Renowned Nigerian artist and social innovator Adetunwase Adenle, a four-time Guinness World Record holder, has launched a powerful art-driven climate and social impact initiative to honor 222 CNN journalists and anchors for their investigative work in exposing modern-day slavery, human trafficking, and human rights abuses worldwide.
Unveiled in Lagos to mark this year’s My Freedom Day, the initiative is being delivered through the Slum Art Foundation with support from the Lagos State Government and private sector partners. It features 222 hand-crafted collage portraits, each made entirely from discarded magazines—turning waste into a visual narrative of freedom, accountability, and resistance against exploitation.
A Tribute to Truth and Accountability
Adenle said the project is a tribute to CNN journalists whose reporting has kept global attention on forced labor, conflict, displacement, and human trafficking for more than a decade. The portraits honor journalists such as Christiane Amanpour, Anderson Cooper, Clarissa Ward, Don Lemon, and Jake Tapper, whose work has been prominent in My Freedom Day coverage and broader human rights reporting.
“This artwork is a heartfelt thank you to every reporter and anchor who continues to stand on the frontlines in the fight against modern-day slavery,” Adenle said. “Through courageous storytelling and relentless reporting, they give a voice to the voiceless and shine a global light on injustice.”
Beyond Art: Turning Creativity into Concrete Impact
While symbolic, the initiative is also a practical intervention. Proceeds and partnerships linked to the 222 portraits will fund the construction of a new PET Bottle School and Nigeria’s first community-based AI animation studio, currently under development in Ijora Badia, Lagos.
These facilities aim to provide free education and digital skills training to children from underserved communities—offering them a path away from street life and toward future-ready creative and technological careers. The school will offer 100% free education, organizers say.
A Proven Model of Waste-to-Education
Slum Art Foundation has previously run a PET Bottle School model that replaces school fees with environmental responsibility. Under this system, pupils contribute five PET bottles daily in lieu of tuition, promoting recycling while ensuring access to education.
The foundation is now expanding the model to include:
- Structured waste management systems
- Carbon credit frameworks
- Environmental governance mechanisms
This expanded approach embeds Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles directly into grassroots education, making waste collection a measurable environmental value and turning climate action into a direct funding mechanism for learning opportunities.
“Education should never cost a child their freedom,” Adenle said. “By turning waste and carbon impact into school fees, we are building a system where sustainability pays for education.”
A Catalyst for Jobs and Economic Inclusion
The initiative is expected to create jobs across several sectors including art, recycling, construction, education, waste management, and digital production. Organizers say this demonstrates how climate action can drive economic inclusion and reduce vulnerabilities that often lead to exploitation.
A Call to Support Education, Climate Justice and Human Rights
My Freedom Day is an international observance highlighting the fight against forced labor and human trafficking. For Slum Art Foundation, Adenle said, freedom begins with access to education, climate justice, and the right of every child to be heard.
“I use art to give children a voice,” he said. “When a child learns in a school built from waste and creativity, they understand from day one that their life, their story and their future matter.”
The foundation has called on governments, private organisations, climate partners, ESG leaders, and the global creative community to support the completion of the PET Bottle School and AI animation studio, back waste-to-education and carbon credit programmes, and promote education and climate justice through responsible storytelling.
Founded in 2018, Slum Art Foundation is a social impact organisation that uses art to advance education, environmental sustainability, and human rights advocacy—transforming waste into classrooms and creativity into opportunity.