NICKELODEON INAUGURATES NEW ERA OF PRO-SOCIAL LEADERSHIP WITH OUR WORLD GLOBAL INITIATIVE

Multiplatform Long-term Initiative to Launch with Coalition of Leading Partners 4-H, Ashoka, Association of Children’s Museums, ChangeX and The Aspen Institute

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NEW YORK, May 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Nickelodeon today announced the U.S. launch of Our World, a brand-new global initiative to inspire kids and provide them with tools to activate their individual and collective agency. Together with a coalition of partners that includes 4-H, Ashoka, Association of Children’s Museums, ChangeX and The Aspen Institute, Nickelodeon is providing resources and best-practices for kid-driven philanthropic opportunities that allow this new generation to take action in their communities and beyond. The multiplatform initiative, which will live across the Nickelodeon’s linear, digital and social platforms, will be supported across Paramount Global divisions. Our World will launch in the United Kingdom and Mexico later this year, and in additional markets through 2024.

“With Our World Nickelodeon is building on its longstanding prosocial legacy and community relationships, harnessing the power of the brand’s iconic franchises and global ecosystem, as well as the expertise of our coalition of partners to upskill, uplift, and empower kids around the world,” said Marva Smalls, Executive Vice President, Public Affairs, Nickelodeon and Executive Vice President, Global Head of Inclusion at Paramount. “Through this initiative we will provide accessible pathways to encourage kids to take action, no matter how small, and inspire them to believe they can make a difference.”

In 2022, Nickelodeon conducted a study and spoke to more than 800 kids, aged 8-13, their responses provided an incisive look at a   generation of kids facing unprecedented, complex challenges that are taking a toll, both emotionally and mentally. Nickelodeon asked kids if they felt they could effect change; almost half (46%) said they felt like they could not. Our World is built on the principle that nourishing kids’ relentless optimism and joyful creativity is needed now more than ever.

Our World will focus on the healthy development of youth agency as a key component to a successful childhood and will include a digital destination that links kids, parents and caregivers to developmentally appropriate activities, as well as to partner organizations with additional resources. The brand will also amplify kids’ experiences, telling their stories across its global ecosystem of platforms. Additionally, Nickelodeon will leverage its proprietary research on the topic of youth agency in kids under the age of 13 to inform a recurring newsletter for national and community-based youth-serving organizations.

Nickelodeon’s Our World aims to cultivate youth agency, helping kids gain the skills to contend with the rapidly changing world around them and will be implemented through an alliance of pioneers in community-driven social innovation. These organizations in tandem with Nickelodeon will work to drive systemic change to ensure that every kid grows up knowing they are powerful enough to create change. At launch, Our World partners include:    

• 4-H – As America’s largest youth development organization, Cooperative Extension’s 4-H program empowers nearly six million young people to find their spark and develop the skills to lead for a lifetime.4-H’s mission is to provide opportunity for all youth—regardless of circumstance—through mentorship and diverse programming in areas like STEM, healthy living, agriculture, the arts, and civic engagement. Nickelodeon and 4-H are committed to providing kids with  learning opportunities that ignite positive change in their communities and beyond.
• Ashoka – Pioneers of the field of social entrepreneurship, Ashoka has  supported over 3,800 social innovators in 95 countries and worked with 500,000 youth on their journey in becoming changemakers. Ashoka is building a movement towards “Everyone a Changemaker,” a world in which we all feel powerful enough to create change. Nickelodeon’s Our World initiative will collaborate with Ashoka in the creation of a multi-sector coalition to build an alliance of influential institutions working to drive systemic change around the criticalness of childhood agency and changemaking.
• Association of Children’s Museums – The Association of Children’s Museums (ACM) champions children’s museums and together enrich the lives of children worldwide. With more than 470 members across the U.S. and in 16 countries, the association leverages the field’s collective knowledge through convening, sharing, and dissemination. Throughout 2023 and into 2024, ACM will partner with Nickelodeon’s Our World to offer resources to parents and caregivers, in addition to providing thought leadership as part of the initiative’s coalition of partners.
• ChangeX – ChangeX is a grassroots movement progressing the world forward by making proven innovations and grant finance accessible to everyone, everywhere. Its community engagement platform is designed to get funding and resources directly into the hands of everyday people to lead impactful projects in their neighborhoods. Nickelodeon’s “Our World” will partner with ChangeX to help find and fund kid-led projects around the world. The brands partnered last fall to empower more than 20 teams of young activists and changemakers in Atlanta and Los Angeles to start impactful community projects. Additional funds serving cities around the world are planned through 2024 and will be announced at a later date.
• The Aspen Institute – The Aspen Institute is a  nonprofit organization that promotes social entrepreneurship by connecting and supporting individual social entrepreneurs. Nickelodeon’s Our World collaborated with Aspen Institute  to develop a guidebook to help parents and their kids take action in their communities and will co-create additional community guides related youth in sports.

