Say Yes, Winter 2003: In This Issue

LEAVE NO CHILD OUT

UNICEF has published it’s annual ‘The State of The World’s Children’ report for 2003. The report argues strongly that giving children and adolescents constructive roles in society is essential for both their own development and for creating a cohesive, peaceful world.

The report also asserts that there is a serious down-side to leaving children out. It cautions that when children are excluded from the decision-making process and are provided few opportunities to engage constructively in matters that directly affect their lives as they mature, they fail to develop vital skills including the ability to express themselves, to negotiate differences, to make responsible life choices or to assume responsibility for self and others such as family and community.

The Turkish media and press launch in Ankara gave the stage to children who spoke about their experience of life so far, their views on participation in the decision making process and issues regarding the international representation of Turkish children.

Read For Every Child …

STARFISH

The numbers of children living and/or working on the streets continues to rise globally. Like land bound starfish, these children are vulnerable to the seemingly tidal forces of street life which can easily leave them stranded on the shores of life itself.

Together with the Social Services and Child Protection Agency (SHÇEK) and the State Institute of Statistics (SIS), UNICEF has been working hard to reach out to these children through the Protection for Children Living and/or Working on the Streets Programme. Social workers are offered training on how to interview children on the street, how to research their circumstances, how to involve them in decision-making and how to network with non-governmental organisations (NGOs) for support.

Diyarbakır in the Southeast is a pilot province for the project under UNICEF’s Country Programme of Cooperation (CPAP) for 2001-2005 The social work team at SHÇEK’s 75th Anniversary Child and Youth Centre there took part in UNICEF sponsored training seminars. By courtesy of the Centre’s dedicated team, we offer a glimpse of the trials, disappointments and joys of some of Diyarbakır’s ‘starfish’.

Read Diyarbakır Starfish.

SPEAKING OUT

Children from every corner of Turkey assembled in Ankara for the Third Children’s Forum, hosted by SHÇEK and UNICEF. The event took place between the 19th and 20th of November, marking the anniversaries of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in 1989 and the day when the United Nations General Assembly adopted the ‘Declaration of the Rights of the Child’ in 1959.

This year, the main topic for discussion was building A World Fit for Children -- the delegates response to the outcome document of the United Nations Special Session on Children (UNSSC) in May.

Supported by the attention of the media, the Government, UNICEF and other NGOs, Delegates spoke out, loud and clear about the issues they want to resolve in order to attain that goal. A contingent from Muradiye in the province of Van entertained everyone on the first night with a passionate drama on the theme of ‘Girls’ Education’.

Read Playing Their Part.

BE INFORMED

HIV/AIDS has always been a global issue. Since it first made headlines in 1980, the HIV retrovirus has ruined the lives of millions and clouded the perceptions of many millions more.

Although current figures for people living in Turkey with HIV/AIDS are low, the country remains vulnerable to the spread of the pandemic owing to three factors:

• Turkey is a very popular tourist destination;
• almost half of the population is under twenty-five;
• neighbouring countries such as Russia, the Ukraine, Moldova and Romania are high-prevalence areas.

A fourth factor can be added to the list, although it is not peculiar to Turkey: ignorance. The lack of sufficiently accurate information about HIV/AIDS is the greatest threat posed by the pandemic.

UNICEF and its partners in the United Nations Theme Group as well as the Government and concerned non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are seeking to inform people about the risk of infection, what we can do to protect ourselves and, above all, that it is ok to care for those among us who are living with the disease.

Read Understanding AIDS.

BRAND NEW BRAND

At UNICEF, we have always understood that ‘clean’ visual presentation is crucial to good communication and, as a global institution, we have been working to refine our branding for the new century.

Readers with a keen eye may have noticed that our classic logotype has been redrawn and that a lighter font is now used for the unicef acronym. In the coming months, UNICEF country offices the world over will present an even more cohesive identity not just visually but in every aspect of communication with our partners and the general public.

Watch out for Say Yes, Spring 2003.