Land art painting entitled World in Progress II by artist Saype at the Headquarters of the United Nations in New York City, USA

© Valentin Flauraud/Shutterstoc

Creating a better world. World Children’s Day

Our homepage today looks over the grounds of the UN building in New York City, USA, where this huge, hyper-realistic painting of children drawing and using origami to create their dream world appeared in 2021. This incredible piece of land art was painted by the French-Swiss artist Saype over more than 100,000sq ft, using a biodegradable paint made of charcoal and chalk which was sprayed directly on the North Lawn. The painting, World in Progress II, was actually commissioned to mark the 75th anniversary of the UN – but it works just as well for World Children’s Day, which is today.

World Children's Day launched in 1954 as Universal Children's Day, and it's always celebrated on 20 November, the date in 1959 when the UN adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child. The day is meant to focus global attention on improving the lives of children around the world, and to foster equality and inclusion among the youngest generation. After all, children are our future.