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European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations

#RaiseYourPencil

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Worldwide nearly 75 million children have limited or no access to school because of conflicts or natural disasters. Education is a fundamental human right. In humanitarian crises, it means safety and protection. It gives children the necessary skills to build a more prosperous future for themselves and their countries.

Education in emergencies (EiE) is an absolute priority for the European Commission. As of 2019, 10% of the European Union humanitarian budget will go to education in emergencies. The EU has become a champion of EiE!

On 14 May 2019 over 400 students, teachers, policy makers and humanitarian aid experts gathered in Brussels at the #School4All event, together with Commissioner Christos Stylianides, Nobel Peace Prize winner Denis Mukwege, Handicap International ambassador Axelle Red and singer Typh Barrow. Together they took stock of the achievements so far and launched a social media campaign to raise awareness: #RaiseYourPencil for #School4All !

Click here to view the recording of the event.

During the summer of 2019, we call upon young Europeans to show their solidarity with all crisis-affected kids who are out of school and spread the word on their social media accounts.

How to spread the message:

1) Take a creative photo with a pencil

2) Share it on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter with #RaiseYourPencil and @eu_echo

3) Tag 3 friends and challenge them to do the same!

Need some inspiration? Check out our #RaiseYourPencil challenge clip below, our Instagram story highlights and the photos further down.

Just for you to know…

  • By participating in the campaign and tagging @eu_echo, you give consent to the European Commission to share or repost your photos/videos through its social media channels.
  • Be original. You must be the sole author and copyright owner of the photos/videos you share through social media.
  • Ask for permission. Don’t take images of private persons without their consent or, in case of minors, without the consent of their parents/legal guardian.
  • Don’t over-edit. Basic cropping, colour correction and retouching are okay. Special effects, computer-generated images and other heavy modifications should be avoided.
  • Stay safe. Don’t put yourself or others in danger when making your photo or video.
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