Child rights: India
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"100 million for 100 million" campaign: 2016
The Hindu, December 12, 2016
The “100 million for 100 million” campaign was flagged off by the President
The “100 million for 100 million” campaign, a global initiative that seeks to support 100 million youth to be the voice of the 100 million children and youth across the world who have been denied basic rights and freedom, was flagged off by President Pranab Mukherjee on Sunday.
The event at Rashtrapati Bhavan, which saw participation by over 5,000 students from Delhi schools, was part of the two-day “Laureates and Leaders for Children Summit” organised by the Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation.
The President said he was delighted to launch the campaign as there were still over a 100 million children who were “out of school” despite the progress the world had made.
“They are being denied their childhood and are facing exploitation in various ways. The world must realise without further delay that there can be no progress unless our children are safe, secure and unless they are provided the freedom and opportunity to become agents of change for the larger good of humanity,” Mr. Mukherjee said.
Speaking about the global effort, he said it was only appropriate that the campaign begins in India, which has one of the largest youth populations in the world.
The President also expressed hope that the five-year campaign will have a path-breaking impact on the lives of children across the globe and help end child labour, child slavery, violence against children and promote the right of every child to be safe and educated.
Need for Change
Introducing the campaign, Nobel Peace laureate Kailash Satyarthi said: “Starting today [Sunday], let us build the legacy we want to leave behind. I see a world where every child is free, safe and educated... Where justice guides the rule of law, where governments and inter-governmental agencies create holistic policies for the well-being of children. I see a world where science and technology play a pivotal role in creating systems that deter crime — where via economic arguments we make children the beneficiaries of growth and not slaves of it. I see a world where young people drive change.”
The campaign launch culminated the two-day summit that brought together around 25 laureates and leaders, youth and more than 150 eminent personalities from diverse walks of life.
The campaign seeks to build partnerships between universities, students’ organisations and teachers’ associations to promote values of global citizenship amongst the youth. The aim is to primarily use social media for sensitising people and building awareness about children’s causes.
Some of the Nobel laureates who participated and adopted a “will for children” included the Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama, former President of Timor-Leste José Ramos-Horta, Liberian peace activist Leymah Gbowee and Yemeni journalist and human rights activist Tawakkol Karman.
The Nobel Prize-winning organisations included the International Labour Organization, represented by Gilbert Houngbo; the International Committee of the Red Cross, represented by Helen Durham; Médecins Sans Frontières, represented by Unni Krishnan Karunakara and Grameen Bank, represented by Ratan Kumar Nag.
“Abolish modern day slavery”
The will that was adopted read: “Two hundred years ago, reformers came together to abolish the slavery trade. Yet, we have come once again to abolish modern day slavery, and make a compassionate and child-friendly world, where every child is free, safe, healthy, educated and empowered.
