Media centre

Prestigious annual advertising awards seek to create new conversations on the Convention on the Rights of the Child

KUALA LUMPUR, 24 August 2009 – The Kancil Awards, Malaysia’s most prestigious annual advertising awards by the Association of Accredited Advertising Agents Malaysia (4As), has picked the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) as one of two themes for its Student Award 2009.

“It is amazing that only 20 years ago there was no universal protection for the rights of children,” said 4As member and TBWA Brand Vice President Mr. Jeff Orr. “The CRC thankfully has transformed this landscape with children’s rights today placed at the heart of almost every country’s social and financial plans.”

Since its adoption on 20 November 1989, the CRC has set in motion a process of social change that has build the foundation for a world where all rights for all children are to be guaranteed and protected.

Enhancing the protective environment

By ratifying the CRC, governments have dedicated themselves to keeping their promise to children.

The CRC has been the decisive factor for legislative reform that has contributed to birth registration campaigns in most countries. It has also improved access to education for millions of marginalised children and has shed light on the problem of violence against children, provoking public debate on corporal punishment as a disciplinary measure.

In Malaysia, the ratification of the CRC in 1995 gave birth to the Child Act 2001 (Act 611) which forms part of the protective legal environment for children in the country.

Children still missing out on rights

While there has been a lot of good news in the last two decades, unfortunately hundreds of millions of children around the world still suffer from severe exploitation and discrimination and have become virtually invisible to the world they live in.

Poverty, AIDS and armed conflict continue to undermine childhood for too many of the world’s children. Their suffering and the denial of their rights is being worsened by the impact of the economic crisis and the effects of climate change.

Mr. Orr believes that the advertising industry has a vital role to play. “As professional communicators, we can help protect the rights of society’s most vulnerable citizens. It doesn’t matter if they are undocumented children, indigenous children, street children or migrant, refugee and asylum-seeking children; every child deserves our ‘voice’ so they too can lead lives free of poverty, violence and disease.”

New  conversations on child rights

Advertising students interested in taking part in the Kancil Student Award 2009 are invited to submit their best ideas to work for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), using digital or traditional media, or a combination of both. Entries will be judged on strategy, creativity and the effective use of media.

“Fulfilling, promoting and protecting children’s rights are not abstract causes. It is everybody’s duty to take action,” said UNICEF Representative to Malaysia Mr. Youssouf Oomar. “UNICEF welcomes the 4As initiative to create new circles of communication on children’s rights amongst advertising and communication students.”

“When each of us play our respective roles, the hope for a better future for millions of children and their families can be transformed into reality,” concluded Mr. Youssouf.