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Press Release

Leaders, Take Note: World Wants More for Children

Say Yes for Children Pledge Campaign Is Racking Up Votes

GENEVA / NEW YORK, 8 June 2001 – With 15 weeks to go before world leaders gather in New York for a summit devoted to children, a grassroots pledge campaign is racking up millions of votes from citizens demanding that world leaders do more for children and young people.

The pledge campaign, called Say Yes for Children, urges world leaders to commit themselves to ten basic principles that seek to protect and improve the lives of children. The campaign is being sponsored by a global partnership of individuals and organisations committed to improving the world with children.

Speaking on behalf of the Say Yes partners, UNICEF announced today that at least 2.5 million pledges had been registered over the last six weeks, both through community outreach efforts and via the Web. People can Say Yes for Children at www.gmfc.org.

“This campaign has the potential to make a real difference for children,” said Carol Bellamy, Executive Director of UNICEF. “The pledges of millions of people will be presented to world leaders at the UN Special Session on Children this September, and the message will be quite clear: The citizens of the world care about children and expect governments to keep the promises they make to them.”

UNICEF said the Special Session on Children is the perfect place for people to make their voices heard, since it is there that governments will review progress for children over the last decade and set new goals for the decade ahead. “This is our chance to tell these leaders what we want for our children,” Bellamy said. “What we expect and what we are willing to do.”

Governments, community leaders, artists, children’s organisations and young people themselves are helping to promote the campaign and tally pledges in more than 90 countries.

• In South Africa, pledges are being collected – among more traditional methods – via mobile phones. The national telecom company has set up a number that their customers can call to pledge anytime, anywhere.
• · In Turkey, more than 6,000 children from 41 countries launched Say Yes regionally in April. Mrs. Nane Annan, wife of the Secretary-General, attended as special guest and signed the first pledge.
• · In Armenia, the Water World amusement park will distribute pledge forms to all those who enter their gates on special free days for children.
• · In Italy, 1 million pledges have been collected through a network of non-profits nationwide. The campaign is being promoted through television ads featuring the popular storybook character, Pinocchio.
• In Jordan, the campaign – launched by Queen Rania – has mobilised more than 20 per cent of the Kingdom’s five million people. The country’s top leaders have pledged at high-profile media events, including King Abdullah II, Crown Prince Hamzah, the Senate and all parliamentarians, among many others.
• In Honduras, the Christian Youth Association, the National Youth Movement and several religious organisations are planning a Say Yes ‘vigil’ and national pledge event. In addition, the national soccer team has agreed to wear Say Yes logos on their jerseys during its international matches.
• In Bangladesh, the president, prime minister and opposition leader pledged their support to children at a kick-off on April 27 in front of a live audience of 1,500 children. Their show of consensus has given the nation-wide campaign a huge boost.
• In Uzbekistan, over 8,000 people joined the country’s most popular musical group, Dado, in pledging at two sell-out charity concerts in Tashkent.
• And in Niger, 300 traditional chiefs from Burkina Faso, Chad, Cameroon, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria and Senegal said Yes for children at a symposium of tribal chiefs. Often seen as conservative, they spoke out frankly for children’s and women’s rights, including a strong call for girls’ education and against early marriage.

Former South African President Nelson Mandela and his wife, former Minister of Education of Mozambique Graça Machel, are leading the Global Movement for Children, which is promoting the Say Yes pledge drive.

Other world leaders, including UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, President Kim Dae-jung of Korea and Queen Rania of Jordan, have pledged their support for the campaign along with a host of celebrities from Susan Sarandon to Robbie Williams.

Several organisations are at the forefront of the movement, including BRAC, Plan International, Netaid.org Foundation, Save the Children, World Vision and UNICEF.

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For further information on Say Yes for Children, please contact:
Sally Burnheim, UNICEF Media, New York (212) 326-7566
Samantha Henry, UNICEF Media, New York (212) 326-7259

For more on the Special Session on Children, please contact:
Patsy Robertson, UNICEF Media, New York (212) 326-7270

For interviews with Carol Bellamy or other UNICEF inquiries, please contact:
Liza Barrie, UNICEF Media Chief, New York (212) 326-7261

For the very latest on children’s issues world-wide,
place a bookmark at www.unicef.org.