0:00:14.209,0:00:19.127
A few years ago, I wanted[br]to get closer to children.

0:00:20.025,0:00:23.564
Not just through my paintings[br]in toys or books,

0:00:24.216,0:00:25.726
but being there, face to face,

0:00:26.234,0:00:30.222
giving workshops, painting[br]with them, seeing them create.

0:00:31.521,0:00:34.727
In addition to this, and for some time,[br]I wanted to be helpful,

0:00:34.728,0:00:36.498
but I didn't know how.

0:00:37.083,0:00:40.750
If I should support a NGO[br]or should work on my own project.

0:00:41.894,0:00:43.476
One night,

0:00:43.477,0:00:45.945
I was waiting for a bus[br]that wasn't arriving,

0:00:47.934,0:00:50.747
and suddenly, not thinking[br]about anything in particular,

0:00:50.748,0:00:53.972
I had a vision of a bright ad

0:00:53.973,0:00:55.462
that read:

0:00:55.463,0:01:01.034
"Travel around the world[br]giving free art workshops for children."

0:01:03.066,0:01:04.792
It was crazy.

0:01:04.793,0:01:07.825
I didn't know where to start[br]organizing something like that,

0:01:07.825,0:01:10.595
I didn't have the money, [br]I had nothing.

0:01:10.596,0:01:13.029
But I thought it was[br]the best plan in the world.

0:01:13.030,0:01:16.570
By the time I got on the bus,[br]I already knew that I'd do it.

0:01:18.030,0:01:21.625
I had faith and worked[br]very hard in this project.

0:01:22.635,0:01:27.000
I decided that I'd design it myself.

0:01:27.001,0:01:28.744
To imagine and to organize it,

0:01:28.745,0:01:32.290
I thought about what I would have liked[br]to attend when I was a kid.

0:01:32.291,0:01:35.595
This way I thought about[br]every workshop, every detail.

0:01:36.645,0:01:38.779
I'd start from the north of Argentina,

0:01:38.780,0:01:41.840
and I'd continue through[br]Latin America, Africa,

0:01:41.841,0:01:44.226
Asia, and Europe.

0:01:44.227,0:01:48.957
Giving workshops in schools,[br]children's hospitals, orphanages,

0:01:48.958,0:01:51.341
libraries, markets,

0:01:51.342,0:01:53.077
and on the streets.

0:01:53.078,0:01:55.360
In the jungle, in the mountains.

0:01:56.130,0:02:00.947
In big cities and in very tiny[br]and remote villages.

0:02:02.097,0:02:04.919
Places that were not even[br]included in travel guides

0:02:04.920,0:02:06.540
or travel agencies.

0:02:07.920,0:02:09.865
I feel that we underestimate...

0:02:09.866,0:02:11.865
that we underestimate children

0:02:11.866,0:02:16.329
in their abilities[br]to feel, think, and say.

0:02:17.009,0:02:20.186
We think they are some kind[br]of container that we have to fill up

0:02:20.187,0:02:22.572
with things and information.

0:02:22.573,0:02:26.301
Obviously, they are in their early[br]stage of development,

0:02:26.302,0:02:28.407
but they also have things to say.

0:02:29.167,0:02:33.434
I feel that generally, they aren't granted[br]this space where we should listen to them.

0:02:33.434,0:02:35.311
This is my main goal:

0:02:35.312,0:02:38.666
give children a space[br]to express themselves

0:02:38.667,0:02:41.861
so that later, children from other places,

0:02:41.862,0:02:43.975
get to know these other children.

0:02:43.975,0:02:45.941
From what I have seen, wherever they are,

0:02:45.942,0:02:47.264
they watch the same movies,

0:02:47.265,0:02:48.642
the same cartoons,

0:02:48.643,0:02:50.496
play the same games,

0:02:50.497,0:02:53.058
but what do they know about each other?

0:02:53.059,0:02:56.099
What does a child in Argentina[br]knows about a child in Ecuador?

0:02:56.100,0:02:58.693
Or a child from France[br]about a child from Kenya?

0:02:58.694,0:03:00.180
The truth is, nothing.

