�鶹APP

 

Performer Sore Agbaje from the group I Sell The Shadow tells the story of the abducted Chibok girls in Nigeria Picture: Steve Gong

More than 1000 young people, campaigners, celebrities and leaders are gathering in New York today for the #UpForSchool Town Hall event.

World leaders meeting at the United Nations General Assembly this week have agreed the new 15-year global targets. Education is at the heart of each of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

Today�鶹APP�s Town Hall event �鶹APP� held jointly by the British charity and the United Nations children�鶹APP�s agency �鶹APP� will mark the hand-in of an incredible 10 MILLION signatures for the . It demands the right of every child to get an education �鶹APP� no matter who they are or where they were born.

This blog will keep you up to date with news, pictures and videos from the Town Hall. The event starts at 1.30pm New York time (EST) but you can visit throughout the day for updates on a historic occasion. All times given on this blog are local.

Learn and relive the historic moment when singer and campaigner .

Watch the event on livestream

We�鶹APP�ll be bringing you all of the #UpForSchool Town Hall event through our livestream below.

Rise up with our Youth Ambassadors

A powerful video called Rise has been made by Steve Nguyen, the Vietnamese-American director, writer and film producer who has helped to spread the #UpForSchool message. It tells the story of three of A World at School�鶹APP�s network of 500 in 85 countries.

Here is a teaser of the video �鶹APP� the full film will be shown during the event.

Fitting venue for a historic moment

11am Today�鶹APP�s event is being held in the historic Town Hall in Manhattan. It�鶹APP�s a building steeped in history that gave a platform to the suffragettes movement, the civil rights movement and other historic people-led movements.

So it�鶹APP�s fitting that we are here to mark the hand-in of the #UpForSchool Petition �鶹APP� a call for action led by young people across the world and taken up by millions in more than 200 countries. Here�鶹APP�s the view from the stage.

Picture: Steve Gong

And here is the stage being prepared, with the giant screen showing the moment when Shakira handed the petition to Gordon Brown.

�鶹APP President Sarah Brown has been on HuffPost Live today, talking about #UpForSchool.

Getting the message out there

12.15pm The #UpForSchool campaign has already been seen by thousands of people in New York today. It�鶹APP�s been showing on huge screens in Times Square.

And here�鶹APP�s another view of our message being beamed out to the world. A chance for the early arrivals to get their pictures taken.

Picture: Steve Gong

1pm As the audience make their way into the hall, they are being entertained by some great performances. We have some amazing foot-stomping moves from with a piece called Mecca Dynasty.

Not just standing , but stepping up with Mecca Dynasty & ! Are you up yet?

�鶹APP� A World at School (@aworldatschool)

Then it�鶹APP�s a thumping good show from Berean Community Drumline�鶹APP�

Picture: Steve Gong

�鶹APP�and a beautiful song from  �鶹APP� one of our network of 500 . She is a fantastic singer and player of the sarangi, a traditional Indian instrument played with a bow. Then she asks the audience to join in with A Change Is Gonna Come.

Amrit Kaur Lohia on stage Picture: Getty Images for #UpForSchool

Let the Town Hall begin

1.35 Sarah Brown welcomes everyone in the venue and those watching on our livestream.

She says: �鶹APP�We are here representing a children�鶹APP�s rights movement �鶹APP� #UpForSchool �鶹APP� which has been thousands of organisations, activists and people all around the world and millions of voices signing the #UpForSchool Petition.�鶹APP�

Picture: Getty Images for #UpForSchool

Sarah introduces Fatoumata Ndiaye, Deputy Chief Executive of UNICEF, who says: �鶹APP�We believe education is a child�鶹APP�s right, the foundation for a happy, prosperous life.�鶹APP�

Picture: Steve Gong

She tells how world leaders promised 15 years ago to get all children a primary education by 2015. An additional 45 million are now in school �鶹APP� but there are still 124 million out of school �鶹APP� 59 million of them of primary age.

Let�鶹APP�s demand quality education for . Tell us why you�鶹APP�re

�鶹APP� UNICEF (@UNICEF)

Fatoumata adds: �鶹APP�Every one of us has a part to play. By signing the #UpForSchool Petition, by gathering signatures in your communities, by being here today, you are renewing your commitment and your enthusiasm �鶹APP� you are giving your voice and your heart to create the world we want.�鶹APP�

The event is in three parts �鶹APP� each with its own theme.

