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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.
* * *
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
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