0:03:00.890,0:03:03.599
Before we start painting in the workshops,

0:03:03.600,0:03:05.894
we always show them videos of children

0:03:05.894,0:03:07.835
from previous countries we've visited.

0:03:07.836,0:03:11.431
For example, in an afternoon, in Tokyo,

0:03:11.432,0:03:15.659
tons of Japanese kids were able[br]to learn a bit more about Argentina,

0:03:15.660,0:03:17.545
Peru, Mexico.

0:03:18.545,0:03:20.834
From this same desire[br]to get them connected,

0:03:20.835,0:03:23.010
we created another part of the project,

0:03:23.430,0:03:25.138
the gift chain.

0:03:25.948,0:03:30.707
We create a video where a child[br]introduce him or herself,

0:03:30.708,0:03:33.247
and tell us something about their lives.

0:03:33.657,0:03:36.115
About their families,[br]the place where they live.

0:03:36.116,0:03:40.219
They tell us about their favorite toy,[br]their favorite food,

0:03:40.220,0:03:42.490
and they tell us about a dream.

0:03:42.491,0:03:44.396
Then I ask them to pick something

0:03:44.397,0:03:49.592
from their own things to give[br]to a boy or a girl in the next country.

0:03:49.593,0:03:51.259
And they also paint something

0:03:51.260,0:03:53.883
for that child in the next country.

0:03:53.884,0:03:56.403
The chain started in Argentina,

0:03:57.083,0:03:59.344
continued in 15 more countries,

0:04:00.444,0:04:03.280
and there's still a lot ahead.

0:04:03.281,0:04:06.039
This way, through the eyes[br]of other children,

0:04:06.040,0:04:07.558
they learn about new realities.

0:04:08.248,0:04:11.798
It's not the same William's life,[br]who has 9 siblings,

0:04:11.799,0:04:15.792
compared to Tzo Luo's who is,[br]like most Chinese, the only child.

0:04:16.661,0:04:19.788
It's very different for Christopher's,

0:04:19.789,0:04:22.576
who lives surrounded by rabbits and cows,

0:04:22.577,0:04:27.263
compared to Simone's,[br]who is growing up in a mega city.

0:04:28.042,0:04:30.251
Life is very different for Mikija,

0:04:30.942,0:04:33.992
who after school can go[br]and play with his friends,

0:04:33.993,0:04:36.266
compared to Mario's,[br]who has to go to work.

0:04:37.846,0:04:41.408
I always develop emotional attachment,[br]and it's hard to leave each place.

0:04:41.638,0:04:44.241
But I think I have accomplished my mission

0:04:44.242,0:04:47.801
if I can at least leave a mark,[br]a small footprint.

0:04:48.731,0:04:49.647
Look.

0:04:49.648,0:04:52.005
(Video) 1st child: [br]What I feel when I paint

0:04:52.006,0:04:53.176
is that I'm an artist.

0:04:53.706,0:04:57.052
2nd child: It's when someone[br]frees their ideas.

0:04:57.053,0:04:59.656
3rd child: This way[br]I can release my feelings.

0:04:59.657,0:05:02.524
All my feeling I express them[br]through my painings

0:05:02.525,0:05:04.570
and this way I feel better.

0:05:05.500,0:05:08.810
4th child: You are in a world[br]where you can do whatever you want.

0:05:08.811,0:05:15.799
5th child: My paintings express[br]my happiness and everything that I'd want.

0:05:15.800,0:05:17.765
My paintings are my imagination.

0:05:18.135,0:05:22.767
Japanese: When I paint,[br]I feel like I enter a new world,

0:05:22.768,0:05:26.389
where everything that I'm painting lives,

0:05:26.390,0:05:28.427
and I have a lot of fun in that world.

0:05:28.767,0:05:32.963
6th child: When I drew[br]the superhero, I felt brave.

0:05:32.964,0:05:35.048
I felt...

0:05:36.588,0:05:40.212
that I was in the company[br]of other people.

0:05:40.213,0:05:43.774
7th child: We can paint on a tree trunk,

0:05:43.775,0:05:45.385
on stones, on sticks,

0:05:46.325,0:05:48.792
on wood, on the sidewalk,

0:05:48.793,0:05:50.642
anywhere.

