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STORY: UNICEF / BRAZIL RUSSELL
TRT: 03:22
SOURCE: UNICEF
RESTRICTIONS: PLEASE CREDIT UNICEF ON SCREEN
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 30 - 31 AUGUST 2023, RECIFE, PERNAMBUCO, BRAZIL
1. Wide shot, UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell signs a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
2. Close up, signing Memorandum of Understanding cooperation agreement
3. Wide shot, signers of Memorandum of Understanding
4. Close up, UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell with Raquel Lyra, Governor of the State of Pernambuco
5. Med shot, UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell sits in a classroom with young students while visiting the CEMEI 8 de Março school in the Ibura neighbourhood
6. Med shot, classroom instructor reading a book with young students
7. Med shot, UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell sits in a classroom with young students while visiting the CEMEI 8 de Março school in the Ibura neighbourhood
8. Med shot, UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell sits in a classroom with young students while visiting the CEMEI 8 de Março school in the Ibura neighbourhood
9. Med shot, UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell admires students’ artwork while visiting the CEMEI 8 de Março school in the Ibura neighbourhood
10. Wide shot, UNICEF Executive Director visits a school in the Ibura neighbourhood
City Agenda and the Nuclei of Adolescent Citizenship (NUCA) programme, discussing UNICEF's areas of action in promoting the civic engagement of youth and adolescents
12. Wide shot, adolescents and young people engaged in UNICEF initiatives speaking with UNICEF Executive Director
13. Med shot, adolescents and young people engaged in UNICEF initiatives speaking with UNICEF Executive Director
14. Wide shot, UNICEF Executive Director listening to adolescents and young people
15. Close up, UNICEF Executive Director listening to adolescents and young people
16. Wide shot, UNICEF Executive Director speaks with students
17. Wide shot, UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell going to visit the home of teenager Jamili Vitória
18. Wide shot, UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell going to visit the home of teenager Jamili Vitória
19. SOUNDBITE (English) Catherine Russell, Executive Director, United Nations Children’s Fund:
“I heard from several really fantastic children. It was so encouraging to hear how excited they are about the work they're doing with UNICEF. And really what a difference UNICEF made to their lives. There were two that really struck me. One young man was telling me how without UNICEF, he didn't think he would still be alive because he came from a community that was so violent and so many people he knew had gotten into criminal situations and had been killed. And so that he was so happy that that didn't happen to him and really appreciated what was happening at UNICEF. The second was a young woman who took me to her home, which was amazing, and talked about how UNICEF has made a huge difference in her life and how now she's looking forward to going to college, hopefully maybe becoming a federal officer. I mean, it was an amazing conversation and I felt so positive about the ability that we have to make a difference in children's lives here. And really, at the end of the day, about the resilience of these children and their ability to come from very difficult circumstances, but still find a way to make a good life for themselves now and look forward to a brighter future.”
20. Close up, UNICEF Executive Director speaking with Jamili Vitória
21. SOUNDBITE (English) Catherine Russell, Executive Director, United Nations Children’s Fund:
“The interesting thing about children and climate is they're already in the conversation. They're leading the conversation, and they're so impatient with leaders about what they've done to the world so far. That includes me, of course, all of us, about what kind of world we're leading them and our inability to move more quickly to deal with the problems, because, of course, they're going to live with these challenges. So, I think what we're looking to do at UNICEF is really help these young people have a way to have these conversations in a more formal way to make sure that their voices are included, to make sure that they're educated about climate so they know what's coming and that they are really prepared to be an active participant in the discussions about the future of the world.”
22. Med shot, UNICEF Executive Director speaking with Jamili Vitória
23. Close up, Jamili Vitória speaking with UNICEF Executive Director
UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell concluded a four-day visit to Brazil to highlight the plight of children and adolescents in the country impacted by poverty and climate change.
In the city of Recife, in the State of Pernambuco Russell signs a Memorandum of Understanding cooperation agreement to implement the Active School Search (Busca Ativa Escolar) strategy in the State. The Active School Search initiative – developed by UNICEF in partnership with the National Union of Municipal Education Directors and with the support of the National Collegiate of Municipal Social Assistance Managers and the National Council of Municipal Health Secretariats – supports government in identifying, registering, controlling and monitoring children and adolescents who are out of school or at risk of dropping out.
Children in Brazil grow up in the midst of significant levels of poverty, which in turn, limits their access to essential services, such as health, education, basic sanitation, and protection. Meanwhile, 40 million children in Brazil have been found vulnerable to climate or environmental risks.
In the Ibura neighbourhood of Recife, a territory identified as a priority for the UNICEF City Agenda (#AgendaCidadeUNICEF) due to its challenging social indicators and local potential the Executive Director visited a school and interacted with Students.
She visited the home of visit the home of teenager Jamili Vitória and spoke with her about the challenges of living in the neighbourhood of Ibura, one of the most violent areas of the city.
The visit comes a few weeks ahead of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals Summit in New York. This year countries will take stock of progress at the halfway point to achieving the 2030 Development Goals. For many, including Brazil, the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change and global inflation have slowed or reversed progress on some of the Goals.
At the end of the visit Russell said, “I heard from several really fantastic children. It was so encouraging to hear how excited they are about the work they're doing with UNICEF. And really what a difference UNICEF made to their lives. There were two that really struck me. One young man was telling me how without UNICEF, he didn't think he would still be alive because he came from a community that was so violent and so many people he knew had gotten into criminal situations and had been killed. And so that he was so happy that that didn't happen to him and really appreciated what was happening at UNICEF. The second was a young woman who took me to her home, which was amazing, and talked about how UNICEF has made a huge difference in her life and how now she's looking forward to going to college, hopefully maybe becoming a federal officer. I mean, it was an amazing conversation and I felt so positive about the ability that we have to make a difference in children's lives here. And really, at the end of the day, about the resilience of these children and their ability to come from very difficult circumstances, but still find a way to make a good life for themselves now and look forward to a brighter future.”
She said, “the interesting thing about children and climate is they're already in the conversation. They're leading the conversation, and they're so impatient with leaders about what they've done to the world so far. That includes me, of course, all of us, about what kind of world we're leading them and our inability to move more quickly to deal with the problems, because, of course, they're going to live with these challenges. So I think what we're looking to do at UNICEF is really help these young people have a way to have these conversations in a more formal way to make sure that their voices are included, to make sure that they're educated about climate so they know what's coming and that they are really prepared to be an active participant in the discussions about the future of the world.”
Russell visited three of Brazil’s largest cities, engaging with the private sector and youth in São Paulo, government officials and civil society in Brasilia, and vulnerable communities in the coastal city of Recife, one of the most at-risk cities in the world related to climate change.
She met with senior leadership in the Brazilian government, alongside members of the private sector and representatives from vulnerable and marginalized communities. During those meetings, she reiterated her support to Brazil’s efforts to improve the well-being of more than 32 million children who are living through different levels of poverty.
In 2023, UNICEF has continued to deliver assistance to 2.2 million people in the region covering those affected by human mobility and vulnerable populations. The results of which would not have been possible without key partners.
