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| Press Releases
What Muhammad Ali and
Melanie Griffith
Have in Common
Joined by Many Others, They're
Saying "Yes" for Children
TV Spots Featuring Children's Rights and Celebrities
Galore Begin Airing Globally
NEW YORK, 26 July 2001 - Muhammad Ali, Michael Douglas, Antonio
Banderas and Melanie Griffith today joined a long list of prominent
individuals who have pledged themselves to support action for children
and called on world leaders to do the same.
The four signed a pledge called Say Yes for Children, part of a
global campaign led by a team of children's rights organizations.
The campaign has gathered more than 3.2 million pledges worldwide
since April, including those of scores of celebrities, heads
of state, and other leading citizens. The pledges will be presented
to national leaders gathering in New York in September for a global
summit on children - the first such summit in 11 years and one of
the largest meetings of heads of state ever. The message of the
pledge campaign is simple and direct: the citizens of the world
care about children and expect governments to keep thepromises they
make to them.
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"I know something
about fitness, and there is no greater cause than making the
world fit for children. We owe it to them," said
Mr. Ali, a UN Messenger of Peace. "I urge everyone,
everywhere to join me in saying Yes for Children."
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In addition to signing up to the Say Yes pledge,
Mr. Ali and Mr. Douglas have agreed to appear in television spots
that promote the campaign. Leaders including Nelson Mandela, UN
Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Bill Gates, South Korean President
Kim Dae-jung, and notables from Susan Sarandon to Sebastião
Salgado have already donated their time and talents to urge people
everywhere to sign up and get involved.
The series of celebrity TV spots - which feature notable figures
reciting the pledge, "I believe that all children should be
free to grow to adulthood in health, peace and dignity" - begins
airing globally this month.
"I know something about fitness, and there is no greater
cause than making the world fit for children. We owe it to them,"
said Mr. Ali, a UN Messenger of Peace. "I urge everyone,
everywhere to join me in saying Yes for Children."
The campaign asks people to agree with 10 fundamental principles
on improving and protecting the lives of children. From education
to HIV/AIDS, discrimination to armed conflict, Say Yes spotlights
the serious issues facing children. The Say Yes pledge form can
be found on the internet at www.gmfc.org and is also being distributed
on paper by UNICEF and partner organizations in some 100 countries.
Nickelodeon, the global children's channel, has produced a special
series of the promos for young viewers. "I know what it's like
to be included in stuff, to be part of the gang," says popular
Nicktoon TV character Arnold in one of the four spots. "I also
know what it's like to be left out. And being left out isn't fun.
No kid should be left out, no matter how different they are…no
matter what they look like. If you want to make sure all kids count,
join the kids of the world in the global vote and Say Yes for Children.
It's a chance to have your say."
In many countries, celebrities have joined government and community
leaders, artists, children's organisations and young people themselves
to help mobilise support for the campaign.
- In Sudan, leading actor and child advocate Ali Mahdi will lead
a 180-kilometre 'March for Children' on July 27-28. A procession
of artists, youth and women's groups will visit selected villages
and depressed communities, giving theatre presentations and gathering
pledges. The march is patterned after the long walk of displaced
children to cities in the north.
- Mongolia's favourite pop star, Ariunaa, performed a special
Say Yes song which hit the Mongolian pop charts and went to No.
1 overnight.
- In China, top portrait photographer Russel Wong - with four
recent Time magazine covers to his credit - has photographed an
array of popular singers, fashion models, Olympic gold medallists
and others in a striking Say Yes poster series.
- In Brazil, renowned photographer Sebastião Salgado,
writer Jorge Amado, and UNICEF Ambassadors Renata Aragão
and Daniela Mercury were among the first to sign pledges.
- A top female vocalist in Mozambique, Julia Mwithu, has been
singing her support for Say Yes in visits to schools and communities
around the country.
- In Liberia, soccer hero George Weah, a UNICEF Sports Ambassador,
is supporting Say Yes, which is being used to promote HIV/AIDS
awareness and education among under-18s.
- Local celebrities throughout India are supporting the campaign,
including TV star Shekhar Suman, who pledged his support for Say
Yes in Bihar, drawing media and public attention.
- In Croatia, Say Yes is supported by three well-known celebrities
- popular children's TV show host Sinisa Cmrk, pop singer and
children's TV host Ivana Plechinger, and Olympic swimmer and world
record holder Gordan Kozulj.
- The Say Yes for Children campaign is the first major initiative
of the Global Movement for Children, a broad-based coalition of
organizations and individuals dedicated to children's rights and
well-being. Founding organizations include UNICEF, Netaid.org
Foundation, PLAN International, Save the Children, World Vision
and the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee.
The movement aims to build a groundswell of support that will push
leaders to renew and honour their commitments to children at the
UN General Assembly's Special Session on Children, taking place
in New York, 19-21 September. The 10 principles of the Say Yes pledge
are part of the Special Session's draft outcome document - a critical
plan of action for children over the next decade.
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