0:05:51.222,0:05:55.534
7th child: (Japanese) Sometimes, there are[br]things that I don't know how to express.

0:05:55.535,0:05:57.834
so I paint them.

0:05:58.534,0:06:03.083
8th child: When I paint, it's a dream.

0:06:03.084,0:06:04.625
(Applause)

0:06:10.925,0:06:13.364
I feel that it's a pity

0:06:13.365,0:06:16.774
that in schools, generally,[br]art is considered secondary,

0:06:16.775,0:06:18.415
something less important,

0:06:18.416,0:06:20.904
just for recreational purposes,

0:06:20.905,0:06:23.747
and not something educational.

0:06:23.748,0:06:26.468
I wished that at school[br]they'd dance more,

0:06:26.469,0:06:29.256
sing more and paint more.

0:06:30.856,0:06:32.810
In all the places we visit,

0:06:32.811,0:06:37.390
I suggested to the kids to invent[br]a superhero, something local.

0:06:38.870,0:06:41.423
I encourage them to think[br]about what they wish for,

0:06:41.424,0:06:44.445
and moreover, about[br]the needs of their communities.

0:06:45.995,0:06:47.892
In the north of Colombia

0:06:47.893,0:06:50.337
there was a terrible drought,

0:06:50.338,0:06:51.712
it had not rained in months,

0:06:51.713,0:06:53.837
they had lost their crops,

0:06:53.838,0:06:55.941
and they really needed water.

0:06:55.942,0:06:59.596
But a boy draw the solution:

0:06:59.597,0:07:02.468
he created a superhero[br]who could shoot lightnings

0:07:02.469,0:07:03.878
to the sky,

0:07:03.879,0:07:05.795
and make it rain.

0:07:06.605,0:07:08.741
Later, in Ecuador,

0:07:08.742,0:07:10.368
we went to the Amazon,

0:07:10.369,0:07:13.021
we were in the jungle,[br]with a indigenous community.

0:07:13.022,0:07:17.516
It was incredible to see them paint[br]for the first time in their lives.

0:07:18.916,0:07:22.072
You can't imagine their reaction[br]when they discovered

0:07:22.073,0:07:24.842
that by mixing blue and yellow

0:07:24.843,0:07:27.381
they could get the green of their trees.

0:07:28.741,0:07:32.093
A daily occurrence for some people

0:07:32.094,0:07:34.822
could be something totally new for others.

0:07:36.332,0:07:38.142
Then we arrived in Guatemala,

0:07:38.143,0:07:41.102
and we painted with children[br]working in the main market.

0:07:41.772,0:07:43.701
Children who don't go to school

0:07:43.701,0:07:46.859
because they have to work there[br]helping out their parents.

0:07:46.859,0:07:50.580
Those fruits and vegetables[br]that were part of their daily duties,

0:07:50.580,0:07:52.376
at least during that afternoon,

0:07:52.377,0:07:55.200
turned out into characters and animals.

0:07:56.120,0:07:57.995
It's about giving a new meaning,

0:07:57.996,0:08:00.636
and that's what I try to do all the time.

0:08:01.736,0:08:06.021
In Mexico, during the Day of the Dead

0:08:06.851,0:08:12.184
when all the community gather [br]to be with their departed loved ones,

0:08:13.044,0:08:14.961
we went to the cemetery

0:08:14.962,0:08:17.722
and found a lot of children[br]wandering around.

0:08:18.242,0:08:20.179
We created a group with a few,

0:08:20.180,0:08:22.198
and I asked their opinions

0:08:22.199,0:08:25.048
and what life and death were for them.

0:08:26.868,0:08:30.938
Then, we took out our crayons[br]and sheets of paper and started to paint.

0:08:30.939,0:08:34.938
They did one drawing related to life,[br]and one related to death.

0:08:34.940,0:08:37.349
And everything was good,[br]the way how they flow,

0:08:37.350,0:08:39.337
the things that the children said,

0:08:39.339,0:08:43.539
that made me think how much[br]we continue to underestimate them.

0:08:44.049,0:08:46.082
How there are still topics that are taboo

0:08:46.083,0:08:49.310
at school and even at home.