Theme 1 is #UpForSchool

1.40��Sarah welcomes our hosts for this section. One is Rainn Wilson, the actor best known for his role in the US version of TV show The Office, who is also founder of the �鶹APP� a charity working to eradicate poverty through education �鶹APP� and co-founder of the , an educational initiative in Haiti. The other is Lulu Cerone, 16, founder of the youth activist organisation , and one of our network of 500 Global Youth Ambassadors in 85 countries.

Hosts Lulu Cerone and Rainn Wilson Picture: Getty Images for #UpForSchool

Rainn says: �鶹APP�This campaign is so important to me. None of us would be where we are in the world without education. Education is not a luxury, it�鶹APP�s a human right. Aid to basic education is dropping, the numbers of children out of school are going up, attacks on schools are at a 40-year high and world leaders are not doing enough to turn this around.�鶹APP�

Lulu says about the petition: �鶹APP�An incredible 10 million people have signed it, world leaders have backed it, celebrities have supported it, communities have embraced it and youth activists have taken it to their hearts.

Picture: Steve Gong

�鶹APP�We believe that nothing changes without pressure. This petition will help drive forward real decisions that will result in more children going to school.�鶹APP�

1.45 We have our first video of the afternoon �鶹APP� it shows a girl walking through a school building, with voiceovers describing the devastating effects of children being out of school. They include Gordon Brown �鶹APP� �鶹APP� talking about the struggle that �鶹APP�we have in our power to win�鶹APP�.

In a powerful and surprising moment, the girl who was in the film steps on to the stage and gives the #UpForSchool Petition book to Gordon.

He says: �鶹APP�I want to thank Raquel (the girl in the video), I want to thank all those upstairs �鶹APP� pupils, students, youth leaders �鶹APP� organisations represented here for delivering the biggest ever education petition in the history of the world.

�鶹APP�Lets be the first generation where every child has access to education�鶹APP�: Gordon Brown

�鶹APP� UNICEF Latin America (@uniceflac)

�鶹APP�You are sending a message to world leaders everywhere �鶹APP� no matter where a child is, no matter who that child is, no matter what that child is, they have a right to education and we must deliver that to them now.�鶹APP�

1.50��Rainn and Lulu take over proceedings again and pay tribute to some of the key partners who have supported the #UpForSchool campaign. They include ,��,  in Brazil and Norway, , , (ITA), , , , , , , n, Thandi Tutu and Silvana Koch-Mehrin, founder of .

Let�鶹APP�s build schools, not steal eggs! with Bird

�鶹APP� Peter Vesterbacka (@pvesterbacka)

Lulu also pays tribute to the , which has students at the event representing schools around the world.

. collected 2 million signatures for . Huge support here for a major leader of this movement.

�鶹APP� GFC Education (@GFCEducation)

Lulu asks the 30 Global Youth Ambassadors from various countries who are at the event to stand up and give a wave. Then Rainn asks some of the major #UpForSchool partners on to the stage, including representatives from Muslim Aid, Walk Free and ITA.

Picture: Steve Gong

Alex Monroe from the anti-slavery group Walk Free says: �鶹APP�Education is a critical element of any effort to eliminate slavery because education offers children the support, the foundation, the knowledge and the tools that they need to create and build a healthy future for themselves.�鶹APP�

Walk Free�鶹APP�s Alex with @k_satyarth We�鶹APP�re honoured to join education campaign to

�鶹APP� Walk Free (@walkfree)

Baela Raza Jamil of ITA talks about the creation of the first child marriage-free zone in Pakistan. She adds: �鶹APP�We collected 200,000 signatures from the child marriage-free zone �鶹APP� but more than that, 2.5 million signatures from across Pakistan.�鶹APP�

2.0 Lulu presents our second video on the big screen �鶹APP� this one shows the moment when pop star and education campaigner to Gordon Brown.

Theme 2 is Safe Schools

2.05 Gordon addresses the audience, telling them we have the highest number of refugees and displaced people since the Second World War �鶹APP� and the highest number of attacks on schools in 40 years.

He says: �鶹APP�Some of them could go through the whole of their school-age school years without ever having the chance of entering a classroom. I want us to send out a message today �鶹APP� child marriage no more, child trafficking no more, child labour no more, exploitation of girls no more. Let every single child have the chance of basic education.�鶹APP�

2.08 Gordon welcomes on to the stage spoken word artist Sore Agbaje representing I Sell The Shadow, to tell the story of who escaped from their Boko Haram kidnappers in Nigeria last year.

