UNICEF Celebrates 35th Anniversary of Convention on the Rights of Children

Earlier this week, people worldwide celebrated World Children’s Day, a special occasion dedicated to giving kids a platform to voice their opinions on issues that matter to them. But the festivities don’t stop there! Throughout this month, UNICEF is hosting various programs and events where children can come together, express themselves, and share their views. This year is extra special as it marks the thirty-fifth anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. We caught up with Stephanie Daniels from UNICEF to get the scoop on how Belize is joining in the celebrations this year.

 

Stephanie Daniels, UNICEF

“So this year marks the thirty-fifth anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and so UNICEF Belize and our partners have kind of scheduled a year worth of activities to mark this milestone. And some of them have already passed, so you’re looking at consultations that have happened in the past, like the General 27 consultations on access to justice and effective remedies. We also recently, just last week, did the International Day of the Girl Adolescent Town Hall, which looked at allowing girls the space to ask for the things they need to feel empowered and to have the future they want for themselves. Also on the pipeline tomorrow actually is the VNR national consultations where we’re looking at young people’s participation in the SDGs. And then we’re also looking at a geo education for a forum expo that is coming up on the 27th that looks at children engagement in geo technology. And so today we launched our art ambassador, Mr. Keon Griffiths, and he was able to showcase his piece today. So there’s just been a host of activities. Because children’s rights and advocating for them can’t be just one day. This is a continuous thing that we have to do. Every year we acknowledge where we have grown and what we have accomplished, but then we’re also visioning and looking towards what are the other things we need to change.”