0:08:49.311,0:08:53.131
I think it'd be great[br]to be able to talk to them

0:08:53.132,0:08:55.106
about sexuality,

0:08:55.107,0:08:56.739
gender violence,

0:08:56.740,0:08:59.873
-- which was quite present[br]in all the places we went to --

0:08:59.874,0:09:01.501
or even death.

0:09:03.131,0:09:05.160
What we're doing through silence

0:09:05.161,0:09:06.693
is raising children

0:09:06.694,0:09:09.307
who will keep on repeating the same model.

0:09:11.847,0:09:16.209
I'd like to share with you[br]some of the things I learned.

0:09:17.599,0:09:19.472
From the beginning of this project

0:09:19.473,0:09:21.752
a lot of people have offered to help me.

0:09:22.832,0:09:25.345
In every country,[br]and in every little town we'd go

0:09:25.346,0:09:27.575
they open up the doors of their house,

0:09:27.576,0:09:30.276
they invite us to eat, to stay,[br]they give us materials.

0:09:31.576,0:09:35.533
Actually, they make me feel[br]I'm home even when I'm so far away;

0:09:35.534,0:09:37.803
I'm a little bit at home.

0:09:38.703,0:09:41.396
But most of the time[br]I hear people saying the opposite.

0:09:41.396,0:09:45.052
But I don't think the world[br]is that horrible and unsafe place

0:09:45.053,0:09:48.374
where nobody cares about the other.

0:09:48.375,0:09:54.133
I also learned that trust is[br]the most important thing

0:09:54.134,0:09:56.546
that a child needs to be able to create.

0:09:57.746,0:09:59.884
It's all about giving them trust.

0:09:59.885,0:10:02.352
So that they can enjoy what they do

0:10:02.353,0:10:05.016
instead of doing it like a test[br]and then getting stuck.

0:10:06.376,0:10:09.194
And this is the case[br]of any artistic activity.

0:10:09.195,0:10:10.953
Even for me, for you,

0:10:10.954,0:10:13.524
who think that you are no able

0:10:13.525,0:10:16.492
to paint, to write, to sing, to dance.

0:10:17.612,0:10:19.115
The children taught me

0:10:19.116,0:10:22.809
that when they can find[br]joy in only walking the walk,

0:10:23.542,0:10:26.709
without much judgment or[br]comparing themselves to their neighbors,

0:10:26.726,0:10:28.412
they are much happier.

0:10:30.152,0:10:34.337
We know children who have a hard time.

0:10:34.338,0:10:36.232
Who suffered from abuse, violence,

0:10:36.233,0:10:38.134
abandonment, extreme poverty.

0:10:38.135,0:10:39.749
Children who cannot go to school

0:10:39.750,0:10:41.332
because they have to work.

0:10:41.333,0:10:44.471
But even so, in our workshops,[br]when they paint their dreams,

0:10:44.472,0:10:49.175
I find out that they want to be[br]singers, architects, teachers, doctors,

0:10:49.176,0:10:51.205
like any other child.

0:10:52.195,0:10:55.251
It's very easy to tag and stigmatize.

0:10:55.821,0:10:58.320
But no child is born evil,

0:10:58.334,0:11:00.623
no child is violent per se.

0:11:00.624,0:11:04.259
All they need is an opportunity.

0:11:06.269,0:11:08.612
In the jungle, in Peru,

0:11:08.626,0:11:12.038
we also went to the Amazon,[br]with the Awajun community,

0:11:12.039,0:11:14.716
and I remember[br]the school principal telling me,

0:11:14.717,0:11:16.060
"Don't expect great things

0:11:16.061,0:11:20.605
because these children know[br]handicraft but they never paint."

0:11:21.875,0:11:25.792
Well, they painted the most amazing[br]paintings in all my trip.

0:11:25.792,0:11:29.469
It was incredible the power of observation[br]these children of the jungle had,

0:11:29.470,0:11:32.834
and how they were able to draw[br]their surroundings, just as they are.

0:11:32.835,0:11:36.141
Every detail, every bird, and every tree.

0:11:37.451,0:11:40.273
I had a similar experience in a school

0:11:40.274,0:11:43.595
where there were blind children[br]suffering from the Down syndrome

0:11:43.596,0:11:45.625
and brain damage.

