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Why are so many young people around the world protesting? | BBC Learning English from the News

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  1. 0:00 From BBC Learning English.
  2. 0:02 This is Learning English from the News, oour podcast about the news headlines.
  3. 0:06 In this programme: Why is Gen Z protesting around the world?
  4. 0:15 Hello, I'm Becca.
  5. 0:16 And I'm Georgie.
  6. 0:17 In this programme, we look at one big news story and the vocabulary in the headlines that will help you understand it.
  7. 0:24 You can find all the vocabulary and headlines from this episode, as well as a worksheet on our website, bbclearningenglish.com So, let's hear more about this story.
  8. 0:40 India, France, Albania, Italy.
  9. 0:43 Around the world, young people are protesting, but why?
  10. 0:47 Gen Zs, those are people born between the late 90s and early 2010s are protesting different issues.
  11. 0:54 In France and Italy, students are protesting about the quality of their education.
  12. 0:59 In Albania, it's about better university conditions and more job opportunities.
  13. 1:04 In India, the Cockroach Janta Party, made up of young people and students, are protesting over voter rights.
  14. 1:10 In Spain, students and graduates joined protests over the country's housing crisis, calling for lower rents.
  15. 1:17 Let's have our first headline.
  16. 1:19 This headline is from Dazed Digital, an online pop and culture magazine from the UK.
  17. 1:25 Gen Z are taking to the streets around the world - here's why And that headline again: Gen Z are taking to the streets around the world - here's why.
  18. 1:35 And that's from Dazed Digital.
  19. 1:37 This headline says that Gen Z are taking to the streets.
  20. 1:41 That's a bit of a strange use of the verb 'take', isn't it?
  21. 1:44 What does it mean to take to the streets, Georgie?
  22. 1:46 Yes, you're right, it isn't a common use of the word 'take'.
  23. 1:49 When people take to the streets, it means a large group of them have gathered in a public place to oppose something, in other words, a protest.
  24. 1:58 So here, we know that young people are protesting in public areas for various reasons around the world.
  25. 2:04 They've taken to the streets.
  26. 2:06 Yes.
  27. 2:06 Now, it's not always used in the context of protests.
  28. 2:09 People can take to the streets in celebration, for example, to celebrate a sports victory.
  29. 2:15 Yes.
  30. 2:15 This year, thousands of people in Spain took to the streets to celebrate their FIFA World Cup win, didn't they?
  31. 2:22 Yes.
  32. 2:22 Take to the streets is mostly used in these two contexts - protests and celebrations.
  33. 2:31 We've had to 'take to the streets' - gather in a public place to oppose or celebrate something.
  34. 2:40 For example, Thousands took to the streets to demand a change in government.
  35. 2:48 This is Learning English from the News, our podcast about the news headlines.
  36. 2:53 Today, we're talking about young people protesting around the world.
  37. 2:57 OK, so we've talked about protests that have been going on in France, Italy, Albania, Spain and India.
  38. 3:03 But this is part of a wider pattern of protests led by young people, isn't it?
  39. 3:07 Yes.
  40. 3:07 In 2024, students in Bangladesh forced out the prime minister.
  41. 3:12 In 2025, protests in Nepal brought down the entire government.
  42. 3:17 And since then, protests led by young people have happened in Indonesia, the Philippines, Morocco, Madagascar, Peru and Mexico.
  43. 3:25 So what unites these protests?
  44. 3:27 Well, Dr Naya Prakash, a researcher at the University of Cambridge, says that while it would be wrong to summarise young people's concerns
  45. 3:36 from all of these countries into just a few sentences, what most of the protests have in common is a feel that there is a lack of government investment
  46. 3:45 into services and policies that impact young people's lives.
  47. 3:49 Let's have another headline.
  48. 3:50 This one is from Al Jazeera, an international news organisation.
  49. 3:54 How has the cost of living changed in France, Italy, Spain and Portugal?
