Before her first field visit with UNICEF, in the outskirts of São Paulo, Millie Bobby Brown sat down with the Brazilian presenter and actress Maisa Silva, herself a UNICEF ambassador. The two women, who both grew up in front of cameras, talk about education, menstrual health, cyberbullying and how they protect their mental health.
Ambassador at 13
Millie Bobby Brown became a UNICEF ambassador at a very young age; at 21, she has held the role for about eight years. She always loved school, she says, and her parents were open with her about how privileged she was to have the tools to learn. Realising that many children did not have the same opportunities, she saw that she had a platform, and UNICEF offered a way to use it. Maisa joined UNICEF more recently, driven by the fact that not every young person in Brazil has access to education.
The visit to São Paulo was Brown’s first time in the field. After speaking at the United Nations about girls’ education, she wanted to see a programme in action, and to listen to the families it supports.
Talking about periods
As she grew older, Brown realised that young women face their own set of obstacles, such as access to sanitary products or to secondary school. She returned to UNICEF to work on menstrual health, a subject she refuses to treat as taboo. Maisa explains that UNICEF runs similar programmes in north-east Brazil. What both value is that the organisation does not stop at raising awareness: “It’s not just a conversation. It’s a plan of action.”
Growing up online
On social media and criticism, Brown insists on the importance of a support system, friends and family, which not every young person has, and on UNICEF’s work against cyberbullying. To look after her mind, she journals and writes down what she is grateful for. She shares advice from her friend Florence Pugh: when a negative thought comes in, “go to the end of the thought” and ask whether it is really true, until you realise it is not about you. Maisa does yoga, meditates and also keeps a journal.
Brown’s message to young Brazilians: “Women inspire women.” Look to the girl next to you, ask if she is okay, and find sisterhood in your community. The meeting ends with a gift from a young Indigenous UNICEF advocate from the Amazon: a necklace made of açaí seeds.