Emma Bunton
UNICEF UK Ambassador
“It’s been amazing to spend time with the children and to see how engaged and passionate they are learning about their rights. It’s something all children deserve and it’s so important that we as parents, caregivers and teachers encourage and support these fundamental rights.”
Former Spice Girl Emma Bunton reflects on her visit to a UNICEF Rights Respecting School.
During her visit, Emma was given a tour of the school by three Rights Respecting representatives who shared some of the ways they learn about their rights and ensure they are upheld throughout the school. This included a map which promotes respect for all, regardless of where they or their family are from. This links to Article 2 of the convention, ‘non-discrimination’, which states that the convention applies to every child, “whatever their ethnicity, gender, religion, language, abilities or any other status, whatever they think or say, whatever their family background.”
Over the years Emma has supported a number of campaigns including a Mother’s Day campaign aimed at ending child malnutrition and UNICEF UK’s Giant Sleepover event in 2013 when she surprised a group of Brownies from Scotland by turning up at their Giant Sleepover at Top Trump Towers in London. She spent the evening playing games, reading the girls a bed time story and singing along to One Direction!
In 2013, Emma helped launch the Pampers and UNICEF UK ‘Every Parent’s Dream’ campaign. Since 2006, the partnership has helped to eliminate maternal and newborn tetanus in ten of the world’s poorest countries through the ‘1 pack = 1 Vaccine’ campaign. Emma was a brilliant spokesperson for the campaign, encouraging parents to buy Pampers products in return for life-saving tetanus vaccines to help protect mothers and their babies.
In 2014, Emma visited Madagascar to see first-hand the impact the Pampers UNICEF UK partnership is having on the lives of mums and babies. Madagascar is just one of the 15 countries where together we have achieved this and the lives of mums and babies are being transformed.
Emma began supporting UNICEF UK in early 2013 and became a member of the UNICEF UK Ambassador family in 2014.
Emma was left feeling inspired after a visit to a Unicef UK Rights Respecting School, where she learnt about the importance of children's rights from pupils at the George Spicer Primary School.