0:11:45.626,0:11:47.754
One of the things[br]we create in the workshops

0:11:48.594,0:11:50.293
are self-portraits.

0:11:50.294,0:11:52.699
I never thought about[br]underestimating them.

0:11:52.700,0:11:54.147
We did what we always do.

0:11:54.148,0:11:57.573
And if someone has any doubts[br]about their ability to express themselves,

0:11:57.574,0:12:00.618
look at these amazing[br]drawings they created.

0:12:02.698,0:12:08.259
Just as I feel that I can teach[br]these children,

0:12:08.260,0:12:10.382
I also learn from them.

0:12:11.352,0:12:12.883
I also learn from them.

0:12:12.884,0:12:15.739
Not long ago, in Thailand,[br]I was walking on the street,

0:12:15.740,0:12:18.759
met with some children,[br]and we started to paint.

0:12:18.760,0:12:21.566
I met a little girl[br]I got a special connection with,

0:12:21.956,0:12:24.369
and for a little,[br]we were inseparable.

0:12:25.792,0:12:28.551
I looked at her painting[br]and I saw two people.

0:12:28.552,0:12:33.438
I asked her who they were[br]and she pointed at herself and at me.

0:12:34.468,0:12:38.164
At me, a guy she had never seen before,[br]someone that she has just met,

0:12:38.165,0:12:40.362
and possibly would never see again.

0:12:40.363,0:12:44.489
It's incredible how children[br]can open up so much.

0:12:44.490,0:12:48.314
And so it's our responsibility as adults.

0:12:48.315,0:12:50.903
Just one word can open them up a lot

0:12:50.904,0:12:52.787
or close them up a lot.

0:12:53.867,0:12:57.212
If we tell them that the sun[br]has to be yellow,

0:12:57.213,0:12:59.213
that grass has to be green,

0:12:59.214,0:13:01.341
that their characters[br]need to be leaning

0:13:01.342,0:13:03.473
or otherwise, it'll look[br]as they are flying;

0:13:03.474,0:13:05.365
instead of helping them to be creative,

0:13:05.366,0:13:08.693
we are curbing their imagination.

0:13:10.573,0:13:14.647
In Asia, even with the help[br]of an interpreter,

0:13:14.648,0:13:17.979
we can't chat like in Latin America.

0:13:17.980,0:13:19.780
So we use games,

0:13:19.781,0:13:22.648
songs, videos and, of course, paintings.

0:13:23.928,0:13:27.323
I think it's key, when you're[br]in front of a group of children,

0:13:27.334,0:13:28.960
to be able to reinvent yourself,

0:13:28.968,0:13:32.675
to be creative, to absorb[br]what's happening.

0:13:33.305,0:13:36.267
Not all the children are the same,[br]not even among siblings.

0:13:37.007,0:13:40.393
It's the adult who should adapt

0:13:40.394,0:13:41.989
instead of having a formula

0:13:41.990,0:13:45.080
and expect always the same result.

0:13:46.910,0:13:49.444
More than a year ago,

0:13:49.459,0:13:51.626
I said goodbye to my dog, Tai,

0:13:51.631,0:13:53.182
and left home.

0:13:53.183,0:13:57.168
I have already traveled[br]all Latin America and most of Asia,

0:13:57.169,0:13:59.545
in fact, I just flew here from India today

0:13:59.546,0:14:02.074
and the day after tomorrow[br]I'll be going back.

0:14:03.514,0:14:06.550
And there's still a lot ahead.

0:14:06.551,0:14:09.709
Soon, we will meet with children[br]from the Gaza Strip, in Palestine.

0:14:09.710,0:14:11.895
With refugee children, African children.

0:14:13.083,0:14:15.625
ONU and UNICEF invite us[br]to give workshops,

0:14:15.655,0:14:18.652
something that I'd have never imagined.

0:14:18.653,0:14:20.717
After these two years,

0:14:20.718,0:14:27.404
I'd have painted with more[br]than 10,000 children from 40 countries,

0:14:28.404,0:14:30.496
And there's still a lot ahead.

