#GenerationHope is Save the Children’s campaign for and with children, calling for urgent action on climate and inequality. Our world is at a crossroads, and it’s time we follow children’s lead. By putting their rights first, we’ll tackle climate change and invest in a bright future for all children, everywhere. All we need now is political will.
Join Generation Hope: Together for a fair, green and equal world.
A different kind of campaign
Generation Hope isn't like any other Save the Children campaign. From the name to selecting this as an issue children want to campaign on, to the messaging and visual style, it has been co-created with children worldwide. Our aim is to amplify their ideas, actions and lived experiences of climate change and poverty. Bringing them together with people of all ages as one global voice: #GenerationHope. This is not just because it's the right thing to do. We believe it’s also the most powerful way to shift both public opinion and political conditions, forcing world leaders, corporates and wealthy elites to finally take the long-promised actions needed to fight inequality and fix our broken climate. Children are leading the way. It's time for world leaders to follow.
First things first. Our creative principles...
In the actions we take, in the language we use and in the look and feel of the campaign, we have five principles we follow:
#1. Amplify children - we make sure children's voices are heard and that their ideas, demands and lived-experiences are reflected, shared and seen
#2. Urgent optimism - we are optimistic about the future and believe we can do something about the climate crisis if we act now
#3. Compassion not cynicism - children care for each other, their future and their planet so this campaigning should nurture global compassion for each other
#4. Action equals hope - positive action taken anywhere by anyone brings hope everywhere for everyone
#5. One voice worldwide - children are united in their demands for a different future and every child's voice counts
The campaign narrative
"Endless promises by people in power aren’t protecting our families from never-ending poverty and pollution. We know it doesn’t have to be this way, and our generation chooses to live in hope. Together, we’ll create a fairer, greener world where we can all breathe, free from fear."
Our campaign narrative is the overarching story of our campaign. It has been developed with children worldwide, bringing together our campaign strategy with children's own way of expressing what they themselves are experiencing. It is approved for use externally and should be used when you talk to your audiences about climate change and inequality.
Download the full narrative and key messages: English, French, Spanish, Arabic
Our visual identity: made by children
Our campaign look and feel has been co-created with children from around the world. This is their campaign. Designed to put children’s passion and voices at the heart of the global climate change and inequality conversations. It is made up of:
Backgrounds - a set of hand-drawn patterned backgrounds, bringing positivity and optimism
Accents - a set of hand-drawn illustrated 'accents', symbols representing actions, energy and issues
Cut-out-style photos and outline - a bright silhouette-style outline for cut out photography
Colours - a vibrant colour palette to further emphasise global hope and action
Four things to help you get the most out of our creative assets
#1. Only use white text for headlines, quotes and captions to ensure legibility over our vibrant patterned backgrounds
#2. Use the patterns carefully and in the colours provided (ie. red with one other colour) and don't add additional colours
#3. Try to keep headlines short, aiming for between 3 and 5 words to ensure readability over patterns. For longer quotes and text use clear areas of solid background colour.
#4. Use our accent illustrations sparingly, being careful not to use too many layers of accents, backgrounds and words all at the same time.
Downloadable creative resources
A set of adaptable templates
A set of ready-to-use share cards and graphics
Comms and Engagement
Who we’re talking to: our priority audiences
We have three priority audiences to ensure we have the biggest impact on climate change and inequality.
Children - to give them a platform, to amplify their hopes, actions, voices and ideas into a form of pressure on world leaders. Sharing stories that will shift public opinion in the fight to fix our broken climate.
Parents - to inspire them to act for their children’s futures - to shop, vote, live with their children’s futures as the guiding motivation.
Decision makers - to shape policies that choose what’s best for this new generation, not their own
Climate and economic inequality crisis toolkit
Ahead of key advocacy moments, the SDG summit in September and COP28 this November/December 2023, we have an opportunity to educate our supporters on issues related to the climate crisis and the impact it is having on children globally.
We have developed a toolkit to help tell the story and engage your audiences around how the climate and economic inequality crisis is impacting children around the world, and help generate pressure for the specific policy outcomes we want to achieve at the the SDG summit and COP28.
