Supporting the work of the Foundation

There are many ways in which you can support our work. Here some of our supporters tell us why and how they are supporting Education For All.

Alfonso Montellano López contributed to the Creating Change – The World I Want to Live In resource and supports the Foundation’s work.

I believe art is a compelling tool to reach the depths of human awareness and convey the transformational power behind an idea. Human rights and the rights of children are some of the most powerful ideas ever set forward by human society and they are always current and inspirational. The work of the Steve Sinnott Foundation facilitates the application of articles 28 and 29 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and taps into the creative potential of their collaborators.

I feel honoured to have been part of the Foundation’s Human Rights Competition and, as a children’s illustration artist, I have created a series of designs inspired by articles 28 and 29 of the UNCRC to support the Foundation’s efforts. The first design is inspired by article 28 about the right to education and shows a child playing the role of the teacher, ensuring the transmission of education through to future generations. The second design shows a child dancing with his eyes closed, perhaps to a tune only he can hear. This display of joy shows the child feeling fulfilled in himself, one of the main goals of education (article 29). The third design emphasises respect for others and for the environment as a fundamental goal of education and of paramount importance when building a modern society.

In these illustrations, I’ve shown children embodying the spirit of the UNCRC freely and with a joyful attitude as I believe freedom and joy are the fruits borne by the application of human rights and are best expressed through creativity.

I’ve produced some designs to support the work of the Foundation, I’ve got them all in this collection in my Threadless artist shop: https:// amel.threadless.com/collections/right-to-education.

The shop can be accessed from my website on https://www. alfonsoml.com/artist-shop. 100% of profits will go to the Foundation.

First published in Engage 24.

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ALFONSO MONTELLANO LÓPEZ • August 15, 2022

An Education Revolution

By Ann Beatty • April 6, 2025

This week while out and about in Hertfordshire and we visited the British Schools Museum. We discovered the first school opened by Joseph Lancaster, was known as the ‘Poor Childs Friend”, was in 1810. It was his lifelong mission that all children regardless of their circumstances, should benefit from an education. Apparently, Joseph heard a small girl say, “Oh that I could read!” and this inspired him to create a simple education system that eventually would benefit children across the world. Joseph was the tenth son of a poor man himself from South London. His aim was to offer free education for everyone. However, it would be 93 years before the U.K. government finally made education free for all. There are still many countries today where education is still not free to access and it is certainly not compulsory for primary and secondary age pupils. Joseph’s mission really resonates with that of the Foundation, to support access to education for all. We enjoyed our visit and appreciated the tour given by two of the Museum’s volunteers, Angela and Clare. They described some of the challenges faced in the early years of formal education and shared some of the rules that teachers and students had to abide by with us.

Sparks Bristol

By Ann Beatty • April 4, 2025

Sparks Bristol is a collaborative community project initially envisioned by The Global Goals Centre, (GGC) more of which below. A few years ago, GGC took over an empty Marks and Spencer store and that’s how Sparks was born. Sparks is a department store with a difference, co-created by Global Goals Centre and Artspace Lifespace. On the ground floor is a huge range of shops, installations, events and more. Upstairs is a hub for local artists, it offers affordable studios as well as rehearsal and performance space. The Global Goals Centre is a Bristol-based educational charity inspired by the Sustainable Development Goals. (SDGs). GGC believe the SDG’s or Global Goals as they are sometimes known, can be reached, with imaginative solutions and widespread education and engagement. They work with partners to promote creative solutions and deliver ground breaking projects that work towards these ambitious goals. The Steve Sinnott Foundation supported the Global Goals Centre with seed funding when it first started over 5 years ago. This month we went to visit them to see how they are getting on and we were taken aback by the volume of work they have achieved since they started. It is amazing to see how though working together with other local community groups it has grown into the vibrant centre it is today. All of the creative projects they host are linked to the SDGs. They cover topics that tackle poverty, education, climate change, fashion recycling and upcycling, to name a few.

Spring is Here! Looking Ahead!

By Ann Beatty • March 28, 2025

Spring is definitely here, daffodils, blossom and crocuses are all basking in the bright sunshine. There is still a chill in the air in the shade but it's happening and all the seeds that were sown over the last few months are coming to fruition. At the Foundation, we have been planning the year ahead and our Positive Periods and Prevention of Gender Based Violence programmes got underway this weekend in Haiti and Ghana. These projects will have a long-lasting effect on the lives of the women and girls who take part: tackling the root causes of gender-based violence and enabling girls to attend school every day when they have their period, to feel safe at school and know how to take action when they are faced with violence. These are the first of many projects planned for the year ahead as we continue to work towards Education for All children everywhere.