Starting from a simple fact that we prove by talking to hundreds of children at the borders, where being displaced from their places of origin and not having even time to react, all they carry with them is a backpack, we converted this into the icon of the campaign representing the reality that this children experience in a refugee status. A backpack that would speak for them in each country or border where they would arrive.

A backpack is the most common element refugees carry with them on their journey to search a decent place to live. They keep basic things they need to survive in it, and sometimes their most precious memories. This became the symbol of this campaign aimed to collect messages and gifts for refugee children around the world and thus deliver a message of hope to them. That’s how “Around the world in a backpack” was born.

Through a partnership with the leading Colombian backpack brand, a prototype was created, which had a digital device that allowed playing a video where children got information about the purpose of the project and invited them to donate an important item in their lives along with a message of hope. This device was on-line and synchronized information in real time to store all the messages and share them on social media and the UNHCR Web-site.

- The backpack’s journey started in Bogotá and lasted 150 days, ending as honored guest in the United Nations Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland, where it was selected as one of the top 5 innovative ideas for the protection of refugee children globally and to raise awareness about refugee children in the world, also being part of the activation project which led UNHCR to be nominated to the Nobel Peace Prize in 2015.

- The backpack collected 300 iconic elements, which represented their interest in protecting thousands of refugee children, generating 160 million tweets in the first 3 months.

- The worst result was not being able to give a proper ending to this campaign: SIRIAN/TURKEY BORDER CLOSED! This was the biggest failure of an idea.