On World Children’s Day, the world comes to class.
Millions of children will mark 20 November. NOV20 helps your class join the global moment by safely connecting with another classroom somewhere in the world.
- Free for schools
- Teacher-led
- No pupil personal data
- Works with your school's video tools
- 1 millionchildren target2026 goal
- 63countries connected previously2015/16 reach
- Freefor every schoolalways
- 🛡 Safeteacher-led and safeguardedno pupil data
What happens on NOV20
On 20 November, classrooms open a window to another classroom.
Some meet live. Some exchange video postcards. Some compare school days, languages, food, climate, rights, hopes and questions. Every class receives a match pack so the exchange is safe, structured and easy to run.
Live classroom exchange
Two classrooms meet on the day via your school's approved video platform. Greetings, presentations, pupil questions, a shared activity.
- Format
- 15 / 30 / 45 / 60 min
- Best when
- school days overlap
- Includes
- agenda · prompts · greetings
Video postcard exchange
When time zones make a live call hard, classes record short messages and swap them. Just as warm, sometimes more deliberate.
- Format
- 2–5 min clips, async
- Best when
- time zones don't overlap
- Includes
- prompts · script · templates
Country mission briefing
Each match pack opens with a child-friendly briefing on the partner country — school day, languages, what not to assume, questions to ask.
- Format
- PDF + classroom slides
- Includes
- flag · map · school day
- Plus
- what not to assume
How matching works
Six steps from “we’re in” to “see you on the 20th”.
You stay in control of the classroom. We handle the matching, the time-zone maths, and the resources.
- 01
Register your classroom
Five minutes. School, ages, language, school day, time zone.
- 02
Tell us your school day and time zone
We use proper time-zone maths so the rest works.
- 03
Choose countries, languages and themes
Specific country, region, similar time zone, or surprise us.
- 04
We suggest a safe, practical match
Scored by age, language, time overlap, tech fit and preferences. Reviewed.
- 05
You receive your match pack
Local times for both clocks, agenda, country briefing, safeguarding refresher.
- 06
Meet live, or exchange asynchronously
Your school's approved video platform — or video postcards when time zones don't overlap.
Time zones
Time zones are part of the adventure.
When one classroom starts school, another may be finishing, eating lunch, or already asleep. Pick two places and see what kind of exchange is realistic on 20 November.
- Easy live matchPlenty of overlap during both school days.
- Possible with planningWorkable overlap with light scheduling.
- Needs flexibilityOne school may need to shift slightly.
- Async recommendedNo comfortable live window. Postcards work brilliantly.
Plenty of overlap during both school days.
Your NOV20 Match Pack
A ready-to-run mission briefing lands in your inbox.
The moment your match confirms. Both classrooms’ local times, a session agenda your class can adapt, a one-page safeguarding refresher, and a country briefing for the partner.
- Map distance + time difference
- Suggested agenda (15 / 30 / 45 / 60 min)
- Five questions each class could ask
- Greeting phrases in both languages
- Country briefing + reflection worksheet
- Safeguarding refresher and technical checklist
- Printable participation certificate
- Distance
- ≈ 6,800 km
- Time apart
- 3 hours
- Session
- 30 min · live · English
- Theme
- School life + climate
Sample pack · real packs are generated per match
Country briefings
Explore the world before you meet it.
Every country is a child-friendly mission briefing — school day, languages, greetings to learn, questions to ask, and a few cautious notes about what not to assume.
Safe by design
Built so the answer to “is it safe?” is always yes.
Safeguarding is not the brand — connection is. But it’s the table stakes that make the connection possible. Here’s how we keep it simple for teachers and confident for parents.
Teacher-led, adult-supervised
An authorised teacher is present for every exchange. NOV20 provides the scaffolding; you stay in charge.
No pupil personal data, ever
We don't collect pupil names, emails, or contact details. The match is between classes, not individuals.
School-approved tools
Use the video platform your school already approves — Teams, Meet, Zoom, Webex — never ours.
Safeguarding checklist with every match
A one-page refresher arrives with your match pack: before, during, after.
Your school policy comes first
Where NOV20 guidance and your school's policy differ, follow your school's policy. Always.
Asynchronous option always available
Video postcards or class letters when a live call isn't safe or practical. Same warmth, different shape.
NOV20 is an independent classroom exchange initiative. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the United Nations or UNICEF.
Founding supporters now invited
Help us connect 1 million children for World Children’s Day.
An annual, dated, global moment — not another logo on a slide. Founding-supporter funding covers the platform, the resources, the matching, and the school outreach. Participation stays free for every classroom that joins.
- Platform development and hosting
- Teacher resources (free for every school)
- Country briefings (initial set of 30+)
- Safeguarding guidance and templates
- School outreach to the WhatSchool network
- Matching engine and human review
- Translation into priority languages
- Post-event Impact Report
- Lead Founding Supporter£100k – £250k
- Founding Supporter£50k – £100k
- Theme Partner£25k – £75k
- Launch Supporter£10k – £25k
Your classroom is about to go global.
Registration takes five minutes. We’ll handle the rest — matching, resources, time-zone maths, and the inevitable last-minute “the projector isn’t working” panic.
On 20 November, the world comes to class. We hope yours is part of it.