In the year 2000, the Montessori Droppen school in the Swedish city of Haparanda became the first Global Friend school. It is also the most northerly Global Friend school in the world.

When Droppen, the first Global Friend school in the world celebrated the 10th anniversary of the World’s Children’s Prize, the pupils made ballot boxes out of ice! Well they are experts in making things out of ice and snow after all. Their school, Montessori Droppen, is in Haparanda right up in northern Sweden, where they have snow for more than half the year. If the temperature is above zero, the snow is quite wet and Droppen’s Global Vote Day therefore opens with the first snowball fight of the year.

Global Vote in the snow!
The ground is often covered with snow when Droppen holds its Global Vote Day. Sometimes the snow is over a metre deep! The children stick home-made flags in the snow to represent all the countries participating in the Global Vote.
   “It’s good that children’s rights exist. They’re important, to make sure that children around the world have a good life.", says Alexandra.