Famous writers unite for children's rights in 'Tiny Stories' campaign

What do you want for the world's children?

Considering all the inequalities and wide-ranging struggles kids face around globe, that's a difficult question to answer. But a group of famous writers is taking on the challenge, putting their hopes for the world's children into super-short stories online.

In a new digital campaign from children's rights organization UNICEF, more than 200 well-known international writers have penned stories that riff off the statement, "What I want for every child."

The week-long campaign, called Tiny Stories, brings together a range of prominent novelists, playwrights and poets, including Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Brazilian novelist Paulo Coelho.

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Additional writers will be announced as their stories are released throughout the week of Nov. 14.

“As writers, we are able to advocate through the simplicity of storytelling," Adichie said in a release. "With this worthy and necessary campaign, we advocate for the protection of the rights of precious children all over the world."

Stories in the campaign -- which was created to mark the 70th anniversary of UNICEF -- are only a few sentences in length, but depict the inequalities children face in compelling ways. The featured stories were written in more than 10 languages and varying styles, but are all united in illustrating the universal human rights children would have in a just world.

UNICEF calls them "tiny but powerful stories of courage, anger, love -- and, most of all, for every child, hope."

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The organization is encouraging social media users to not only read the stories, but also share their favorites -- or create their own "tiny story" to contribute -- using the hashtag #foreverychild.

The Tiny Stories campaign comes at a time when threats to children's rights are only intensifying. According to UNICEF statistics, more than 50 million children worldwide have been displaced due to conflict, poverty and climate change. A staggering 263 million children are out of school around the globe. Last year alone, nearly 6 million children under the age of 5 died from mostly preventable diseases.

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The campaign also comes at a time when the well-being of children is something even developed nations like the U.S. don't have the privilege to ignore. In the aftermath of a tumultuous election resulting in the impending presidency of Donald Trump, parents have been vocal about their worries for the future of their children, especially in marginalized communities, given the president-elect's harmful language and proposed policies.

"It is shocking to see that the lives of many children are still so heavily impacted by the horror of conflict, inequality, poverty and discrimination," said Paloma Escudero, global director of communications for UNICEF. "I hope these Tiny Stories can remind the world that we must sustain our commitment to all of these children whose lives and futures are at stake."