Say Yes, Summer 2006: In This Issue

The Happiest Days of Our Lives

Previous generations commonly believed that the episodes or habits of violence that we encountered as children at school were ‘character building’ experiences and that, in spite of the undoubted physical and emotional damage suffered, schooldays would always be the ‘happiest days of our lives’. However, a generally more enlightened understanding of the psychological and sociological effects of violence in today’s world shows that between these contradictory concepts -- or very possibly because of them -- many of us continue to bear the emotional scars of turbulent schooldays throughout our adult lives.

As part of an ambitious programme of educational reforms to improve the learning environment in Turkey, the Ministry of National Education (MONE) convened the First Symposium on Violence in Schools at the end of March with the support of UNICEF. Under the theme of Taking Preventive Measures against Violence towards Children in and around the School Environment, the Symposium sought to address the issue with the participation of various national and international academics, governmental and non-governmental organisations, the media, parents and children.

Read Violence in Schools.

Violence Against Children

The findings of the First Violence and Schools Symposium have contributed to the United Nations Secretary General’s Global Study on Violence against Children which will be published during the next session of the United Nations General Assembly in October.

The Study -- jointly supported by the Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights (OHCHR), UNICEF and the World Health Organisation (WHO) -- is currently being finalised. It is expected that the report, which is also to be published in a child-friendly version, will lead to improved legislation, policies and programmes to protect children the world over.

Commissioned at the request of the Committee on the Rights of the Child in 2003, the preparation of the report has galvanised initiatives related to the issue of violence against children the world over -- including the First Violence in Schools Symposium in Turkey and the Council of Europe’s Programme to End Violence Against Children to name two recent examples.

The Study is being prepared under the direction of Independent Expert, Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro.

Read A Global Study for a Global Issue.

Working Together

The Government of Turkey and UNICEF have renewed their five-year agreement to cooperate on another programme of activities that aims to improve the well-being of children and women in Turkey. The Country Programme of Cooperation (CPAP) is the basis of UNICEF’s relationship with the government in any country where the organisation is active.

The basic aims of the new CPAP are to support the country’s priorities to:

• expand services to meet the needs of children in hard-to-reach areas;
• enhance child protection;
• equip adolescents with knowledge and skills;
• implement relevant policies and increase resources for children.

Prior to developing a new CPAP, a Common Country Assessment (CCA) is prepared by the government and the United Nations agencies active in that country. The CCA outlines national development priorities to which the UN is in a position to contribute.

Through the new CPAP, UNICEF will contribute to all three of the areas covered by the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF):

• strengthen individual and institutional capacity for democratic and environmental governance at local and central levels;
• advocate for social and economic policies for poverty and disparity reduction and the provision of quality basic social services for vulnerable groups;
• establish a more protective environment for women, children and adolescents.

The new CPAP will also help Turkey to meet the targets of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for universal education, empowerment of women, reduction in infant and under-five mortality rates, HIV/AIDS awareness and also support the goals of the Millennium Declaration to protect the vulnerable.

Read A Partnership for Children and Their Families.