The Global Movement for Children
Dzung - 12 - Vietnam
Plan International, in partnership with UNICEF, the International Save the Children Alliance, World Vision International, Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC) and Netaid.org Foundation founded the Global Movement for Children; a worldwide initiative bringing together, for the first time, all those with a concern for the welfare of children for the promotion of their rights.
In 1989 during a General Assembly of the United Nations, Heads of the world's States agreed and signed the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Its basic principle is that society should satisfy the fundamental needs of children and provide assistance for the development of the child's personality, talents and abilities.
Since then, more children are in school than ever before, they are receiving better health care and an increasing number of adults are trying to do something about child exploitation.Yet there is still a long way to go.
'We felt for too long that our society has never been in a position to consider our views as that important. We strongly feel that this is the right moment for us to be involved and not to be taken for granted.'
Karen - 14 - Uganda
Eleven years later a UN Special Session on Children was due in September 2001 (the Special Session was postponed to a date yet to be defined due to the events of September 11) bringing together children, Heads of States and children's advocates to talk about children's rights and to agree a decade-long plan of action to improve their lives worldwide.
The Global Movement for Children was established to influence the outcome of the Special Session, raise awareness of children's rights among governments and policy makers throughout the world and call on everyone to end the poverty, ill-health, violence and discrimination that destroy so many young lives.
Plan's objective within the initiative, is to ensure that children's voices are heard at the global forum and can influence global policy. Through successful video-conferences and internet chats children from Plan countries had the opportunity to talk and share ideas with those in other countries, interview Heads of States and government leaders demanding actions on issues affecting their lives.
Among the activities leading to the Summit:
- We connected 150 children from nine countries with United Nations delegates preparing for the Special Session through internet chats
- We linked 100 children from El Salvador, Finland, Honduras and Togo with their national delegates at the United Nations through live video-conferencing
- We facilitated regional meetings to discuss children's rights in Jamaica, Cairo, Beijing, Thailand, Laos and Kenya
- We collected 5.5 million pledges to the 'Say Yes for Children' campaign.
'We young people are committed not only to making sure the adults keep their promises, but that we also keep them, and that we bring these promises back to our communities.'
Yonni - 15 Honduras
Our commitment and work for children's participation in the promotion of their rights continues.
External links on the topic
Global Movement for Children
UNICEF
The International Save the Children Alliance
World Vision International
Bangladesh Rural Advacement Committee (BRAC)
Netaid.org
