Partnering for UNICEF World Children’s Day

Intro:

We are beyond excited to be launching the 2020 POP-UP Festival. Like SO many plans in 2020, there’s been a lot of uncertainty and changes. Many of you will have been part of the CLIMATE OF EMOTIONS Conference before Earth Day — we shared then that for 2020, we’d be focusing on Sustainable Development Goal #13 and launching the Green13 POP-UP Festival kit. In a moment, Thomas, from UNICEF Home Office, will share a bit about SDG13, and UNICEF’s focus with World Children’s Day.

First, for those who might not be familiar with this event, just a little background: 

• On November 20, 1959, a historic moment at the United Nations: A declaration that CHILDREN have human rights. Maybe obvious to us now, but it was not part of international law. 
• 30 years later, on the same day, the Convention on  the RIghts of the Child (CRC) was signed, and it’s the most-signed human rights legislation in history. 
• Last year the UN General Assembly held a grand celebration for the 30 year anniversary and the Six Seconds POP-UP Team was there and we held a POP-UP Festival at UNICEF headquarters in New York.

Why? As an organization dedicated to emotional intelligence, we see a tremendous challenge and opportunity — for example, ALL these years after the signing of this momentous law, there are still children whose rights are not honored.

Why?

The law is there…. Yet clearly laws are not enough. We need something more. Perhaps what we need is a change in our heads and hearts. Perhaps what we need are skills for having difficult conversations. One of the rights under the CRC is that children have a right to express their opinions. Just think about that for a second — for that to happen, what strengths will a child need to develop? And what will the adults around that child need to do? And to really listen… What heart skills will be needed?

We believe ALL CHANGE STARTS ON THE INSIDE. POP-UP Festival is an inspiring, beautiful experiment we 1000s of us around the world get to collaborate on that changes the heart, that changes everything.

Panelists:

Thomas Sayers, global lead for World Children’s Day, UNICEF’s annual day of action for children, by children. World Children’s Day marks the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) on November 20. On this day, UNICEF advocates, raises awareness and raises funds for the most pressing issues facing children.

Paulina Olsson, co founder and CEO of Peppy Pals. Paulina is devoted to changing the educational system for children to focus more on humanity and soft skills. Peppy Pals, with their award-winning apps, is a pioneer within the field of digital, play-based social and emotional learning (SEL) for children ages 2-6.

Ayaka Mawary, Japan-based advanced EQ facilitator, Founder at DAIJOUBU (means “you’re safe; we’re alright in Japanese”), mother of two children, and singer-songwriter. Ayaka works as an EQ bridge between other countries and Japan to enlighten people to feel more comfortable and motivated to enjoy their life stories.

Saugat Singh Saud, an educator in Nepal, who is passionate about helping young people build important life skills. He is the Founder and CEO of Mighty Minds which is promoting SEL in Nepalese education pedagogy. Saugat is a SQA Certified Soft Skill Coach and an award leader at The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Awards.

Joshua Freedman, cofounder and CEO, The Six Seconds Emotional Intelligence Network, working since 1997 toward a world with more EQ. Josh is a Master Certified Coach and author of the best-selling At the Heart of Leadership 

Key Questions:

• What’s one reason you got excited about the POP-UP Festival?
• When people ask you… how do you explain what is the POP-UP Festival? 
• Could  you share one story or a moment of seeing a child learning about emotions that has stayed with you?
• What have you heard from children about SDG13 — and climate anxiety?
• POP-UP is a celebration, it’s fun, it’s creative — but what’s the larger vision for you — how is this part of creating change in the world?
• How does the POP-UP Festival meet the moment we face in 2020?  How is POP-UP especially needed today?
• How does it work virtually or in Covid times?
• Right now, many people are facing big, challenging uncertainty at school and home how does POP-UP Festival  help?
• Is there an activity that is a favorite for you? Why?
• How does this project support children’s emotional wellbeing?
• What is one key learning you’d like all children to have ?
• For those of us grappling with uncertainty and feeling the pain of being “stuck” right now — if you could write just one post-it-note to for all of us to keep in mind, what would it say?