Since its inception, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has worked on behalf of children on the basis of need, regardless of race, nationality, status or political belief. As the twentieth century draws to a close, a key part of UNICEF's role has become to raise the world's awareness and mobilize its resources in favor of children.

Although UNICEF has been using animation as a tool for education and change for several years now, its most recent animation initiative has mobilized the global animation industry on an unprecedented scale. UNICEF's International Animation Consortium for Child Rights has brought together nearly 80 top animation studios, animators and distributors to produce 30-second television spots to increase awareness of children's rights.

The Idea
It all started when C.J. Kettler, President and Chief Operating Officer of Sunbow Entertainment, approached UNICEF with the idea of having studios produce animated shorts illustrating key articles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. This UN document, drafted in 1989, outlines rights that every child should have, including the right to a name and nationality, freedom of expression and opinion, and protection from sexual exploitation and child labor. The shorts would be televised worldwide as public service announcements (PSAs). UNICEF immediately saw the potential of such a campaign.

Protection of Privacy PSA by Polish Television.

In the fall of 1995, UNICEF began approaching animation studios about the Consortium, and found the industry was extremely receptive. Among the first 30 Consortium members to sign up were Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, HBO Animation, MTV Animation, Nickelodeon USA, Warner Bros. Feature Animation and Walt Disney Feature Animation. Since then, more than 40 companies from around the world have come on board, from Future Art in Korea to Hahn Films in Germany. In order to join the Consortium, a studio agrees to donate staff time and services to fully produce a 30-second PSA, using new characters and original animation created especially for the campaign.

The studios work closely with UNICEF to ensure that their animated interpretation of the Convention article is culturally sensitive and globally applicable. However, the creative vision of the individual producers is of paramount important to the success of the project. By working with animators from around the world, diversity of style and content will be ensured, and the campaign will truly be a global one. The spots in production to date represent a variety of animation techniques, including cutout, CGI, stop-motion, sand animation, and traditional cel.