Month: June 2020

This year Cannes Lions Festival of creativity moved entirely online, becoming LIONS LIVE. LIONS LIVE was aimed at anyone in the global creative community who believes in creative possibility and seeks to move forward. From the C-Suite to future leaders, from Tokyo to Nairobi, from Berlin to Sao Paulo, LIONS LIVE is where every member of the global creative community united to learn, connect, problem-solve, collaborate and be inspired.

Project Everyone’s co-founder and UN SDG advocate Richard Curtis hosted a mainstage session at LIONS LIVE followed by a live Q&A with activists Trisha Shetty and Matthew Freud to discuss how Activism Actually…is all around.

The session, comprised of two different panels and interspersed with moments of creativity, discussed activism during the time of COVID-19. The first panel hosted by Colin Butfield, WWF and Executive Director of Our Planet with Vanessa Nakate, Ugandan climate justice activist and Nico Rosberg, Green Tech entrepreneur and F1 champion focussed on the climate change emergency and how despite the pandemic this issue remains as important as ever.

The second panel, hosted by June Sarpong OBE, Broadcaster, Author and BBC Director of Creative Diversity with speakers Amika George, Founder of the Free Periods movement, Trisha Shetty, gender equity activist and the Founder of SheSays, and Emtithal (Emi) Mahmoud, slam poet and UNHCR Goodwill ambassador concentrated on social justice, gender and diversity, humanitarian issues and supporting refugees.

In the aftermath of COVID-19, the Black Lives Matter protests have demonstrated the growing importance of activism and how it can affect change. People are suffering their first collective global shock, the pandemic, and these panels discuss the importance of not rushing back to normal, the power of activism and how we should all get involved with the UN’s Global Goals to Build Back Better.

Watch the full session here.

Millie Bobby Brown and Sofia Carson joined United Nations Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed and Executive Director of UNICEF, Henrietta Fore, in the World’s Largest Lesson Live, to encourage teens to reimagine the world post COVID-19.

16th June 2020 saw the launch of World’s Largest Lesson Live, an educational show for teens created by World’s Largest Lesson in partnership with UNICEF. The show premiered on YouTube and brought together experts and young people in conversation to reflect on the past few months and discuss how they would like to reimagine the future post COVID-19.

Hosted by NBC News and MSNBC Correspondent and Host of NBC’s Stay Tuned Savannah Sellers, it explored the themes of education, health, and the future—and addressed some of the key issues currently at the forefront of young people’s minds. Although we may be physically distanced from one another, young peoples’ voices, opinions and actions do and always will, make a difference.

The first conversation focused on education; its purpose and how it can transform the lives of young people everywhere. UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed and UNICEF USA Supporter, actress and singer Sofia Carson were joined by Adrian Hrabos, a Nord Anglia Education student from Prague, as they reflected on the challenges young people have overcome. They discussed how school closures had made the world re-think the value of education as well as an opportunity to reimagine it for the future.

This was followed by a conversation focusing on Global Goal 3, Good Health and Well-Being. Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove from the World Health Organisation discussed how young people can look after their mental health during the pandemic. She was joined by Shashank Dollin, a student and Scout from India to consider what healthcare might look like in the future.

Finally, Executive Director of UNICEF, Henrietta Fore, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Millie Bobby Brown and Yael Cuprinoff, a student from Argentina, discussed what they hope the world will take forward from the pandemic. Positioning COVID-19 as a “re-set” instead of a “re-start” they discussed how young people can play a part in building back better for the future.

Dr. Tedros Adhanom, Director General of the World Health Organisation thanked young people for the contribution they have made to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The show ended with the incredible voices of the Brooklyn Youth Chorus, who sang an uplifting performance of “You Will Be Found”.

Watch World’s Largest Lesson Live here and download resources to extend the conversation at home and in class groups. You can also watch the highlights here.