#GoBlue – EIB lights up in blue for World Children’s Day

With this symbolic action, we wish to show our commitment to the cause of children and reiterate our support for UNICEF, both internationally and also for the Luxembourg team with whom we have been cooperating on a long-term basis.

Our work at the EIB Group, the policies we develop and the investment projects we support aim to create a better world for children, their families and future generations.

Through the climate action and sustainable environmental management projects that we are implementing beyond Europe's borders, at the very edges of the world’s poorest regions, we aim to safeguard and improve children’s living environments and make a real contribution to their future.

Our healthcare and research projects for combating diseases, particularly infectious diseases, have been ramped up to a massive scale given the urgent need to defeat COVID-19 by finding vaccines and therapeutic solutions. Their impact is both concrete and direct. The same is true when we finance local infrastructure and equipment for medical and hospital care, as well as for education and housing.

To drive action on the ground, we also fund projects specifically carried out by women, even the smallest ones supported by microfinancing. Our aim is to empower women, providing them with the resources they need to be entrepreneurial and take decisive action, while also raising their families.

Beyond its beautiful visuals and communication initiatives, the GoBlue campaign invites us to stop for a moment and take stock of all that still needs to be done to uphold children's rights throughout the world. For this and for all its valuable work, we owe a special debt of gratitude to UNICEF.

At 100 Boulevard Konrad Adenauer, Magdalena Jetelova's work will be lit up in blue from 19 November until midnight on 21 November.

Download the pictures in high resolution (Pictures: Chair, 2000, Wood sculpture, 600 x 300 x 300 cm by Magdalena Jetelová)

Information on Chair by Magdalena Jetelová 

At the entrance of the EIB’s West Building stands Jetelová’s monumental Chair. This 6-metre-tall wooden chair, now a symbolic presence on Kirchberg, dominates the view from all around.

Chair was commissioned by the EIB to celebrate EU enlargement in 1998 and was installed in 2000. It was built with environmentally certified Cambara wood from Bolivia.

The chair is an ironic rejection of functionalism, challenging the division between art and the workplace. It is in keeping with many of Jetelová’s sculptures that parody the pomp and ceremony of commemorative political monuments.

Magdalena Jetelová is a renowned contemporary Czech artist best known for her large-scale installations and focus on environmental issues.

To find out more about Magdalena Jetelová and her work: pdf

About World Children’s Day

For UNICEF’s #GoBlue campaign as part of World Children’s Day on November 20 2020, buildings, public spaces and monuments in Luxembourg and all around the world will be lit up in blue to raise public awareness of the challenges and most pressing issues facing children around the world.

Every year on November 20, to mark the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), UNICEF raises awareness of the most pressing issues facing children and invites children to actively participate. World Children’s Day shines a spotlight on Article 12 of the CRC, which guarantees every child’s right to be heard, participate and play a role in the civic life of their society.

More information