#UpForSchool blog: youth challenge world leaders with rally and petition
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More than 300 youth activists are holding a rally in New York today to demand world leaders act to keep their Millennium development Goal promise and get 58 million children into school by the end of 2015.
As the 69th United Nations General Assembly begins, the .And they鶹APPre being joined by some big names on the world stage 鶹APP including Graca Machel and Gordon Brown.
This blog will keep you up to date with news, pictures and videos from the youth rally and the launch of the petition. The rally starts at 4.30pm EST but you can visit throughout the day for updates on a historic day.All times given on this blog are local New York time (EST).
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Celebrities are already tweeting about the #UpForSchool petition. Here鶹APPs one from British Formula 1 racing driver and another from Stephen Fry:
³鶹APPs ? 鶹APPm standing up with youth & to get every child into school. Please join me:
鶹APP Lewis Hamilton (@LewisHamilton)
58 million children are not in school. We can change that! Join me in rising :
鶹APP Stephen Fry (@stephenfry)
We鶹APPll keep you up to date as more news and tweets come in throughout the day.
12.30 Preparations are well underway for the rally which starts at 4.30. The youth rally is co-hosted by A World at School and the Office of the United Nations Special Envoy for Global Education, in collaboration with the Office of the United Nations Secretary General鶹APPs Envoy on Youth.
Arianna Huffington has tweeted a link to a blog about #UpForSchool by Sarah Brown, co-founder of A World at School.
Young people from around the world are demanding better education. on via :
鶹APP Arianna Huffington (@ariannahuff)
1.00The #UpForSchool Petition is online on our website. But children, teachers and parents in some key countries are also being asked to sign a paper version. The amazing news is that already 10,000 children in Pakistan have signed the petition. This picture shows students at Sanjan Nagar Public Education Trust school in Pakistan signing the petition.
1.25 Today鶹APPs youth rally and petition launch will be at New York University鶹APPs Kimmel Center, where youth leaders will be joined by some major names in the world of global education. They include:
Gordon Brown, UN Special Envoy for Global Education;Graça Machel, international advocate for women鶹APPs and children鶹APPs rights, widow of Nelson Mandela and the first education minister of Mozambique;Ahmad Alhendawi, the United Nations Secretary-General鶹APPs Special Envoy on Youth; Peter Vesterbacka, the 鶹APPMighty Eagle鶹APP of Rovio Entertainment, the company behind the Angry Birds game; Isha Sesay, anchor with CNN International; Hadiza Bala Usman from the Bring Back Our Girls campaign in Nigeria; Baela Jamil, Director of Programmes at Idara-e-Taleem-o-Aagahi and Sarah Brown, co-founder of A World at School.
There will also be video messages from UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and actor and comedian Rainn Wilson.
2.00 Britain鶹APPs big-selling women鶹APPs magazine has tweeted about #UpForSchool.
Why every kid deserves to get
鶹APP Cosmopolitan UK (@CosmopolitanUK)
2.30At today鶹APPs event, we will also be honouring inspirational youth leaders on the front lines who support education in their communities. We鶹APPll be announcing the recipients of the United Nations Special Envoy for Global Education鶹APPs Youth Courage Awards.
3.00 The stage is being made ready for the big #UpForSchool event. There鶹APPs a definitibe buzz around the place as some of our youth leaders from around the world begin to arrive at the Kimmel Center at New York University.
3.20You can also follow the rally on A World at School鶹APPs Twitter page. Follow and use the hashtag #UpForSchool to follow the conversation and have your say too.
3.30 Malala Yousafzai鶹APPs father has tweeted his support for the #UpForSchool Petition
鶹APPm : let鶹APPs build a movement no government can ignore. Join us. Sign the petition here:
鶹APP Ziauddin Yousafzai (@ZiauddinY)
3.45The #UpForSchool Petition is really gathering pace since its official launch today. And here is one very happy signatory 鶹APP Gordon Brown, UN Special Envoy for Global Education.
is a right. It鶹APPs freedom. Hope. Health. A future. Stand . Stand up for the future. Sign now!
