Gubi and Unicef’s Young Hopes campaign to support children

“Millions of children worldwide are innocent victims of conflict, disasters and the climate crisis. As a global community, we have a responsibility to ensure they are protected and supported,” says Gubis Chief Brand Officer Marie Kristine Schmidt. The Danish design house recently partnered with Unicef ​​to launch “Young Hopes,” a campaign to support vulnerable children worldwide. Young Hopes will raise money for Unicef ​​by donating money from the sale of 100 limited edition “Pacha” lounge chairs. Proceeds will be used by the international children’s charity to support safe births, clean water and access to education in crisis areas. “We want to ensure that young people have better healthcare, sanitation and opportunities to thrive,” explains Schmidt.

With this initiative, Gubi aims to help children in countries that are often overlooked. “UNICEF has identified Burkina Faso, Myanmar and Sudan as areas where the lives and prospects of young people have been severely affected by conflict and crisis, but which are less low on the global humanitarian radar,” explains Schmidt. The campaign includes a special UNICEF edition of Gubi’s popular “Pacha” lounge chair, made from surplus premium fabrics.

Pierre Paulin’s Pacha lounge chair is one of the Danish brand’s most iconic pieces of furniture. The chair was originally designed in 1975 and is available in both a fixed and swivel version. For this campaign, Gubi committed to producing 100 chairs in three exclusive color combinations: Lupo Special Diagonal Bouclé 007, Harp 102 and Mumble 02. “Paulin’s Pacha is one of Gubi’s best-selling furniture designs and has been popular in the design world since it was first produced. It is playful and comfortable, but still very elegant,” says Schmidt about the design.

Purchasing a “Pacha” can help provide up to 475 children with access to emergency education, enable 200 children to have a safe birth or provide up to 35,000 children with access to clean drinking water for a month. “It is amazing to see a design brand using its creative platforms for such a cause,” says Susanne Dahl, Executive Director of Unicef ​​Denmark. “Even if you cannot buy or donate a chair, you can support Young Hopes by spreading the word on social media and encouraging others to learn about and support Unicef’s work.”

According to Schmidt, Gubi did not want to launch a charity campaign that focused on suffering and negativity, but rather struck an optimistic tone: “We want people to think about the future possibilities of these young people, rather than the traumas of the past. As a global design company, we really wanted to partner with a charity with an international reach that can help us make a difference around the world.”

Interestingly, Unicef’s humanitarian supply base, which distributes life-saving supplies, educational materials and hygiene items, is just a short walk from Gubi’s waterfront headquarters in Nordhavn, Copenhagen. Schmidt describes the power of physical proximity in fostering a community project: “From our waterfront base in Nordhavn, we look out over Unicef’s global supply center and the idea of ​​working with a neighbor and trying to make a difference in the world was really appealing.”