Draft:Aydin Tariq

Aydin Tariq (born 2008) is an American high schooler, youth rights activist, and journalist from Mattoon, Illinois.

Life
In 2021, Tariq and his cousin, Eastern Illinois University student Paige Day, founded the Teen Collective Project to bring attention to youth mental health.

In December 2022, Tariq was appointed to the PBS Newshour Student Reporting Labs Student Advisory Team, whose purpose is to advise their network of high school reporters across the country.

On April 30, 2023, Tariq hosted a rally in partnership with The Uniting Pride of Champaign County at the Champaign County Courthouse to address rates of depression in LGBTQ+ youth and legislation targeting the LGBTQ+ community. Tariq says that his bisexuality is a driving force in his activism, and pushes him to advocate for the LGBTQ+ community. In May 2023 he was featured on the PBS Newshour's weekend broadcast on LGBTQ+ youth mental health.

Working with gun violence prevention group Students Demand Action, on May 16, 2023, Tariq spoke at a gun violence prevention rally at the Illinois State Capitol. The group then moved into the Capitol where they spoke with lawmakers about gun laws.

In November 2023, Tariq was one of the PBS Newshour's 20 Under 20 list for his work on the We Are Generation Z Podcast, a show hosted by Tariq that highlights the stories of youth social justice activists.

On January 30th, 2024, Tariq was appointed by Illinois Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton to the Illinois Healing-Centered Task Force to represent the youth of the state of Illinois.