What if a backpack could change the world?
For UNICEF, supporting children in developing countries often involves giving them a blue backpack. Everything they need to start and succeed at school.
On World Children’s Day, we took the iconic blue backpack and placed it on statues of children across the world.
Around Australia, statues of children wear the blue UNICEF backpack with the message, #PackForTheFuture, to raise awareness of the need to equip every child, everywhere with the education they deserve. In Parramatta, a statue of Sir John Martin – a child whose determination to get an education took him from servant’s son to NSW Premier and Chief Justice of the NSW Supreme Court – wears the backpack as a symbol of the transformative power of education.
Even in New York, the famous Fearless Girl wears the #PackForTheFuture backpack to inspire people to stand up for children’s education.
By placing the backpacks in the public eye, UNICEF shares its message with the world – that when we equip children with what they need to succeed, we give them hope, allow them to dream, and help them live the best possible futures they can.
The concept of #PackForTheFuture has also been brought to life through a free photography exhibition at the Sydney Opera House, on the Western Broadwalk until 21 November. It features children from 22 countries, from Syria to Somalia, and the Rohingya refugee camps of Bangladesh to the South Pacific. In each photo, the UNICEF backpack is part of their story. Filled with pens, notebooks – and hope – the blue backpack often becomes the most treasured possession these children own.
As kids are the focus of this campaign, UNICEF led research on 1001 kids across Australia to understand their thinking about the Australian education system. On social, videos about the results push people to read the report, to find out what kids think of their education, and their expectations and doubts about what they’re learning at school.
UNICEF extended the campaign with the support of national ambassadors and partners.
As kids are the focus of this campaign, UNICEF led research on 1001 kids across Australia to understand their thinking about the Australian education system. On social, videos about the results push people to read the report, to find out what kids think of their education, and their expectations and doubts about what they’re learning at school.
UNICEF extended the campaign with the support of national ambassadors and partners.
