Ripples of Change Through Storytelling
Animating Children's Dreams and Fears of the Future
We’ve often heard that an image is worth a thousand words, this is why visual storytelling is essential to unlocking humanity’s potential for change.
In the face of increasingly sobering statistics on the state of our world and the future it’s currently facing, we set out on a mission to bring hope and the urgency of change through stories.
Set to fully launch in 2025, the Story Lab is an initiative of the Unlock the Future coalition that seeks to harness the transformative power of young people to shift public perception and drive action at the highest levels, including the United Nations. By leveraging creative mediums where young people can share their stories in innovative and creative formats, the Story Lab ensures that their voices are heard directly by leaders. This is essential at a time when decision-makers must understand the realities faced by the next and future generations.
What makes the Story Lab unique is its commitment to amplifying authentic youth experiences, providing a critical lens through which we can examine our past and envision a better future. The initiative encourages young storytellers to explore “What if we get it right?” and highlights the investments we need to make now to foster a more equitable and sustainable world.
To kickstart this initiative, we are introducing “Our Future,” an animated series, that illustrates the stories of children and young people around the world. Each story is rooted in the real challenges and opportunities they encounter, serving not only to inspire hope but also to spark necessary dialogue about the pressing issues we face today.
Today, we want to dive into one of them, from a boy named Matías already creating ripples of change.
A Young Voice from Botanilla
Nohora Alejandra Quiguantar
Nohora Alejandra Quiguantar
Nohora joined the Our Future Agenda Engine Room for the Future in 2023 with a mission to educate women about climate change through her initiative, “Women Weaving in Science”.
Her work inspired us all on the importance of storytelling, but what really stood out was her ability to connect with young people from underrepresented communities, which is how we met Matías.
Meet Matías
A nine-year-old boy from Botanilla, Colombia.
He loves his dog, photographing nature and the birds that come to visit, and soaking up the wisdom of the elders in his hometown who have taught him so much. What makes Matías special is not just his passion for the environment; he actively brings other children along on his adventures to discover the beauty of the world around them.
When we finally connected over a video call, our chat in Spanish may have seemed simple, but each moment revealed the essence of who he is – a boy who loves to play basketball yet also worries about the changing environment around him. Thankfully, he has a supportive family, and we were fortunate enough to capture their story, as well as that of their community.
Capturing the Story: Interviewing Matías
During our video call with Matías, his sister, Juliana joined in, adding her insights. At first, Matías was a bit shy, but little by little started letting us into his world. Whenever he stumbled on the details, Juliana was right there to help him out, proving how supportive she was as Matías’ big sister.
Matías’ day starts bright and early at 5am. He needs to wake up that early to get to school, where he loves studying ethics and values – perfect for a young philosopher who deeply cares about nature and the future.
What stood out to us were the moments when he went off-script, revealing his true personality. He’s just a kid who gets annoyed by noisy neighbors and when other kids want to sneak a bite of his snacks!
It was clear that Matías’ family has played a huge role in shaping who he is today. Juliana encouraged him to explore the world around him and learn the names of new birds and flowers. She even showed him maps of local wildlife and shared stories about their town’s history.
Life in Botanilla has not always been easy, but lately, Matías feels things are getting tougher. He can no longer play in the same places with his dog because big factories are moving in. While jobs are created, Matías wonders: at what cost? What happens if no one listens to his concerns? With so much change happening around him, it’s no wonder he’s worried about the future of his town.
Illustrating Matías' World
We wanted to capture Matías in a way that reflected his authentic self, as those who know him would recognize.
His character design is shaped by his warmth and boundless curiosity. Matías is a young visionary, but he's also like any 9-year-old, a child who sees the world with awe, who notices the magic that adults – even leaders shaping his future – often miss.
Every choice in the animation aimed to honor this essence, celebrating both the richness of Matías' environment and his gentle but fierce spirit as its protector. We were inspired by the way he talks about his surroundings, capturing the rhythm of his life and his quiet resilience – a resilience that comes from knowing he’s part of something much larger than himself. To Matías, the land isn’t just a backdrop; it’s a living, breathing presence, a companion in his world that has two potential futures ahead.
