Theirworld: The Education Issue
A simple idea: in a world where young people's media choices are fleeting and ephemeral, give permanence to their voices.
Global children’s charity Theirworld and their Global Youth Ambassadors team were running a pilot project focussed on citizen journalism: ten young reporters from around the world documenting the education challenges in their communities through writing, photography, film and audio. The work would be shown online and at an exhibition during UNGA in New York in September.
I was challenged to build the creative platform. It immediately felt that the online and event showcase was too temporary. It was clear these young voices demanded more cultural weight and permanence. With print media itself enjoying a revival, the answer became clear.
A physical newspaper: The Education Issue.
Working in partnership with The Observer and Tortoise Media, we brought The Education Issue to life as a 28-page newspaper special, written and published by the Global Youth Ambassadors themselves.
The Education Issue is now set to be an annual publication spotlighting education challenges worldwide.
The project also gave the students bespoke training and one-to-one mentoring (with support from Pioneers Post) to capture stories of their lived experience and solutions.
The first edition launched during the UN General Assembly in New York, September 2025 alongside an exhibition of the content created by the contributors.
All stories are available online at theeducationissue.org , of course, in newsprint.