How I got involved in activism from a young age

Allyson Castillo

Allyson is a 21-years-old activist and journalism student that became an animals rights activist at 11 years old and became involved with Human Rights organizations like Amnesty International at 16 years old. She is currently a youth leader of Amnesty International's Global Youth Collective and a board member of Amnesty Chile. Her work has been focused on Sexual and Reproductive rights as well as Climate Justice as member of other organizations too like Latinas for Climate, and currently is also working with the United Nations as member of Women @Dior with Unesco and the UNOAC Young Peacebuilders programme.

When people ask me why or how I got involved in activism, I’m never completely sure how to answer since activism has been a part of my life from a very young age. Entering the world of activism was almost like an instinct which led me to work with large NGOs and collectives such as Amnesty International, YCSRR, Latinas for Climate, and attend international events such as COP26.

Like many people that live in unequal countries, I saw and experienced many of the inequalities of a “third world” country. I grew up in one of the zones considered poor within my city, and was part of the first generation of my family with access to education. I had a precarious health system and a dysfunctional family, which, during my childhood, struggled to maintain the house in which we live.  The moment I realized that my situation was not the same as that of others, I felt the need to change the reality of others as well as mine. 

My first step into activism was to become vegetarian at the age of 10. After that, I transitioned to veganism when I realized the suffering involved in the meat industry. In Chile at the time, veganism was uncommon. From then on, I have always been active in the animal rights movement and have delivered education to those around me about the cruelty of the meat industry. As a person who actively advocates against human rights violations and injustices in the world, I cannot allow other beings to go through the same. 

I began to attend protests for access to education when I was 13, as access is not guaranteed in Chile. I attended all possible events about human rights, especially about the dictatorship that occurred in Chile. 

After a couple of years of "informal activism,” I  looked for a space that would allow me to express myself, and be understood, since defending the issues I advocated for was not common in my school or family. After a period of research, I discovered Amnesty International. I joined at 16 years old. 

I first joined the Human Rights Education team before joining an Amnesty project on Sexual and Reproductive Rights. It was the first time I received comprehensive sexuality education and met young people with the same interests as me. Since then, I have never stopped working in that area, which led me to be part of Amnesty International’s Global Youth Collective and the Youth Power Action Network. After some time, I joined YCSRR, an international organization dedicated to sexual and reproductive rights (SRR) and that connected with my true passion, the education and promotion of SRR in Chile and Latin America. 

Through Amnesty International, I was able to attend COP26 as a part of the organization’s official delegation. It was there that I encountered Latinas for Climate, a feminist, environmental, and intersectional organization which was created during the pandemic. I had found the perfect connection between the climate crisis and my passion for sexual and reproductive rights. 

Although I have not stopped being part of new projects and spaces since I got involved in NGOs, I believe that everyone can be an activist with small actions, especially if they are young people and children. Don't let adult-centrism and stereotypes about being young stop you from doing what you feel called to do. Young people will have to face the impossibility of turning back the clock - your involvement in the present is key to securing a future.  Change is made collectively, and we need children and young people to be part of that. 

The need for and success of collective action was shown most recently in Chile during the last presidential election, in which our rights and freedoms were at risk. Fortunately, left-wing candidate Gabriel Boric was elected, a result that was achieved thanks to the young people who decided to act and decided to change a pattern that has been repeating itself for more than thirty years in our country. Today we have the possibility of dreaming of a hopeful future that guarantees the rights that to this day are not respected. This does not mean that we have to relax or give up, but I hope that the new reality of my country will provide a safe space for more young people and children to become activists, and stop fearing the brutal repression, threats and mistreatment that many of us have had to face. 

Published 16th June 2022