UNICEF: Kids take over news and sports in Bangladesh on World Children’s Day

Dhaka, 20 November 2022 – Today on World Children’s Day, children will be taking over the ATN Bangla news studio to co-host the 7 pm evening news. Eleven-year-old Anisha Amin will present the news while nine-year-old Rowshan Amin Ruhy will operate a studio camera.

This “kids takeover” marks the annual celebration of the 1989 adoption of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Ratified by Bangladesh in 1990, the treaty contains a profound idea: that children are not just objects who belong to their parents and for whom decisions are made, or adults in training. Rather, they are individuals with their own rights.

The Convention says that childhood is separate from adulthood, and that it lasts until the child turns 18. It is a special and protected time in which children must be allowed to grow, learn, play, develop and flourish with dignity. The Convention is the most widely ratified human rights treaty in history, and it remains a pillar for transforming children’s lives.

Across the world today, UNICEF partners with children who take over key positions in media and politics as a voice for children who are unschooled, unprotected and uprooted.

“I have always been on the other side watching the news but today the whole country will listen to me. I want all children to be heard, not just on World Children’s Day but every day,” said eleven-year-old Anisha Amin.

The themes of this year’s World Children’s Day are inclusion and anti-discrimination. In this spirit, UNICEF brought together Rohingya refugee girls and Bangladeshi girls in friendly football matches in Cox’s Bazar. The moment of fun was part of UNICEF’s work to inspire friendships between children who share the experience the Rohingya refugee crisis from different perspectives.

The theme of inclusion and the power of sports is at the heart of this unmissable World Children's Day video with UNICEF Goodwill Ambassadors David Beckham, Sergio Ramos, Robert Lewandowski and the Bangladesh national U-15 girls’ football team. Trending on social media in Bangladesh, the video has already been seen over 10 million times.

Compelling videos were also launched by UNICEF Youth Advocates Farzana Faruk Jhumu and Raba Khan addressing climate change and mental health.

Joining the global #IFeltIncluded campaign, Bangladeshi children sent their messages to the world that every child has the right to be protected from all forms of discrimination, while child journalists wrote stories about children who are challenging stereotypes in their communities.

“Children can and should be powerful change-makers in their families, schools and communities. It is their voices, choices and opportunities that we must invest in,” said Mr. Sheldon Yett, UNICEF Representative to Bangladesh.

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