Pioneers Post trainees take storytelling campaign for better education to New York’s UNGA week

In rural Sierra Leone, children undertake a perilous journey by canoe just to get to school – a journey that has already claimed the lives of three of their classmates. 

In Cox’s Bazar refugee camp in Bangladesh, students struggle to focus amid intense heat, poor internet access and overcrowded homes.

Elsewhere, parents – like Narin in the United Arab Emirates, or Fozia in the UK – fight to ensure children with additional needs get the education they deserve. And teachers, like Fátima, in Honduras, know that their job is about much more than just teaching.

Above: The ten stories were published in a new annual newspaper and were on display at the invitation-only exhibition this week in New York.

“Sometimes parents say: ‘Why should they study if they’re just going to end up farming anyway?’” Fátima says. “That’s where we come in. We tell them: believe in your children. If you don’t, who will?”

• Find out more about Pioneers Post’s bespoke training in journalism, storytelling and communication  

These are just some of the people featured in stories which are on display in New York this week, as part of an exhibition created by global education charity Theirworld. The stories were produced following a five-month programme of training and mentoring, designed and provided by the Pioneers Post team. 

The exhibition opened on Monday 22 September, as visitors descended on the city for the UN General Assembly meetings and numerous side events. Among the topics they are discussing is education: chronic under-investment in education, particularly in low-income countries, remains a major problem, and worldwide, 270 million children and youth are still not in school.

Through this article, I want people in positions of power to listen to these voices. Not with pity, but with commitment

The 10 stories on display include written articles, photo stories and short films. They were created by 10 Global Youth Ambassadors – young people supported by Theirworld to build their skills as advocates and campaigners for education – as part of a storytelling project running for the first time this year.

• Read: Unlocking change: Pioneers Post kicks off journalism programme for 10 young trainees 

Among the participants is Eunice Vasquez from Honduras (pictured below), who explored how rural schools continue to provide a “safe harbour” in her story.

“This issue is deeply personal but also profoundly political,” she says. “Rural communities across Honduras have been systematically neglected. Quality education is not a reality; it’s a privilege denied. Children are growing up in a world where the state has forgotten them, where teachers are underpaid or not even on official payrolls, and where school infrastructure barely holds up under the rain. Yet, even amid this abandonment, I’ve seen creativity, collective care and resistance. Educators and families are doing the impossible every day with nearly nothing.

“Through this article, I want people in positions of power to listen to these voices. Not with pity, but with commitment.”

Above: Global Youth Ambassador from Honduras, Eunice Vasquez, was among those attending this week's event.

Participants were guided and supported by Pioneers Post’s Anna Patton, Julie Pybus and David Lyons to identify, research and create stories from their own communities, with a particular focus on ethical storytelling and solutions journalism. The participants also heard from guest speakers including factchecking experts Full Fact, and Latin American solutions journalism publication El Colectivo 506; BBC World Service presenter Myra Anubi; and freelance journalists and trainers Hamna Iqbal, Priti Salian and Jessica Patterson. 

Theirworld worked with The Observer Studios, the content studio of The Observer newspaper, to publish the final stories in the The Education Issue, a new, annual newspaper guest-edited by The Observer’s managing editor, Jess Winch. 

Tim West, founding editor and CEO of Pioneers Post, said: “It is fantastic to see these stories getting the attention they deserve in New York and beyond. Each of the young storytellers overcame some big challenges while researching and reporting in their communities, from severe weather conditions to illness to internet outages. We were impressed by their hard work and creativity, and we’re very much looking forward to seeing where they go next.”

Justin van Fleet, president of Theirworld, said: “In an era of declining media and rising misinformation, too few stories reflect the lived experiences of young people and the challenges they face in education. The Education Issue shows that when youth voices are given the tools and platform, they can inspire the world.”

Above: Global Youth Ambassador from Nigeria, Victory Ashaka, performed a poem about giving children the opportunity to fulfil their potential.

Five of the inaugural contributors are in New York this week to present their work. The ten contributors are:

• Andrea Eunice Vasquez - Honduras
• Ata Ullah - Bangladesh
• Ibrahim Abdulai Kargbo - Sierra Leone
• Imani Amanullah - UK
• Jackeline Maria Guerra Batista - Panama
• João Davi de Morais Barbosa Saraiva - Brazil
• Racheal Kalinaki - Uganda
• Victory Ashaka - Nigeria
• Yassmeene Saleh - United Arab Emirates
• Zhamana Hakim - USA

The Education Issue is available at theeducationissue.org, where readers can explore the full features and multimedia stories behind the headlines.

Top photo: Global Youth Ambassador and Pioneers Post trainee Yassmeene Saleh, from the United Arab Emirates, presents the Unlock Big Change award to Muhammad Yunus, watched by Gordon Brown. All photos courtesy of Theirworld.