KID OF THE YEAR

Every December since 1927, the weekly magazine TIME has announced its choice for PERSON OF THE YEAR. It chooses a person or a group of people that has had the most influence on the world during that year. The PERSON OF THE YEAR doesn't get a prize. However, because TIME is a popular and respected magazine, its choice always attracts much attention.(lines 1–4)
In 2019, TIME chose sixteen-year-old Greta Thunberg from Sweden as PERSON OF THE YEAR. She was chosen because of her activities to fight global warming. She inspired student protests all over the world and convinced leaders to become more involved in environmental issues. TIME realized that young people today have power and influence through their increased participation in social media such as Facebook or Twitter. Like Greta Thunberg, many of these young people use their abilities to make the world better. Therefore, TIME has decided to choose a KID OF THE YEAR as well.(lines 5–14)
TIME's choice for the 2020 KID OF THE YEAR was Gitanjalie Rao, a sixteen-year-old scientist and inventor from Denver, Colorado. Rao uses her talents to improve people's lives. Among her inventions is a device which checks the quality of water. This helps prevent disease in areas where there is no clean water. In addition, she created a program which makes using social media safer for young people. Although she is still a high-school student, Rao has also organized science workshops which connect schools across the USA. In this way, entire classes can learn together or from each other.(lines 15–22)
TIME also wrote about five additional impressive kids, aged 10 to 16. These amazing youngsters started organizations, designed toys for children with special needs and continue to make sure that hundreds of hungry families get food. TIME chose to write about these inspiring kids not only because of their abilities, but also because of their leadership and generous spirit.(lines 23–26)