Theirworld's AI Holograms Give Children Affected by the Global Educational Crisis a Voice

Failing economies, pandemic shortfalls, war, forced marriage, child labour, 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, customised 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 five-year-old refugee from Syria, said: “There are lots and lots of children like 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?” 

These events are the culmination of a months-long social media campaign, where youth activists from around the world have been creating videos talking about their own experience with (or without) education, tagging all posts with a plea to #LetMeLearn. Influencers, celebrities and other NGOs have taken up the cause, sharing anecdotes proving the importance of education in their lives, with the hopes that the rallying cry will become a central theme at the General Assembly. To date, the social campaign has resulted in posts from over 11,000 unique users, reaching over two billion impressions.