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Dame Helen Mirren among stars supporting Christmas Jumper Day

Dame Helen Mirren (Misan Harriman)
Dame Helen Mirren (Misan Harriman)

Dame Helen Mirren and actor Nicholas Hoult are among the stars wearing vintage festive knits while holding messages from children across the world in support of Save the Children’s Christmas Jumper Day campaign.

This year stars, including model and actress Poppy Delevingne, activist Munroe Bergdorf and Bafta EE Rising Star winner Bukky Bakray, have all been photographed holding messages from young people about their hopes for the future to celebrate 10 years of the annual fundraiser.

Dame Helen is pictured holding a message that reads “Defend the rights of girls”, written by a 14-year-old named Maya from Syria, while Hoult’s sign reads “Ban plastic. Reduce pollution” and has been written by siblings James and Isla who attend a school in Wales which is supported by Save the Children.

To celebrate 10 years of Save the Children\u2019s Christmas Jumper Day, famous faces from across the nation have joined forces to amplify the urgent changes that children want to see in the world.The striking images, shot by celebrated photographer Misan Harriman, connects influential names from the worlds of fashion, film and music with young people\u2019s messages of protest and hope for the future. Launching a month before Christmas, the series aims to give children from communities across the globe a platform to share the changes they want to see in the world \u2013 from reducing pollution to ending racism \u2013 and share their messages of hope for the future.\u201cDefend the rights of girls\u201d are the poignant words written by 14-year-old Maya from Syria and chosen by Helen Mirren to feature in her portrait. Maya, who now lives in Za\u2019atari refugee camp in Jordan is a powerful advocate for the rights of girls and is determined to end child marriage. Supported by Save the Children to deliver advocacy training in the camp, Maya now helps to raise awareness among parents of child marriage and the importance of female empowerment. \u201cI always tell girls to defend their rights, to defend their roles and to be the voice of all women in the community. I tell them don\u2019t stay quiet,\u201d she says.\u201cA girl has dreams, a future and many other things. We must prevent early marriage, prevent harassment and prevent anything that might be a factor in destroying girls\u2019 lives.\u201dSpeaking of her involvement in the campaign, Dame Helen Mirren said: \u201cI\u2019m delighted to be supporting Save the Children\u2019s 10th Christmas Jumper Day. \u201cMy placard says \u2018defend the rights of girls\u2019 and the words were chosen by a young Syrian refugee called Maya who is a strong advocate for girl\u2019s rights within her camp and is particularly passionate about ending child marriage and campaigning for better education for girls and I feel very lucky to be able to share the message of such a powerful

The pictures, including shots of stars such as singer Yungblud actor Will Poulter and model Erin O’Connor, have been taken by photographer Misan Harriman.

Last year Harriman became the first black male photographer to shoot a British Vogue cover in its 104-year history, photographing England footballer Marcus Rashford and model Adwoa Aboah for the magazine’s activist-themed September issue.

He also previously photographed the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, taking an image remotely from London using an iPad, which was released on Valentine’s Day this year to announce they were expecting their second child.

To celebrate 10 years of Save the Children\u2019s Christmas Jumper Day, famous faces from across the nation have joined forces to amplify the urgent changes that children want to see in the world.The striking images, shot by celebrated photographer Misan Harriman, connects influential names from the worlds of fashion, film and music with young people\u2019s messages of protest and hope for the future. Launching a month before Christmas, the series aims to give children from communities across the globe a platform to share the changes they want to see in the world \u2013 from reducing pollution to ending racism \u2013 and share their messages of hope for the future.Speaking of his involvement in the campaign, Nicholas says: \u201cMy sign said \u2018Ban plastic. Reduce pollution\u2019. It was written by James and Isla from Wales and it\u2019s their dream for the future. They can see what\u2019s happening in the world and I think kids are very aware of how non-renewable sources of energy or materials are destroying the earth around us and that\u2019s what they\u2019re going to have to deal with. That\u2019s what they\u2019re asking us to change, and we have to do that for them and keep working hard at it. We can all do better, whether it\u2019s reducing our use of plastic bags or recycling better. We can all see the damage we\u2019re doing to the earth and, for kid\u2019s futures, we need to change that.\u201dTo take part, wear your favourite Christmas Jumper on 10th December and donate \u00a32 at www.christmasjumperday.org.

A family photograph of Harry and Meghan with their son Archie, taken by Harriman, was also shared in March.

According to Save the Children, this series aims to “give children from communities across the globe a platform to share the changes they want to see in the world – from reducing pollution to ending racism – and share their messages of hope for the future”.

Skins star Hoult, 31, said: “I think kids are very aware of how non-renewable sources of energy or materials are destroying the Earth around us and that’s what they’re going to have to deal with.”

We can all do better, whether it’s reducing our use of plastic bags or recycling better

Nicholas Hoult

“We can all see the damage we’re doing to the Earth and, for kids’ futures, we need to change that.”

Harriman said: “My reaction when I saw the messages of protest and hope was that children are really facing a tough time.

“If we think life can be hard, imagine how hard it is when you’re watching adults make mistake after mistake and knowing that your future is being compromised because of that.

“I’m so proud to be part of this campaign because I was a child once and I remember how it feels to have your own hopes and passions ignored.

“I believe Save the Children let so many young minds know that they can dare to dream and have a life that is full of purpose.”

To celebrate 10 years of Save the Children\u2019s Christmas Jumper Day, famous faces from across the nation have joined forces to amplify the urgent changes that children want to see in the world.The striking images, shot by celebrated photographer Misan Harriman, connects influential names from the worlds of fashion, film and music with young people\u2019s messages of protest and hope for the future. Launching a month before Christmas, the series aims to give children from communities across the globe a platform to share the changes they want to see in the world \u2013 from reducing pollution to ending racism \u2013 and share their messages of hope for the future.Speaking of her involvement in the campaign, Bukky said: \u201cAisha has been raising money for Save the Children by giving away her Eid money, and on her placard she wrote that \u2018no child should go to bed hungry\u2019 and I agree. Food and drink aren\u2019t luxuries, they\u2019re a necessity and that\u2019s what everybody deserves. If we have people in some parts of the world that don\u2019t have that then that\u2019s a disservice on behalf of the rest of us. \u201cI think it\u2019s really important to give a voice to kids because the only difference between kids and adults is size. Yeh you grow as a person, but your essence kind of stays the same. There\u2019s a perspective we can get from kids that we can\u2019t really get from adults, the way they see the world is different. There\u2019s a lot we can learn from kids. I\u2019ve learnt a lot from Aisha from the way she gave away her Eid money so maybe I should give more of myself. \u201dTo take part, wear your favourite Christmas Jumper on 10th December and donate \u00a32 at www.christmasjumperday.org.

The campaign also advocates sustainability as each celebrity photographed is wearing a one-off vintage jumper, some of which will be distributed back into Save the Children outlets across the country and will be available to purchase from December 1.

Save The Children said its Christmas Jumper Day – being held on December 10 and which asks those taking part to donate £2 – has raised more than £27 million since launching in 2012.

The fundraiser is encouraging the nation to upcycle, borrow or buy a second-hand festive sweater this year to make it the most sustainable Christmas Jumper Day yet.

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