Ready-to-use engagement tools and assets
We have developed a selection of different engagement tools for you to adapt and use as wish to engage your audiences with the Generation Hope campaign.
Art for Generation Hope
Encourage audiences to sign up to join our campaign and receive a free toolkit to complete art work with children in their lives and share back with us on social media. If you are not running a lead generation campaign, the art action can be promoted on social media and toolkit can be downloaded from your website or our global Resource Centre.
Call to action: If you are using the Art action for engagement only, the CTA is DOWNLOAD AND SHARE WITH US! If you are running the climate hand rasier, the CTA is 'Join us to support a generation of children demanding more'.
Key messages
- Children are carrying a huge burden on their shoulders, climate anxiety is impacting young people around the world. It's time to remind children that the responsibility of solving the climate crisis does not lie with them.
- Art is a peaceful, creative way to relax and communicate. Art can be used to express and relieve frustration and anxiety. Join a generation of children fighting climate change head on and demand action on climate change from world leaders through art.
- Download our free Art for #GenerationHope toolkit and use your creativity along with the children in your lives, to draw your demands of world leaders in tackling the climate crisis.
- Help young people around the world express their thoughts and feelings about climate change. Download our free toolkit, Art for #GenerationHope, and start drawing with your friends in a creative way.
- Join the generation demanding more action on climate change with our free Art for #GenerationHope toolkit! Download it now to learn how to help children understand the climate crisis and draw their own demands to world leaders.
- Art-making is a great way to relax and communicate with your kids. This Art for #GenerationHope toolkit includes instructions on how you can use art to help them express their feelings about climate change
ANIMATED VIDEO
For each of the below, you will need to add your chosen call to action, this should be primarily 'Join us' or 'Join a generation of children demanding more' pushing traffic to the climate hand raiser. If you are unable to host a hand raiser, you can push your traffic to our global one, or use the CTA 'share this video and help children's voices be heard'
KEY MESSAGING
- We must listen to children, stand with them, and amplify their demands. Act NOW, there's no time to waste.
- Millions of children are facing the devastating impact of the climate emergency. Droughts, flooding and a hunger crisis, the scale of which the world has never seen before, but It doesn’t have to be this way. Children are speaking up and leading the way towards a better world. It’s time for us to follow their lead and listen! This fight will NEVER be a lost cause. Join a generation of children demanding more from world leaders.
- We are calling for urgent action on the climate and inequality crisis to create a safe, healthy and happy future for children everywhere. We want world leaders to listen to children, they are a generation fighting for change and they are demanding:
- Investment in children's future: Limit global warming to 1.5 degrees, including by phasing out fossil fuels and simultaneously taking measures that can lift families out of poverty
- Immediate action on climate and inequality crisis: Fund strong children’s services and safety nets to help children and families adapt to changes in the climate and cope in tough times
- Listen to children and give them a seat at the table in decisions that affect their lives now and in the future
CLIMATE CRISIS HAND RAISER
KEY MESSAGES
- The climate crisis is a child rights crisis. And we are calling on world leaders to act NOW. Join us
- For so many children around the world, climate change isn't a distant, scary thing - it's their everyday life. And we need urgent action to tackle it now.
- Children lives are under threat. Every child will now inherit a planet with more severe and with more frequent extreme weather events than ever before. The climate crisis is threatening children’s right to a safe home, to healthcare, to food and to learning.
- It doesn’t have to be this way. World leaders must tackle the root causes of these crises and put children first. Rich, industrialised countries must step up and take immediate and significant action on the climate crisis by:
- Urgently tackle the climate emergency: Limit global warming to 1.5 degrees, including by phasing out fossil fuels and simultaneously taking measures that can lift families out of poverty
- Invest in children: Fund strong children’s services and safety nets to help children and families adapt to changes in the climate and cope in tough times
- Listen to children and give them a seat at the table in decisions that affect their lives now and in the future
CLIMATE CONTENT
We are continuously adding climate change and inequality stories to this folder. You can find first-hand accounts from children and young people from around the world, sharing not only their own lived-experiences of the challenges they face, but also the actions they’re taking that bring hope for their generation’s future.
Thank you for being part of #GenerationHope
For more information or support on anything in this toolkit please contact alana.maytum@savethechildren.org