Giant refugee puppet Little Amal to march with pupils across Glasgow to COP26

Little Amal, the giant puppet of a 10-year-old Syrian refugee girl, will be joined by pupils marching across Glasgow to COP26.

Over 100 primary school children from Glasgow and Perthshire will meet and accompany the 3.5m high puppet on November 10.

Little Amal will visit COP26 from November 9-11, following the completion of The Walk, a four month travelling festival of art, covering 8000km from the Syrian border to Manchester.

Created by Good Chance Theatre and Handspring Puppet Company, Little Amal, alongside the pupils, will walk from Kingston Quay along the Clydesyde wearing banners and capes adorned with questions, demands and hopes for COP26.

The capes will also transform into a collective banner filling the walls at Anderston Quay before being put on display at The Landing Hub, a special COP26 pop-up venue until November 14.

Artists and community facilitators have been working in residence with six schools across Glasgow and Perthshire, sharing their skills and knowledge about climate and migrant justice through playful drama and visual arts workshops.

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In the weeks leading up to COP26, the pupils have been following Little Amal’s journey and preparing for this art-activism event responding to the cause of young people across the world who will experience forced migration due to the climate emergency.

The event will be part art installation and part community action, calling upon Glasgow’s rich history of climate occupations, migrant solidarity actions and youth movements.

At the end of the event each school will plant seed pods in a special area at Anderston Quay.

A few weeks after the event the children will also plant bulbs or saplings in planters they have designed at each of the six schools.

This youth action is inspired by the seeds Little Amal has carried with her from Syria and the seeds she has collected along her journey.

The climate justice arts project has been produced and facilitated by three of Scotland’s major producing theatre companies, National Theatre of Scotland, Citizens Theatre, and Perth Theatre.

Jackie Wylie, Chief Executive and Artistic Director at National Theatre of Scotland, said: “The National Theatre of Scotland is based in Glasgow and we are proud to see this vibrant city respond creatively and passionately to the urgent global climate talks as part of COP26.

“We felt it was vital for the National Theatre of Scotland to contribute to the energetic voices calling for climate and migrant justice alongside our many valued COP26 partners including ThinkArts, Good Chance, The Walk, the Citizens Theatre and Perth Theatre.

“We particularly wanted to encourage youth activism and celebrate the contribution of young people and children who, not only will be most affected by the impact of the climate emergency, but also have the real power to affect change.

“We hope our artistic projects; Millipede – the shoe shop that doesn’t cost the earth online, Little Amal – We are Mighty on the Clydeside, and our channel takeover, Dear Planet will add to the growing chorus of those demanding a sustainable and more equitable future for all”