Children and adolescents celebrated World Children’s Day and UNICEF’s 30th anniversary in Cuba by promoting inclusion and non-discrimination through sport and music

Havana, November 27.- As part of World Children’s Day, members of the children’s soccer club in the capital’s Regla municipality kicked off the 2022 FIFA World Cup with an inclusive soccer match.

The event took place in the pitch of the Artistic and Literary Lyceum of that municipality with the presence of national authorities, UNICEF Representative Alejandra Trossero and officials of the Italian Embassy in Cuba.

Under the slogan “When we defend children’s rights, we are one team”, the event was part of the celebrations for World Children’s Day, which aimed to promote inclusion and non-discrimination of children and adolescents, using soccer as a symbol of integration, union and equality.

As expressed by the UNICEF Representative in Cuba, Alejandra Trossero: “The celebration of World Children’s Day coincides this year with the start of the World Cup and what better way to celebrate it than linking both events. Soccer has the power to include, eliminate barriers of discrimination and serve as a platform for the promotion of the rights of children and adolescents.”

The event was preceded by a special morning session at the Cesáreo Fernández elementary school in Havana’s Playa municipality and a visit to two homes for children and adolescents in the capital’s La Lisa municipality.

This year’s celebrations for World Children’s Day also coincide with the 30th anniversary of the presence of the United Nations Children’s Fund in Cuba.

Although UNICEF has supported the country since the 1960s in projects to improve immunization, reduce infant mortality and other initiatives, it was not until November 27, 1992 that it officially inaugurated its offices on the island. During these thirty years, UNICEF has worked intensively in Cuba with collaborative projects in the areas of health, education, water, sanitation and hygiene and child protection.

In the face of emergencies and disasters, it has also provided support to the government to strengthen its capacity to assist children and adolescents and communities to prevent, reduce and manage disaster risk and increase their resilience, including measures to adapt to climate change and promote environmental sustainability, in order to guarantee their development in the face of the impact of the climate crisis.

That is why, after the devastating passage of Hurricane Ian through the western region and particularly through Pinar del Río, the UNICEF Cuba team traveled again to that province, visiting schools together with Goodwill Ambassador and singer-songwriter Liuba Maria Hevia, to celebrate the rights of children and contribute to offer psycho-emotional support to children and adolescents in the most affected areas of the province.

About her visit to three schools in the municipalities of Pinar del Río, San Luis and San Juan y Martínez, the singer-songwriter said, “It has been an unforgettable day and I am very happy to cheer up children in the province of Pinar del Río with my songs after the terrible passage of Hurricane Ian. Being a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador has allowed me to go even further in my work for children’s rights.”