Then one of the girls, Salome (not her real name to protect her identity), talks to Gordon about her experience in April 2014. The crowd is hushed as she says: �鶹APP�It is amazing that I am sitting here today telling my story. I could have been someone, nowhere to be found.�鶹APP�

She tells how the gunmen stormed the school late at night as the girls were in their beds. They threatened to shoot them and then started burning the school buildings.

Picture: Steve Gong

Salome added: �鶹APP�They told us to say our last prayers, that they were going to kill all of us. But I jumped out of the truck and spent the night in the forest.�鶹APP� She and her friend who also escaped were eventually rescued. She said: �鶹APP�I pray my sisters are still alive and one day they will come back to school.�鶹APP�

Salome, a Chibok girl who escaped Boko Haram, bravely shares her story at Town Hall.

�鶹APP� A World at School (@aworldatschool)

2.20 Now we turn to safe schools in Latin America and the Caribbean. On the stage we have the First Lady of Panama, Lorena Castillo, and the education ministers for Costa Rica, Honduras and El Salvador �鶹APP� Sonia Marta Mora, Marlon Oniel Escoto Valerio and Carlos Mauricio Canjura. We also have Salvador Paiz, the President of .

Picture: Steve Gong

The First Lady says: �鶹APP�Education is the only tool to get out of the circle of extreme poverty. This is empowering our people. It is the only way to really succeed in life.�鶹APP�

Picture: Getty Images for #UpForSchool

The work done by the on safe schools is being extended into Latin America. In partnership with UNICEF and A World at School, the new Strong Schools and Communities Initiative will explore opportunities for school communities, national authorities, and the private sector to strengthen programmes that protect learning environments and promote an open dialogue among communities throughout the region.

2.30 British actress Laura Carmichael, star of the TV series Downton Abbey, comes on to talk about a trip she made with A World at School .

Laura Carmichael arrives at the event Picture: Getty Images for #UpforSchool

She says: �鶹APP�Today is the first day at school in Lebanon �鶹APP� and thanks to the Lebanese government and to campaigners, 200,000 Syrian children will be back in school. While this is progress, we need to fight to ensure that every child is back in school in the safety of the classroom.�鶹APP�

Laura introduces an A World at School video about Aya and Ayesha, who are both 12-year-old Syrian refugees living in Lebanon. Watch it here.

Gordon pays tribute to Lebanon�鶹APP�s education minister Elias Bou Saab, who is in the audience �鶹APP� and talks about a plan to get one million Syrian refugee children into school in Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey.

2.42 Now we have representatives from two of our Safe Schools partners �鶹APP� Annemiek Hoogenboom from  and Tariq Al Gurg, CEO of the philanthropic organisation .

With the deadline to get every child into a quality primary education before 2016 fast approaching, the People�鶹APP�s Postcode Lottery support for education around the world could not come at a more crucial time for those children most in need �鶹APP� particularly in Lebanon, where PPL has helped drive pioneering work on the double-shift school system.

. is making a huge difference for children in conflict zones. speaks

�鶹APP� �鶹APP (@theirworld)

Dubai Cares is building upon its mission to improve children�鶹APP�s access to quality education in developing countries. It is launching a new partnership with �鶹APP to support new solutions to meet the challenges faced in emergencies and engage the international community through campaign and communications activities to ensure every child has the opportunity to learn.

. announces they will renew a crucial partnership for education with �鶹APP.

�鶹APP� �鶹APP (@theirworld)

2.45 It�鶹APP�s the turn of Adam Braun, Director of the He announces that  �鶹APP� alongside partners , , HP, and �鶹APP� a Global Education Platform pilot will be launched in India on October 1. YourStoryIndia will be the largest and most inclusive youth digital writing contest in India�鶹APP�s history.

. announces contest to boost literacy with at Town Hall

�鶹APP� GBCEducation (@gbceducation)

Adam asks some of the programme�鶹APP�s partners on to the stage �鶹APP� including Sharath Jeevan, founder and CEO of STiR Education, and Gus Schmedlen, Vice President of Worldwide Education, HP.

2.50 Time for the #UpForSchool awards. We have two hosts for this section �鶹APP� Ishmael Beah, best-selling author, human rights spokesperson and UNICEF goodwill ambassador from Sierra Leone, and Harry Potter actress and ambassador Bonnie Wright. The award winners are as follows:

Aliko Dangote for the leadership he has shown in making education a cornerstone of his philanthropic and business endeavours, key to making education a universal right for all.

