Freedom from Hunger - Aerial Art

As the Every Human Has Rights campaign spends July focused on The Right to Freedom from Hunger, we have the privilege of reporting on a collaboration between two of our campaign partners that resulted in one of the most beautiful calls to action on the global food crisis we've seen to date.

Circle Up Now partnered with ActionAid to coordinate a giant human aerial art piece depicting Nelson Mandela with his fist raised high, and the message "Freedom From Hunger". This grand 'human' call to action was literally made up of 2,200 students from the Alexandra Township, in Johannesburg, South Africa, who wore colored t-shirts and sat in formation to create the image.

ActionAid South Africa Country Director Zanele Twala called Mandela one of the most outspoken leaders on the eradication of global hunger. The image of Mandela was also meant to pay tribute to The Elders' founder, on his 90th birthday, July 18th of this year.

“On his 90th birthday, the youth of South Africa are celebrating this great milestone by reminding global leaders that people around the world are experiencing insufferable hunger and we need an urgent resolution to the current food crisis,” said Twala.

According to a report of the event on ActionAid's website, "As part of its HungerFREE campaign, ActionAid is taking action on Mandela’s birthday as an opportunity to create hope for a HungerFREE world by reiterating the vision of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights – that hunger will be eradicated when all states respect, protect and fulfil the basic human right to food"

Students were choreographed by John Quigley of ‘Circle Up Now’ in collaboration with local artist Mthunzi Ndimande.