鶹APP Chime For Change (@ChimeforChange)
4.00 The special guests are arriving. Here Gordon Brown talks with Graca Machel and Chernor Bah.
Picture: Steve Gong/A World at School
4.20There is a live stream of this event
4.25 As guests arrive at the Kimmel Center, they are being treated to a amazing performance of 鶹APPbeat box鶹APP vocal dexterity from the I Sell The Shadow group. The special guests will soon take their seats in the front row of the auditorium.
Happening now in NYC: Youth event! Your voice matters, so raise it!
鶹APP United Nations (@UN)
4.38 And we鶹APPre off,There鶹APPs a huge sense of anticipation as we begin proceedings, hosted by A World at School鶹APPs Chernor Bah, who is getting the audience in the mood with some #UpForSchool chanting! He tells how 58 million children are still out of school 鶹APP despite the Millennium Development Goal promise in 2000 that this would change by the end of 2015.We鶹APPve already seen a special #UpForSchool video. You can watch it here鶹APP
4.44 Now we are Standing #UpForSchool, with the stories of out-of-school children from around the world. Five youth leaders on the stage are telling the story of another child somewhere in the world. They are on some of the themes of the running until the end of 2015.
For the next few minutes, the audience here will be hearing these inspirational stories about child marriage, child labour, quality of teaching and learning, discrimination against girls and education in emergencies. Later we will be publishing these amazing stories on the A World at School website.
4.50Now for another big moment. 鶹APP the introduction of the #UpForschool Petition. This has been driven by youth activists who wanted to do even more to highlight the 58 million children out of school around and bring pressure to bear on world leaders to keep their promise that by the end of 2015 every girl and boy would get a primary education.
The petition is online and children, teachers and parents in some key countries are being asked to sign a paper version. The amazing news is that already 10,000 children in Pakistan have signed the petition. .
4.51 And this is quite a sight. Chernor Bah has asked all of the special guests on the stage and everyone in the auditorium to sign the #UpForSchool Petition. Some pretty famous names up there, heads down, signing up on their smartphones! And here is a picture of students in Pakistan who have already signed the petition.
4.54 Sarah Brown, co-founder of A World at School tells why the petition was launched. She says: 鶹APPPolitical leaders can act when they hear a clear, single, loud version. As soon as they hear many, many voices over and over again, they do something. No political leader in the world can ignore it.鶹APP
4.56 Sarah announces that many big names in the fields of education, business, entertainment and faith are backing the petition. They include the Global Partnership for Education, Global Campaign for Education, Sojourners, Education International, Pearson, Hearst Magazines UK, Postcode Lottery in UK and Sweden, Discovery, Sesame Street Workshop and Western Union. And many more will be joining.
4.59 And now for two more videos, urging people to sign the petition 鶹APP the first from actor Rainn Wilson, star of the American TV show The Office. You can watch it here鶹APP
Next up is a video from UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. You can watch it here..
5.02 Now youth leaders are asking questions of the world leaders on the stage 鶹APP Gordon Brown, UN Special Envoy for Global Education; Graça Machel, international advocate for women鶹APPs and children鶹APPs rights, widow of Nelson Mandela and the first education minister of Mozambique; Ahmad Alhendawi, the United Nations Secretary-General鶹APPs Special Envoy on Youth; Peter Vesterbacka, the 鶹APPMighty Eagle鶹APP of Rovio Entertainment, the company behind the Angry Birds game; Ricken Patel, founding President of the campaigning website Avaaz; Isha Sesay, anchor with CNN International; Hadiza Bala Usman from the Bring Back Our Girls campaign in Nigeria; and Baela Jamil, Director of Programmes at Idara-e-Taleem-o-Aagahi.
5.05 Gordon Brown is asked what world leaders are going to do for global education. He says: 鶹APPChild labour no more. Child trafficking no more. Child slavery no more. Child marriage no more. World leaders will hear that we are determined that every single child in this world will have the chance to go to school.鶹APP
Picture: Steve Gong/A World at School
5.08 Graca Machel (pictured above),widow of Nelson Mandela and civil rights activist, is asked about making schools safe: 鶹APPMy commitment is to work at the community level to strengthen the relationship between the schools and the communities,鶹APP she says.
