Say Yes, Spring 2002: Editorial
Edmond McLoughney
UNICEF Representative, Turkey
Photograph Rana Mullan
© UNICEF Turkey 2004
When one in four people make a pledge affirming support for children, they are sending a powerful message. The message is that leaders at all levels: politicians, government officials, parents, communities and society as a whole, must do more for children’s rights. That can be the only interpretation of the amazing sixteen million plus pledges made in response to Say Yes for Children in Turkey.
Say Yes for Children was first launched about a year ago with the aim of gathering 50 million pledges world-wide to give ordinary people a voice at the United Nations Special Session on Children (UNSSC) and to underpin calls for a better world for children. Many countries registered high numbers of pledges but none can touch the response here in Turkey.
The result of the Say Yes for Children in Turkey is a tribute to the outstanding mobilisation capacity of the main organisers, especially the Ministry of National Education (MONE) and the Ministries of Health, the Interior, the Social Services and Child Protection Agency (SHÇEK) and also non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and service organisations such as the Lions and Rotary.
However, no matter how good the organisational effort, campaigns are rarely if ever successful unless they strike a chord with people. In Turkey, the campaign struck a resounding note as over 16 million people, the majority of them schoolchildren, took the opportunity to raise their voices for:
- an end to all forms of discrimination;
- to demand that every child is educated;
- to end violence, abuse and exploitation of children;
- to demand more investment in services which benefit the poorest children and their families -- such as basic healthcare and primary education.
These were the four main areas of action called for by 16 million people in Turkey. The question now is whether or not leaders will listen and take action? In this issue, Minister Hasan Gemici, the person responsible in Government for children and families, gives real hope that meaningful action will follow. The fact that the majority of the cabinet and members of parliament have themselves signed the Say Yes for Children pledge also gives hope and raises expectations for the future.
But it is not just the government that must take action. Leaders at all levels of society, parents and people in positions of responsibility in villages, neighbourhoods and cities, must heed this call for action and start working immediately on making this A World Fit for Children.
Edmond McLoughney
UNICEF Representative, Turkey
PS: We’d very much like to hear readers reactions to this issue, so please feel free to contact us with your comments and suggestions.
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