Italian photographer Massimo Bietti has traveled the globe capturing stunning photographs along the way. The result is unique: incredible portraits of children in the most remote corners and each one tells a story about their lives. Bietti explored countries from Russia, Norway and India to Papua New Guinea, Ethiopia, Malaysia, Vanuatu and many more to find these unforgettable faces and present an honest cross-cultural perspective on childhood.
Childhood should be a territory free of tears and where hope, fantasy, love and respect reign. An irrevocable universal plan, this is what childhood should be like for everyone.
This project is an unfiltered look at what their daily lives are like, including contrasts and similarities. Smiles, play, the need for warmth and discovery are universal traits found in all societies. Children have to be children and not be immersed in wars, violence and norms that go against their nature.
The luck of being born in one country or another is decisive for a structurally healthy childhood. In many parts of the world, children are still deprived of their childhood due to poverty, health problems, lack of education, child labor, early marriage or violence, despite the fact that many affected countries have established new laws to ensure a better future for their children.
According to the annual Global Childhood Report 2019, children of today have “a better chance than at any time in history to grow up healthy, educated and protected, with the opportunity to reach their full potential.” 280 million children are better off today than they would have been in 2000, as the number of suffering children was reduced from an estimated 970 million to 690 million thanks to success stories of many countries that have made remarkable progress in improving children’s lives.