5.18 Some great questions from the young people for the rest of the guests. Ricken Patel from the and Peter Vesterbacka from the company that makes the Angry Birds games tell the young people that they CAN make their voices heard through the #UpForSchool Petition.
5.20 Hadiza Bala Usman of the Bring Back Our Girls campaign tells how she believes the is the way to bring safety to the country鶹APPs schools. And CNN anchor Isha Sesay tells how she has covered the kidnapping of the Chibok girls and how she has launched the campaign to help empower girls across Africa.
5.22 Ahmad Alhendawi, , tells how the movie Back To The Future set the future in the year 2015. But that future is almost here. And he said the petition WILL deliver its message to world leaders.
5.24 Baela Jamil, of Idara-e-Taleem-o-Aagahi (ITA), is asked what she can do to help deliver the message in her home country Pakistan. She announces that 500 young people will become A World at School Youth Ambassadors in Pakistan. She says: 鶹APPThey are going to be a powerhouse of energy. They will mobilise people and tell them there are 5.4 million children, most of them girls, not in school and who need to be in school. 鶹APP
5.34 After a stirring spoken word performance from I Sell The Shadow, it鶹APPs time for some special awards.Nine amazing young people are being recognised for their achievements. Gordon Brown is handing out the Youth Courage Awards, which are presented by the Office of the UN Special Envoy for Global Education.
Picture: Steve Gong/A World at School
5.45 The last winner of the Youth Courage Awards on to the stage is Rabia Faridi (pictured above),a young village girl who believes the spread of powerful words can change the ideologies of thought about Pakistan, education and women empowerment. Through her writing, public speaking and debates, Rabia exposes and highlights the root causes of illiteracy in rural Pakistan.
She gives a stirring and powerful speech from the heart about education and females in Pakistan. She says: 鶹APPA woman deserves dignity and to be educated鶹APP Let鶹APPs speak out because if we will not speak, who will speak for us? If we will not make noise, who make noise for us?
鶹APPWe are the name of courage, the name of confidence, the name of passion, the name of pride 鶹APP and I am proud to be a woman.鶹APP
Rabia gets a standing ovation from the audience.
5.53 A bit of fun but with a very serious message. The logo for the #UpForSchool campaign and petition is a book held spine upwards in an upside-down V shape. Everyone on the stage and in the audience is now holding books over their heads for a group photo and to send out the message that education is key.
Picture: Steve Gong/A World at School
5.57 Chernor announces that every one is going to march to nearby Washington Square Park for an outdoor rally, where signatures will be collected for the #UpForSchool petition. Drummers lead the way as Gordon Brown leads the way out of the Kimmell Center. Back with you soon with some pictures from the rally in the park.
In the meantime, here are what some people are saying about #UpForSchool on Twitter鶹APP
Thank you for following today鶹APPs youth rally & thanks to the youth leaders with for participating.
鶹APP UNICEF Education (@UNICEFEducation)
Wow those were great words by Rabia Faridi
鶹APP Farjeel Javed (@farjeel)
Loving the hope and positivity 鶹APPm feeling at the rally 🙂 @ NYU Kimmel鶹APP
鶹APP Ashley Thompson (@ashleydt053)
Stand . Join me, & youth all around the world in leading the call 4 global .
鶹APP Kim Cattrall (@KimCattrall)
At the rally in Washington Square Park, Chernor Bah leads the crowd in a chorus of #UpForSchool chanting.
Picture: Steve Gong/A World at School
Nigel Chapman, CEO of Plan International, tells them all of his staff will work hard to shout out about the petition. And David Edwards, Deputy General Secretary of Education International, tells the gathering: 鶹APPWe鶹APPre #UpForSchool with 30 million educators around the world. We are very excited to be part of this fantastic initiative.鶹APP
And here鶹APPs another picture from the rally in the park to give you a flavour of the event.
Picture: Steve Gong/A World at School
There are plenty more great pictures from Washington Square Park on A World at School鶹APPs Facebook page.
Our friends at The Partners helped with the creative direction of the #UpForSchool campaign and petition. Here鶹APPs a tweet from a representative who was at today鶹APPs event.
Had an incredible day representing at the rally in
鶹APP Miranda Hebert (@M_Hebert)
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