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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: Wednesday 8 May 2002
| Video
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Abigail's
having the time of her life - but there's the occasional
meeting when its just hard to keep awake...
View the Video
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I woke up at 4:00 a.m. today, so I was ready early. By 6:00
a.m., I was already eating my breakfast - pizza and chicken,
left over from last night's dinner. Then we members of the
Philippines delegation decided to go on over to the UN. We
were approaching the building, when a policeman stopped us
and said we needed new ID cards for the Special Session itself.
So, basically, all the children from the Children's Forum
were not automatically allowed into the Special Session. How
ironic, huh? It's a Special Session for Children, but the
children are not allowed in!
We waited quite a while while the adults tried to figure
out what they could do about the problem. Then somebody came
out of the building and called to us that we could now come
in. It still wasn't that easy. We had to get new IDs at the
front of the building, which meant lining up and having to
squeeze past big people.
The first activity was the opening programme at the General
Assembly Hall. It was really boring. We only got our personal
earphones in the middle, so I wasn't able to understand the
first speeches. Good thing I was with another child, who was
able to explain things. He might have had better hearing than
me.
After lunch, I went to the session on children's participation.
That session was far more dynamic than the one this morning.
I raised my hand, but there was not enough time for everyone
to talk. It was fine, though, because at least everybody had
a chance to raise his or her hand, and many people had their
voices heard. Afterwards, I had an hour of free time. When
I saw some computers at the media centre, I asked if I could
use one. I stayed there for quite awhile, and had a chance
to read my e-mail and send some to my friends and relatives.
After that, I went to Conference Room 4 to hear the report
on the Children's Forum. It was a wonderful chance to give
some excellent feedback to the adults.
In the evening, I tried to find my companions from the Philippines,
but I couldn't see them. It was already 7:30, and they had
still not fetched me. I was starting to feel hungry. So when
Mrs. Nini from the Philippines Mission spotted me, she asked
me out for dinner. We went to an Indonesian restaurant because
I said I wanted rice. On the way there, she bought me a denim
jacket, because it was especially cold. We had delicious food.
We took a cab from the restaurant back to the hotel at 9:15
p.m., and I was able to go to bed by 10:00.
What another day of God's grace and goodness. Praise God!
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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