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page is background information, last updated in May
2002 and still available for reference. For the latest on
the Special Session on Children, please go to the Special
Session index.
Abigail's Diary: Monday 6 May 2002
Monday was the most exhausting day I have had here so far.
We worked for almost 12 hours!
My body was not prepared for that much work, since I only
slept for five hours the night before. I went to bed at 8
p.m., but I woke up again at 1 a.m., and wasn't able to sleep
until well after that. At 6 a.m. I got up and took a bath.
Then I got breakfast, a bagel with cream cheese, which was
not good. Then we went to the UN building with other kids
for the free ride to the Manhattan Center, where we were to
spend the rest of the day.
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Having a snack with some friends at
the UN.
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The first thing we did was a recap of previous sessions,
and then we held a selection of people to represent our region.
There were four positions: to be in charge of Media, the Closing
Ceremony or Evaluation, or to be the Rapporteur. I was elected
as the evaluator.
After that, we were able to think about what topic we wanted
to choose for the thematic groups. I decided to choose poverty,
since I represent the National Anti-Poverty Commission.
It was one tough morning for all of us. The discussion was
so intense. We evaluators were gathered together, and we formulated
some guide questions we need for the evaluation. We had a
working lunch at about 1:30 p.m., but I was not able to eat
well (though the food tasted nicer than before) because I
was so busy. There was some entertainment during the lunch,
a performance by girls from a school here in New York.
In the afternoon, we finalized our list of issues arising
from poverty and recommendations on what children could do
against poverty. While we were preparing our outcome document,
one guy on our team just kept doing his own stuff. He annoyed
me so much that I was quite irritable for a moment. He wasn't
taking in our ideas; he just wanted to do what he thought
was right. I thought, oh, forget him! Anyway, in the end we
had the best presentation.
After that, all the evaluators were asked to meet again.
We worked until 6:30 p.m., so we missed dinner, and I was
quite late for the evening social event. But it was okay when
I got there. It was still PARTY TIME! It was nice seeing people
from different ethnic backgrounds dancing together, doing
it their own way. I was with some friends from South-East
Asia. One boy, Jose, was a really good dancer, and I was proud
that he was from South-East Asia.
The party ended at 9 p.m. We got home at 9:30, but we didn't
get to bed until 11 because we still had to have dinner. We
were sooooo …TIRED.
UNICEF supports the right of every child to be heard,
and therefore provides this opportunity for children to voice
their views and impressions of the United Nations Special
Session on Children. The report above reflects the opinions
of an individual child delegate to the Special Session and
does not represent the policies or positions of UNICEF.
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