  50. 3:59 And that headline again from Al Jazeera.
  51. 4:01 How has the cost of living changed in France, Italy, Spain and Portugal?
  52. 4:06 So this headline is about the price of things in some European countries.
  53. 4:10 It uses the phrase 'cost of living'.
  54. 4:12 Now, I see this phrase everywhere, Becca, what can you tell us?
  55. 4:16 Well, the cost of living means the amount of money people need to pay for everyday essentials such as food, housing and energy bills.
  56. 4:24 Basically, cost of living is how much it costs to live.
  57. 4:28 So when the headline asks how the cost of living has changed in those countries, it's asking if the amount of money needed for essentials has changed.
  58. 4:37 If the cost of living has risen, everyday essentials have got more expensive.
  59. 4:41 OK, so that's a noun phrase, the cost of living.
  60. 4:44 But it's also commonly used as an adjectival phrase, where the words are hyphenated.
  61. 4:49 For example, a common phrase is 'the cost-of-living crisis'.
  62. 4:53 Or in this story where we have people in some countries protesting about the cost of living, we could talk about the cost-of-living protests.
  63. 5:06 We've had cost of living.
  64. 5:07 Amount of money needed to pay for everyday essentials like food and energy bills.
  65. 5:14 For example, with such a high cost of living, many young people are finding it harder to buy a house.
  66. 5:23 This is Learning English from the News from BBC Learning English.
  67. 5:27 We're talking about Gen Z protests around the world.
  68. 5:30 Many of these movements, led by young people, are organised online, often with no clear leader.
  69. 5:37 Yes, some are openly copying each other too.
  70. 5:39 For example, in Europe, Italian students said they were following France in their protests about the quality of education.
  71. 5:46 Let's have our next headline.
  72. 5:49 This headline is from El Pais, a Spanish news organisation.
  73. 5:53 A generation takes to the streets: Young Europeans refuse to accept a future stacked against them.
  74. 5:59 And that headline again.
  75. 6:01 A generation takes to the streets: Young Europeans refuse to accept a future stacked against them and that is from El Pais.
  76. 6:09 This headline is about protests happening in Europe.
  77. 6:13 There we have that phrase again, 'take to the streets'.
  78. 6:16 Now, young Europeans don't want to accept a future stacked against them.
  79. 6:20 What can you tell us about this phrase, Georgie?
  80. 6:23 Yes.
  81. 6:23 If their future is stacked against them, it means the circumstances they face will make it difficult for them to succeed.
  82. 6:30 As we've heard some of the things worrying young people around the world are the quality of education, job opportunities, and voting rights.
  83. 6:38 The more common version of this phrase is 'the odds are stacked against you'.
  84. 6:42 It comes from a game context in which the situation makes it much harder for one person to win in a way that can be unfair.
  85. 6:50 The situation is not in their favor.
  86. 6:53 The phrase can be used in many situations.
  87. 6:56 For example, he didn't have time to update his CV and he knows thousands of people applied for the same job.
  88. 7:02 He feels the odds are stacked against him.
  89. 7:05 There's little chance he'll succeed.
  90. 7:07 The opposite is the odds are in your favor.
  91. 7:09 You're likely to succeed.
  92. 7:13 We've had 'stacked against someone' - when an unfair or difficult situation makes it harder for someone to succeed.
  93. 7:22 For example, the football team had a few injured players in a match against the league champions.
  94. 7:27 The odds were stacked against them.
  95. 7:31 That's it for this episode of Learning English from the News.
  96. 7:34 We'll be back next week with another news story.
  97. 7:38 Don't forget to sign up to our email newsletter!
  98. 7:40 Get weekly tips and updates from your favorite presenters.
  99. 7:43 Just head to our website, bbclearningenglish.com or go to the notes in this programme.
  100. 7:49 Bye for now.
  101. 7:51 Goodbye.

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