Failing economies, pandemic shortfalls, war, forced marriage, child labor, genocide, and more. There are myriad reasons that there are currently 260 million children worldwide who do not have access to equitable education, and if current trends continue, half of all children on Earth will enter adulthood without the skills to get ahead and achieve their dreams.

On the eve of the Transforming Education Summit at the United Nations General Assembly, global children’s charity Theirworld and BBDO New York brought New Yorkers face-to-face with children who are affected by the global education crisis. From Lebanon to South Africa, children who have been disadvantaged by poverty, war, and emigration will appear via digital media, out-of-home, and an AI hologram projection to tell their stories, first-hand. Because if world leaders can get to know them on a personal level, while also being able to put a face behind the story, they may feel more inclined to take action.

The children’s stories have appeared in social media and digital video, customized and targeted via geo-fencing to people in the immediate area of the UN Headquarters, in an attempt to directly impact decision makers at the General Assembly. And on the eve of the summit, an immersive pop-up experience took over Jane’s Carousel in Brooklyn Bridge Park, where a hologram projection of the children called out New Yorkers and global media, so they could witness the plea from children to #LetMeLearn in-person.

Projected against the Manhattan skyline, Mahmoud, a 5-year-old refugee from Syria, said: “There are lots and lots of children like me who can’t go to school. When I’m older, I want to be a doctor but this is going to be hard because I can’t go to school.  Now that you know me, maybe you will help Let Me Learn?”

This recap video gives viewers a taste of the activation this past Sunday (9/18) night, the evening before the UN’s Transforming Education Summit. A projection of an AI hologram gave children affected by the global educational crisis a voice to call out world leaders to incite systematic change. 

Credits

Client Theirworld Justin Van Fleet, president; Ben Hewitt, sr. campaign advisor; Nicole Martin, head of media & partnerships; Darika Ahrens, head of digital communications; Cara Ghosal, content manager. Creative Agency BBDO New York David Lubars, chairman, chief creative officer, BBDO Worldwide; Luiz Sanches, chief creative officer, BBDO North America; Matt McDonald, chief creative officer, BBDO New York; Matthew Low, Kristin Clark, creative directors; Ian Nettleton, sr. art director; Catherine Ngyugen, sr. copywriter; Genelle Salazar, sr. designer; Suzanne Barker, strategy partner, AMV BBDO; Alex Gianni, EVP, director of content production; James Young, head of digital operations; Danielle Amico, production operations director; Mike Woodall, sr. producer; Hayley Baldwin, sr. experiential producer; Harvey Lacsina, interactive producer. Production, VFX & Experiential Kaleida  Daniel Reynolds, lead producer; Adam Tremayne, creative director; Anna Komitska, Benjamin Lawrence, producers. Synthetic Facial Augmentation Pagi Studios Dogan Kurt, lead developer. Installation & Event Branding The Experiential Group Frank Moran, principal; Courtney McFarland, sr. producer; Ashley Massa, sr. associate producer. Postproduction Lumiere Studios Gavin Lester, creative director & lead compositor; Duncan Burch, technical director. Media Omnicom Media Group. Translations Mother Tongue

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