Over its 44-year history, Nickelodeon has built a legacy of addressing important social issues and galvanizing kids through thoughtful initiatives and programs. Whether encouraging kids to be agents of change through The Big Help and Together for Good; encouraging them to get active through the Let’s Just Play grants program and Worldwide Day of Play; educating kids about the electoral process and its significance through Kids Pick the President; showcasing tangible steps kids can take to help the environment through The Big Green Help; celebrating kids and teens who are going above and beyond to help others through the Nickelodeon HALO Awards; or preparing preschoolers for Kindergarten through Beyond the Backpack, Nickelodeon has inspired millions of kids across the globe to take action to improve their communities, their lives and the world around them.

Caregivers and kids can access resources and more information about Nickelodeon’s Our World at www.nickourworld.com.

About 4-H 
4-H, the nation’s largest youth development organization, grows confident young people who are empowered for life today and prepared for career tomorrow. 4-H programs empower nearly six million young people across the U.S. through experiences that develop critical life skills. 4-H is the youth development program of our nation’s Cooperative Extension System and USDA and serves every county and parish in the U.S. through a network of 110 public universities and more than 3,000 local Extension offices. Globally, 4-H collaborates with independent programs to empower one million youth in 50 countries. The research-backed 4-H experience grows young people who are four times more likely to contribute to their communities; two times more likely to make healthier choices; two times more likely to be civically active; and two times more likely to participate in STEM programs. Learn more about 4–H at 4-H.org and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. 

About Ashoka 
Ashoka is leading the way to an “Everyone a Changemaker” World. As the world’s largest network of changemakers and social innovators with more than 4,000+ social entrepreneurs in over 90 countries, Ashoka aims to bring about large-scale social change. Ashoka supports innovators to get started, grow their ideas, collaborate, reshape whole systems and influence societal transformation. Founded in 1980, by Mr. Bill Drayton with the belief that the most powerful force in the world is a big idea in the hands of an entrepreneur, Ashoka applies insights from the world’s leading social entrepreneurs to set in motion profound societal transformation. Current insights indicate that our rapidly changing world calls for an “Everyone a Changemaker” world, one where every person practices the critical skills of empathy, teamwork, leadership and changemaking. For more information on Ashoka, please visit www.ashoka.org.

About Association of Children’s Museums (ACM) 
ACM is the foremost professional society supporting children’s museums in developing rich environments that stimulate children’s natural playfulness, curiosity, and creativity. With more than 470 members in all 50 states and in 19 countries, ACM champions children’s museums and together enrich the lives of children worldwide.. As a global leader, advocate, and resource for the field, ACM and our member organizations strive to build a better world for children and serve over 30 million visitors annually. Started in 1962, ACM recently marked its 60^th year of impactful service to children, families, and children’s museums.”

About Aspen Institute 
The Aspen Institute is a global nonprofit organization committed to realizing a free, just, and equitable society. Since its founding in 1949, the Institute has been driving change through dialogue, leadership, and action to help solve the most critical challenges facing communities in the United States and around the world. Headquartered in Washington, DC, the Institute has a campus in Aspen, Colorado, and an international network of partners. Learn more at  www.aspeninstitute.org.

About ChangeX 
ChangeX is a community engagement platform designed to get funding and resources directly into the hands of everyday people to lead impactful projects in their neighborhoods. Established in 2015, it works with social innovators to scale proven solutions to environmental, economic and social issues and partners with corporations and foundations to support communities with the necessary funding. Its funding partners include Microsoft, Accenture, the LEGO Foundation and Amazon Web Services, among others. ChangeX is an international non-profit organization, headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, with teams based across Europe and the Americas. For more information visit www.changex.org.

About Nickelodeon 
Nickelodeon, now in its 44^th year, is the number-one entertainment brand for kids. It has built a diverse, global business by putting kids first in everything it does. The brand includes television programming and production in the United States and around the world, plus consumer products, digital, location-based experiences, publishing and feature films. For more information or artwork, visit www.nickpress.com. Nickelodeon is a part of Paramount’s (Nasdaq: PARA, PARAA) global portfolio of multimedia entertainment brands.

SOURCE Nickelodeon