World Kids Colouring Day 2026: Creativity, Friendship and Football Bring Children Together Worldwide
Drawing, playing and doing good together: In 2026, STAEDTLER once again invites children around the world to take part in the World Kids Colouring Day and to discover the joy of creativity as part of a global community. Under the motto “Football, Friends & Colouring Fun”, this year’s edition combines creative expression with team spirit, movement and social commitment.
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For more than 17 years, World Kids Colouring Day has encouraged children worldwide to express themselves through colour and imagination while contributing to a good cause. What began as a simple drawing initiative has grown into an internationally established campaign that promotes creativity and delivers tangible social impact. Every submitted drawing represents joy, community and the belief that even small actions can make a meaningful difference.
The 2026 theme focuses on football – a passion shared by children across cultures and continents. Football stands for fairness, friendship and togetherness, values that connect naturally with creative expression. Whether children draw exciting matches with friends, cheering fans or their own imaginative football worlds, they decide how to interpret the theme and which stories their pictures tell.
Participation in the World Kids Colouring Day is deliberately simple. Children aged three to twelve create a drawing inspired by the annual theme. Parents, teachers or caregivers then submit the artwork online or by post. For each submitted picture, STAEDTLER, together with Plan International, supports a selected education project with a donation of one euro, up to a total amount of 50,000 euros.
At the heart of the 2026 campaign is the project “Education Gives Girls Strength” in Malawi. The initiative aims to improve access to education for girls and to create long-term opportunities for a self-determined future. Through better learning conditions, scholarships, mentoring programmes and improved hygiene and sanitation facilities at schools, sustainable structures are built that help girls complete their education and shape their own lives.
The World Kids Colouring Day is aimed at families, kindergartens and schools and invites everyone to get creative together. Regardless of background, language or artistic experience, every picture is welcome. The campaign celebrates diversity, imagination and the joy of taking part in something meaningful as a global community.
With the World Kids Colouring Day 2026, STAEDTLER reaffirms its long-standing commitment to children, creativity and social responsibility. Because every picture counts – and every pencil can be a new beginning.