Today, the Global Goals campaign and UNICEF launched the World’s Largest Lesson, an initiative to teach children in over 100 countries about the new Sustainable Development Goals that will be adopted by the UN General Assembly later this month.

As part of the campaign to tell everyone about the Global Goals, the World’s Largest Lesson will engage children and young people in the global effort to build a more sustainable future for every citizen. The initiative has already attracted support from influential leaders and public figures including Eminent Advocate for UNICEF Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan; UNICEF ambassadors Nancy Ajram and Serena Williams; PLAN International global ambassador Freida Pinto; and Dani Alves, Hrithik Roshan, Kolo Touré, and Neymar and the Neymar Jr. Institute.

“The World’s Largest Lesson will do more than teach children about the global goals. It will engage them in the effort to achieve those goals – educating them about the challenges that are shaping their futures and encouraging them to drive change in their own communities,” said UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake. “Young people can help achieve the global goals by holding their leaders accountable for the promises they are making – and by holding themselves accountable for building a better future for everyone.”

The World’s Largest Lesson will be held in classrooms on every continent during the week of 28 September. A potential 500 million girls and boys between the ages of 8 and 14 will have the chance to learn about the Global Goals, which range from ending extreme poverty for all people everywhere, to tackling climate change, and giving all children the opportunity to gain a quality primary and secondary education. Government leaders and ministers from a number of countries will be teaching and participating in lessons.

Specially created lesson materials include an animated film by Aardman and author and education expert Sir Ken Robinson that introduces the Global Goals, and a downloadable comic book by Josh Elder, Karl Kesel and Grace Allison. Some of the public figures backing the campaign have recorded their own introductions to the World’s Largest Lesson, including Serena Williams, Kolo Touré, Neymar and Dani Alves. Additional lesson plans and information are available for teachers to select based on the themes most relevant for their pupils.

“The World’s Largest Lesson is a fantastic opportunity to tell all children, everywhere what the Global Goals are and how they can play their part to make sure they are achieved,” said Richard Curtis, founder of the Global Goals campaign. “It would be wonderful if all teachers could make sure the World’s Largest Lesson is taught at their school. By making the Global Goals famous we can give them the best chance of working around the world – and help make us the first generation to end extreme poverty, the most determined generation in history to end injustice and inequality, and the last generation to be threatened by climate change.”

The World’s Largest Lesson provides a unique opportunity to foster global citizenship in schools across the world. It supports student learning across a range of subject areas such as science, geography, citizenship and technology and helps teachers explore important global issues such as human rights, poverty and climate change.

•Photo shows Neymar.