0:14:30.497,0:14:32.416
But we'll be back,

0:14:32.417,0:14:35.792
and we'll do the same here,[br]in Argentina, from Ushuaia to La Quiaca,

0:14:35.793,0:14:37.309
from coast to coast.

0:14:37.310,0:14:41.079
We are going to create moving exhibitions[br]with these children's paintings.

0:14:41.080,0:14:45.767
And a book, full of children's pictures,[br]stories and of course, paintings.

0:14:46.397,0:14:48.274
We are making a movie,

0:14:48.275,0:14:52.664
a documentary, so that we can share this[br]with many more people.

0:14:53.534,0:14:57.616
All of this is called "Small Big Worlds"

0:14:58.616,0:15:02.406
and what started as the trip of my life

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turned out to be the project of my life.

0:15:06.240,0:15:08.118
But it started as a dream.

0:15:08.898,0:15:11.718
And talking about dreams,[br]I want you to meet Elizabeth.

0:15:11.719,0:15:14.382
(video) Elizabeth:[br]When I was small, very small,

0:15:14.383,0:15:17.137
I wanted to be a singer,

0:15:17.138,0:15:20.614
a sanitation worker, work with my dad;

0:15:20.615,0:15:25.101
but my dad used to say no,[br]that the job wasn't for me.

0:15:25.102,0:15:27.393
My father is an engineer.

0:15:27.394,0:15:31.154
He used to say no,[br]that I wouldn't know how to do it.

0:15:31.155,0:15:33.882
But I kept on telling him,[br]again and again...

0:15:35.112,0:15:38.491
My advice to all the children in the world

0:15:38.492,0:15:40.484
is that they should follow their dream.

0:15:40.485,0:15:43.712
Don't let anyone get in your way.

0:15:43.713,0:15:46.273
If your parents don't support you,

0:15:46.274,0:15:50.024
you should fight for your dreams!

0:15:50.025,0:15:52.689
What I want now is to be a gynecologist.

0:15:52.690,0:15:55.951
To help all women have children.

0:15:56.960,0:16:00.374
But sometimes, I feel[br]that that's not my dream,

0:16:00.375,0:16:02.280
that I have another one.

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I don't know what it is.

0:16:03.524,0:16:05.572
So I have to go searching for it,

0:16:05.573,0:16:07.841
let it come to me or I'll go to it.

0:16:08.771,0:16:11.863
Together: Small Big Worlds!

0:16:11.864,0:16:13.852
Argentina!

0:16:13.853,0:16:15.158
Bolivia!

0:16:15.159,0:16:16.352
Peru!

0:16:16.353,0:16:17.790
Ecuador!

0:16:17.791,0:16:19.205
Colombia!

0:16:19.206,0:16:21.342
Guatemala!

0:16:21.343,0:16:23.873
Mexico!

0:16:23.874,0:16:25.539
Cuba!

0:16:25.540,0:16:27.299
Japan!

0:16:27.300,0:16:29.694
China!

0:16:29.695,0:16:32.653
Vietnam!

0:16:32.654,0:16:35.412
Laos!

0:16:35.413,0:16:37.912
Thailand!

0:16:37.913,0:16:40.079
Burma!

0:16:40.080,0:16:42.339
Cambodia!

0:16:42.340,0:16:45.450
Indonesia!

0:16:45.451,0:16:47.817
Nepal!

0:16:47.818,0:16:50.213
India!

0:16:50.214,0:16:53.403
[Small Big Worlds[br]pequeniosgrandesmundos.org]

0:16:53.404,0:16:55.249
(Applause)

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Every day I'm grateful that I got inspired

0:17:09.602,0:17:11.396
to create "Small Big Worlds",

0:17:11.396,0:17:14.522
and that I can paint with children[br]from all around the world.

0:17:14.523,0:17:18.281
The other day, a boy from a village,[br]in the middle of the mountains in Nepal

0:17:18.281,0:17:19.904
wrapped it up it perfectly.

0:17:19.905,0:17:22.179
He painted the Earth and wrote:

0:17:22.180,0:17:24.479
"I also live on this planet."

0:17:24.480,0:17:25.512
Thank you very much.

0:17:25.512,0:17:26.803
(Applause)