Say Yes, Spring 2002: Supporting Events
On the morning of May, 6th, UNICEF Executive Director, Carol Bellamy answers questions from thirty youth journalists covering events at the United Nations Special Session on Children (UNSSC). Photograph by Donna Decesare © UNICEF 2002
There are many events planned to support the main event of the UNSSC.
World Leaders are invited to join A celebration of Leadership for Children which will feature a musical and spoken tribute to the leaders of the Global Movement for Children (GMFC), organisers of Say Yes for Children. An estimated fifty million signatures made during the course of the campaign will be presented during the event.
UNICEF and the Inter-parliamentary Union (IPU) will host the Parliamentary Forum which is designed to bring a parliamentary dimension to the UNSSC. In particular, the Parliamentary Forum aims to develop the political and legislative strategies necessary to implement commitments both old and new. The Parliamentary Forum will also provide parliamentarians from all over the world with an opportunity to exchange views and experiences in advance of the new global agenda for children.
United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan and UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy host a Public-Private Partnership Dialogue on behalf of the GMFC coalition. Photograph by Susan Markisz © UNICEF 2002
Following the highly successful Forum of First Spouses held at the Millennium Summit, Mrs Nane Annan will invite all first spouses to participate in an informal exchange of views. On this occasion, the topic for discussion will be Say Yes for Children and it is expected that first spouses will highlight personal experiences of working for children and cite national results. In the absence of some heads of state, it is expected that several first spouses will attend the UNSSC as part or even as head of their respective national delegations.
The Children’s Forum
An important supporting event will be the Children’s Forum which is scheduled to take place between the 5th and 7th of May. The Children’s Forum will feature activities such as role-play, drama, small group discussions and plenary sessions. Two children will attend on behalf of each government or non-governmental organisation (NGO) delegation.
With some reservation, fifteen-year-old Simge Haznedaroğlu, one of Turkey’s child delegates, says that as a nation, Turkey is concerned about its children:
I don’t think there is as much attention paid to children in Turkey as elsewhere in the World. I think that with Say Yes for Children this will start to change and that people will begin to realise that children are important and that we need more attention. My school took part in the pledge campaign and I got involved.
However, I can’t say that any one of the ten imperatives is more important than the others.
Read about Turkey’s phenomenal response to Say Yes for Children. The full text of We Are The Children of The World -- the outcome document of the Children’s Forum is reproduced in the July, 2002, issue of ‘Say Yes’.
Previous page
|
Next page