A World At School’s campaign mural to take centre stage at Oslo education summit

The mural of a youth march starting to take shape in Oslo

A World At School will unveil a specially commissioned mural at the Oslo education summit next week to represent the 58 million children not at school.

The pastel on canvas artwork will be displayed for 48 hours and at 6ft high is set to dominate the foyer of the conference location.

It was conceived as a way to visually represent to the world leaders, policymakers and heads of finance attending the summit that young people are demanding their right to education.

The mural will show a vibrant, crowded youth march. It has been created by a street art team based in the Midlands of England, who have designed campaign murals for the Red Cross and the British Heart Foundation

The bigger picture is emerging by day three

A World At School is inviting all participants to show their support for the #UpForSchool movement by posing for a picture in front of the mural and posting it on social media.

A World At School’s Global Youth Ambassadors have held dozens of rallies and marches over the past 12 months and it is hoped the mural will capture the passion young people have shown for education.

The Oslo Summit on Education for Development is hosted by the Norwegian government and will bring together donors, education experts and advocates to mobilise renewed political commitment to get all children into school by the end of 2015.

#UpForSchool youth marches include this one in Kibera, Kenya

Ben Hewitt, Campaigns Director at A World At School, said: “More than six million people have added their name to the #UpForSchool Petition call for action.

“This image of children marching gives young people’s desire for an education a physical presence at this high-level event. We want to make sure their voices are heard by the leaders attending the summit. This is a time for action and decision.”

The event will be opened by United Nations Special Envoy for Global Education Gordon Brown on Monday July 6. He will be accompanied by Global Youth Ambassador Hellen Griberg.

Join the march towards education for all – sign the #UpForSchool Petition.