Valentino Achak Deng for his transformation from Lost Boy of South Sudan to Minister of Education, a testament to the power of education and an incredible story of perseverance, leadership and advocacy. He says: �鶹APP�Without access to education, trained teachers and gender equality, we cannot expect to raise the future leaders who can develop and uplift our global community.�鶹APP�

Shelly Esque, Vice President at Intel Corporation and Global Director of the company�鶹APP�s Corporate Affairs Group, for investing in the issue of girls education through the Girl Rising film and making it a cornerstone of Intel�鶹APP�s global engagement.

Holly Gordon, co-founder and CEO of Girl Rising for drawing attention to the critical issue of girls�鶹APP� education through the use of the powerful film.

Theme 3 is Girls�鶹APP� Education

3.0 Rainn Wilson brings the crowd to its feet by saying: �鶹APP�Girls are important and they rock.�鶹APP� He tells how educating girls is a particular passion of his. He adds: �鶹APP�Girls take what they�鶹APP�ve learned and they spread it. They share it. Education spreads like a virus. It is a very practical way to reduce suffering and poverty in the world.�鶹APP�

He welcomes Sarah Brown back on to the stage, who introduces panellists for a discussion on girls�鶹APP� education �鶹APP� women�鶹APP�s and children�鶹APP�s rights advocate Graca Machel, co-founder Marieme Jamme and  co-founder Zach Simms.

Sarah Brown with Graca Machel Picture: Getty Images for #UpForSchool

Graca says: �鶹APP�You want to break the cycle of poverty? Educate a girl. You want a healthy family? Educate a girl. You want to take society to be much more just? Educate a girl.

�鶹APP�It is an investment which has a multiplying effect for herself, for her family, for the community, for the nation, for the world.�鶹APP� She adds: �鶹APP�There are very fantastic examples of success. The challenge now is how do we scale up these good experiences �鶹APP� how do we make them a national movement?�鶹APP�

Marieme, who did not go to school in Senegal until she was 16 and is now a company CEO in London, says: �鶹APP�Every single girl can have access to coding.�鶹APP�

Zach says: �鶹APP�Teaching technology still isn�鶹APP�t even a priority in the US. It�鶹APP�s not a priority almost anywhere in the world. So we wanted to make the educational material available to anyone in a way that was fun and exciting.�鶹APP�

And now for the final flourish

3.20 Steve Nguyen is a Vietnamese-American director, writer and film producer. He has been involved in production for feature films and network television programs for NBC Universal as well as more than 40 feature-length and short independent films.

He says: �鶹APP�If there are no powerful voices to campaign then there is no awareness.�鶹APP�

Steve has made a special film for this event called Rise, which weaves the stories of three of A World at School�鶹APP�s Global Youth Ambassadors. Watch it here.

Steve introduces Mohamed Sidibay, one of the GYAs featured in the video. A former child soldier in Sierra Leone, he used his past to campaign for marginalised youth. He teaches now in a low-income high school in Colombia, while continuing to advocate for education for all.

Mohamed says: �鶹APP�From the age of five to nine my left hand wasn�鶹APP�t used to sign a petition but to squeeze the trigger of an AK47 that was taller than I was.

Picture: Getty Images for #UpForSchool

�鶹APP�This war for educational equality is personal to me. Because I know first-hand how it feels to wake up in the morning and not be able to go to school. I know how it feels to wake up in the morning, not by the sound of an alarm clock I set, but the sound of guns and bombs dropping and reducing my memories to flames.�鶹APP�

3.35��The final guest is Nobel Peace Prize winner Kailash Satyarthi. He says: �鶹APP�The petition by 10 million is not just a petition. It is a clarion call from 10 million people that we want education and through education we want freedom.�鶹APP�

Kailash Satyarthi with the programme Picture: Getty Images for #UpForSchool

He asks everyone in the audience to take their Town Hall event programme and points to the last page, which is for people to leave a message for the , which is chaired by Gordon Brown.

Picture: Steve Gong

Sarah presents him with the final #UpForSchool award of the day and Kailash leads a chant of �鶹APP�Up For School.�鶹APP�

3.40 The event comes to a close with more rousing music from Berean Community Drumline.

What an INCREDIBLE day! We stood at Town Hall. Now join us all over the world:

�鶹APP� A World at School (@aworldatschool)

Inspirational event hosted by and during

�鶹APP� Plan International (@PlanGlobal)

UN Special Envoy for Education Gordon Brown and stand w/ biggest petition for education, ever.

�鶹APP� Pencils of Promise (@PencilsOfPromis)