Lupe in the Media Spotlight

On 14 July 2016, Lupe Va'ai, 12-year old Child Author representing Samoa/The Pacific Islands for the Voices of Future Generations initiative, was featured in The Samoan Observer newspaper.

The people of Samoa are so proud of Lupe, representing her small island on the "world stage", and we are too.

You can read the article here.

Lupe was also in the media spotlight with a guest appearance on the Pacific Beat show of Australian ABC Radio. In a beautifully edited piece, Lupe talked about her book 'The Voices of an Island', eloquently reading sections of it, and talking about her inspirations and her plans to write more stories following the adventures and initiatives of her main character Katalina. 

Jona David, Child Author, at the Perimeter Institute, Ontario

Jona David, whose children's books feature eco-science and innovation, enjoyed the most amazing 11th birthday experience ever: a personal tour of Canada’s Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Waterloo, Ontario.

From the inviting welcome hall with images and equations covering the walls, to the ever-present chalkboards for maths and physics discussions and proofs, to the state-of-the-art lecture halls, library, and work spaces featuring modern architecture, natural light, pools of water for contemplation, and copies of Euclid casually left on coffee tables, Jona was in his element! It will be no surprise if quantum physics, general relativity, or gravitational waves appear in Jona's next books.

Jona David, 11, enjoying his birthday visit.

The informative and engaging visit, hosted by gracious guide Angela Robinson of the Institute’s External Relations & Public Affairs team, included an invitation, deeply appreciated, to engage in the Perimeter Public Lecture Series online, and to apply for the International Summer School for Young Physicists once he’s just a little bit older. All thanks are due to the Perimeter Institute for their world-changing work and kind welcome to a small author fascinated by science. In the spirit of sharing ideas and innovations, Jona has expressed his thanks for the tour with a gift of his autographed books for researchers to enjoy with their families.

Child Authors meet Mrs Mary Robinson

On 08 July 2016, child authors, goodwill ambassadors, and representatives from the Voices of Generations initiative and Bloomsbury Publishing assembled at the Landmark Hotel, London, to meet with Mrs Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland and Founder and President of the Mary Robinson Foundation - Climate Justice.

The child authors introduced themselves and presented Mrs Robinson with autographed copies of their books to Mrs Robinson who was inspired and thrilled by their work. Over dinner, the children engaged in an inspiring and engaging roundtable discussion with Mrs Robinson, about the issues addressed in their books and how they relate to the CRC and Post-2015 SDG’s. Conversation also turned to intergenerational equity and how this can be addressed and achieved.

A 2016 Future Generations Inspiration Award was presented by the child authors to Mary Robinson, to thank her for being an inspiring global mentor to both the children present, children around the world and for future generations, on whose behalf she campaigns for a better future.

 

Intergenerational Learning Circle, London

In the afternoon of 07 July 2016, a very special event jointly hosted by the Voices of Future Generations initiative and the Mary Robinson Foundation - Climate Justice was held at the Houses of Parliament, Westminster, London. This intergenerational learning circle included Voices of Future Generations child authors from around the world, UN SDG Child Ambassadors and children from local schools who came together to share their ideas about how they would address the Post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals and about the world they would like to see.

All of the children contributed brilliantly, offering their inspirational and insightful views on issues such as gender equality, climate change, human rights and access to education, amongst other deeply important topics. Several key themes emerged. The children present keenly emphasised the need for all children around the world know their rights, as set out in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. They called for better recognition of their right to have a voice and to express their opinions. Working together was deemed crucial and the children appealed to adults for help and support in achieving their goals for building a better world. It was also overwhelmingly important to the children that all people should strive more for a sustainable world and less for beyond personal gain. As one of the children said, “once given a voice, we will speak, and once listened to, we will move forwards in the goal to give every child rights”.

A 2016 Future Generations Inspiration Award was presented to keynote speaker Professor Kirsten Sandberg by the child authors, in recognition and acknowledgement of the inspirational work she has done on the United Nations Committee to the Rights of the Child behalf of children globally.

Many thanks to Baroness Julie Smith of Newnham for being so instrumental in the hosting of the event. We also wish to thank Irina Bokova, UNESCO Director-General, and Prof. Edith Brown-Weiss of Georgetown Law School for their inspiring speeches via video-link.

 

 

Book Launch at Bloomsbury Publishing

On 07 July 2016 UN Sustainable Development Goal Child Ambassadors, Goodwill Ambassadors and Child Authors met at Bloomsbury Publishing, London, for the launch of the seven books that currently comprise the Voices of Future Generations Children’s book series. The child authors presented their newly published storybooks with excitement and explained how their story plots and characters relate to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the SDGs.

 

 

The child authors, goodwill ambassadors and representatives from Bloomsbury Publishing signed an international partnership agreement to begin a special collaboration between the Voices of Future Generations children’s initiative and Bloomsbury Publishing PLC, a Nobel Prize winning and leading independent publisher with global reach. We are very excited about this partnership, which will promote children’s literacy, education, joy of discovery and learning about sustainability, children’s rights, the environment, social justice and the interests of future generations of our world.