Rena is the leading advocate for youth in Japan.