Global Business Coalition for Education

Angry Birds Are Furious and #UpForSchool

Photo Courtesy of Rovio Entertainment.
That’s right, get angry. Right now, one in in four young people in developing countries cannot read a sentence. Right now, 58 million children are denied their right to primary education. For the 40,000 girls a day who are married off prematurely to provide an income for their family, completing their education will likely never been an option. And, more than half of these out-of-school children are forced to flee their homes because of emergency situations. But, because there is not yet a unified plan of action to get these children back in school, they will likely remain refugees for the next 20 years. We can change that.

 

GBC-Education #smartinvestment Network member Rovio Entertainment — the Finnish creator of the Angry Birds game — teamed up with A World at School to launch an exclusively-designed tournament on Angry Birds Friends, available on Facebook and mobile. Beginning today through July 5, players can now sign the #UpForSchool petition during gameplay.

 

“Angry Birds have always been angry,” Rovio Entertainment’s Mighty Eagle and Angry Birds creator, Peter Vesterbacka said last year when he pledged for support of A World at School’s #UpForSchool petition. “Now they are furious. Why? Because 58 million children are out of school.”

 

 

“Young people are already spearheading the movement to fight for the right of every child to have an education,” said GBC-Education Executive Chair, Sarah Brown. “But, we need more voices to ensure 2015 is the year all children secure the right to go to school.”

 

Angry Birds’ goal? To significantly boost the petition’s signatures by the next — and last — pre-UN General Assembly high-level education summit taking place in Oslo on July 6-7th. The campaign will last for one week only, so play, squawk, *tweet*, and share your Angry Birds #UpForSchool journey as much as you can as you help the team reach their goal. Happy — or ‘mad’ — gaming!

 

You can find the special game here and can sign the #UpForSchool petition here.