To convey the impact of each possible future, we used striking visual contrasts to help the audience feel the weight of these choices. In ‘Too Little Too Late,’ muted colors and fragmented, rushed shots create an atmosphere of urgency and loss, reflecting the bleakness of a world losing its vitality and revealing the stark consequences of human neglect.
In contrast, ‘Giant Leap’ is filled with movement and color, radiating a sense of hope. Vibrant landscapes, warm and bright hues, rhythmic pacing, and upbeat music accompany scenes of Matías doing what he loves. It's his vision for the future, and so it's his dreams that shape this world. Filled with his favorite animals and birds, these scenes invite the audience to step into Matías' vision and feel that they, too, could be part of it. The goal is to inspire not only empathy but a shared sense of responsibility, stirring viewers to root for a future where Matías flourishes.
Perhaps understandably, with the media saturated with grim stories about the future, imagining a positive future proved more challenging than depicting a dystopian one. We aimed instead to depict a future where technology acts as a partner rather than a threat, and development lifts both humans and nature. This world reflects a balanced, flourishing ecosystem, where people and all living beings coexist harmoniously.
Matías’ story holds a certain magic because he embodies an unfiltered love for the natural world, a love that often fades as we grow older.
In exploring his story, we often thought of The Little Prince, that young traveler from another world who teaches profound lessons to adults by simply seeing with “magic eyes.” Matías, too, sees what is invisible to others – an interconnected world of life, beauty, and purpose. We wanted to capture his insights with the same simplicity and wonder that fills his words.
The entire production process was filled with joyful moments and realizations, but one in particular stands out. While animating scenes where Matías is photographing, we decided to add a little bit of extra hold, a pause that invites the audience to see through his lens and share in that quiet moment before he captures a bird in flight. This simple choice allowed viewers to sense the stillness Matías finds in nature, and the reverence of observing before creating.
We also chose to start and end the film with him clicking a picture, a symbolic gesture inviting viewers into his world and bringing them back out again.
Stories like Matías’ serve as a bridge to empathy and awareness. They remind us that leaders have a responsibility to future generations and that young voices deserve to be heard. Matías and others like him are not just filled with fleeting ideals; their passions and ideas are blueprints for the world they hope to inherit. We hope Matías’ story becomes a catalyst for conversations about youth leadership, revealing that change isn’t merely a concept but is actively embodied by young people like Matias, who are already leading the way.
Bringing life to Matías Story in English
We wanted to make sure Matías’ story was shared authentically and reached a wide, global audience. To do this, we created two versions of the voiceover – one in Matías’ native Spanish, and another in English for its premiere during the Summit of the Future.
After the storyboard was complete, we set out to find someone that truly captured Matías’ spirit and who could see things from his perspective.
This is where Mateo comes in, a young Peruvian who had just completed a voice-over recording project for his school.
Eager to apply his skills into practice in a “real world” setting, Mateo jumped at the chance. But this was not an easy task – English is not his first language!
With the help of his uncle, who coached him on pronunciation and intonation, and his mom who helped him record short clips, Mateo was able to deliver an incredible performance. His aunt made sure to keep sharing the clips with the team and encouraging Mateo, so that he felt valued through the process. A truly intergenerational achievement!
In the end, Mateo’s voiceover was a huge success, perfectly capturing Matías’ hopes and fears. As the story was shared back, all generations – including his younger brother, father and grandfather – watched as the story was shared on a big screen in New York with pride.
A Story of Hope and Action
We premiered Matías’ story during the Summit of the Future, integrating into the United Nations Foundation’s wider Once Upon a Future campaign. There it reached an intergenerational audience of former presidents, youth activists, CEOs and other key stakeholders in shaping the future. Despite the momentousness of the Summit, this event still only represents a relatively small number of those involved in paving the way for future generations, so we made sure to share the video as widely as we could through social media.
As you watch it, we hope that this video inspires two feelings: hope, that with people like Matías the future is in good hands, and a sense of responsibility that if we don’t act now, many of his hopes risk being out of reach.
The Future We Can Create Together
Matías is just one of many young people who are dreaming about a better future and taking action as they grow up. Every generation has a part to play in making the future we want together.
If this story moved you, share it with a friend and watch the other animations in the series, which showcase stories just as important as these. May they spark something that drives action towards this sustainable future.
As Matías said: “I’m excited for the future we could make together, Count me in!”.
Can we count you in?
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