A UNICEF PUBLICATION IN PARTNERSHIP WITH FLEURUS PRESSE AND THE FRENCH J.KORCZAK ASSOCIATION

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Janusz Korczak’s List and Poem

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What is the Conventionon the Rights of the Child (CRC)?

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Child Participation: the Junior 8 Summit and the Children’s Climate Forum

Ambassadors for Peace

UNICEF Cards&Gifts

THIS PUBLICATION WAS PRODUCED BY THE UNICEF CHILD RIGHTS ADVOCACY AND EDUCATION SECTION (CRAE), PRIVATE FUNDRAISING AND PARTNERSHIPS (PFP), GENEVA. IT IS AN ADAPTATION OF THE FRENCH PUBLICATION "JE LIS DES HISTOIRES VRAIES", ISSUE NR.188, PRODUCED BY FLEURUS PRESSE IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE FRENCH JANUSZ KORCZAK ASSOCIATION (AFJK) AND UNICEF, CRAE. UNICEF THANKS M. BERNARD LATHUILLÈRE, PRESIDENT OF THE FRENCH KORCZAK ASSO-CIATION, FOR HIS CONTRIBUTION TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE PUBLICATION AND FOR MAKING AVAILABLE TWO PHOTOGRAPHS FREE OF CHARGE FROM THE KORCZAK ARCHIVES. THESE PHOTOS CAN ONLY BE USED FOR EDUCATIONAL, NON-COMMERCIAL ACTIVITIES. FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE VISIT HTTP://KORCZAK.FR. UNICEF THANKS MS SOLÈNE SETTON AND THE EDITORIAL TEAM OF FLEURUS PRESSE (HTTP://WWW.FLEURUSPRESSE.COM) FOR THE PERMISSION TO ADAPT THE ORIGINAL PUBLI-CATION FOR THE PURPOSES OF UNICEF EDUCATION FOR DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES AT INTERNATIONAL LEVEL. SPECIAL THANKS FOR THEIR COLLABORATION GO TO JAMES ELRINGTON, GIAMMI IAMPIETRO AND VALÉRIE MÉTRAILLER, UNICEF GRAPHIC DESIGN, DONALD DOCHARD, STUDIO COORDINATOR, OSHI SAM-THAMBIAH, PUB-LICITY AND PROMOTIONS OFFICER, FRANCESCA LANGE, CONSULTANT AND JEREMY HARTLEY, PFP CHIEF OF COMMUNICATION. UNICEF ALSO THANKS THE SWISS KORCZAK ASSOCIATION (HTTP://KORCZAK.CH) FOR THEIR ENCOURAGEMENTS TO FAMILIARIZE CHILDREN WITH KORCZAK’S LEGACY. COORDINATION AND SUPERVISION: FREDERIKE SEIDEL, UNICEF PROGRAMME MANAGER, CHILD RIGHTS EDUCATION.

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The big story:

A story by Sophie Chérer, illustrated by Alain Korkos

Janusz Korczak

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A story by Sophie Chérer, illustrated by Alain Korkos

In Poland, at the beginning of the twentieth century, a man called Janusz Korczak claimed that children have rights in the same way that adults do. In 1912, he

opened an orphanage that used different teaching methods. Young Olek was getting ready to enter the orphanage. Little did he know that this place was going to change his life forever…

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THE CHARACTERS

Janusz Korczak** pronounced Yanouch Kortchak

Olek

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1A funny barber • 1878 : Henryk Goldszmit is born in Warsaw (Poland).

• 1898 : He begins to study medicine.

• 1901!: Under the name of Janusz Korczak he publishes his "rst book dedicated to street children.

• 1912!: He sets up and runs his "rst orphanage for Jewish children in Warsaw: the Orphans’ Home.

• 1919!: A second orphanage is opened that takes in Catholic children.

• 1926!: Distribution throughout Poland of the Little Review, written by children and teenagers.

• 1928!: Publication of a brochure entitled The child’s right to respect, the text upon which the rights of the child are based.

• 1940!: Korczak and the children from the Orphans’ Home are forced to go and live in the Warsaw ghetto.

• 1942!: Korczak and the children are deported to the camp at Treblinka, where they are murdered by the Nazis.

• 1989!: The United Nations (UN) adopts the International Convention on the Rights of the Child.

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– You have to go there, my mother repeated, dragging me by the hand through the streets of Warsaw1. I haven’t been able to do a thing with you since your father died. You’re always in trouble. God only knows how you’ll end up. I resisted with all my might. My friends had told me: "It’s a prison, that place, the orphanage2. As soon as you see the bars, run away!"I could see the bars. An iron gate, 92, Krochmalna Street. My mother gripped me more tightly. An enormous woman dressed in black came and opened the gate for us. Her warts and huge flat face made her look like a currant bun.– I am Madame Stefa. What’s his name? – Olek3, my mother replied.I suddenly broke free and tried to escape. My cap fell off. The giantess was surprised:– He still has his hair? You haven’t shaved his head? My friends had told me: in prison, they shave all your hair off. The giantess blocked my way. But suddenly, an old sort of goblin slipped past behind her.

TIMELINE

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– I am Doctor Korczak. Pleased to meet you! I have heard a lot about you. He spoke softly. He had laughing eyes and a pointed goatee and he was wearing a long green overall. He didn’t look at all like a doctor or a prison governor.He said goodbye to my mother and dragged me off. – It’s up to you what you do with your hair but you should know that if you keep it the others will call you Olek the hairy! Look at me! Don’t you think I look good without hair? He laughed and stroked his smooth head. It’s to avoid lice and typhus4 that we decided to do this. His warm voice lulled me and convinced me. – OK, I said. Take me to the barber’s. – You don’t need to go very far, he said, taking some hair clippers from his pocket. Olek, Ooo-lek, he sang to himself

while running the thing over my head. I’m writing your name: O (I can feel him drawing a circle with the clippers), L.E.K. It’s a magnificent name, you know! Olek is also Alexander. Alexander the Great! A hero, a really great king! People had always treated me like a hooligan, like a good-for-nothing, and here he was talking to me about kings and heroes. – Actually, if you want to,you can draw my name on my head, too. From his other pocket, he took some coloured inks, a little paintbrush and a red sweet.

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2The children’s

republic

– That’s to give you strength. Go on. I write a letter, you write a letter, OK? He tickled me. I tickled him. We laughed. We went around the orphanage. It was the nicest place I’d ever seen. We had heating, electricity, nice bathrooms with hot water… And that evening, a Friday, we got out the candlesticks and set the tables to celebrate Shabbat5.– As far as I’m concerned, the doctor said, no one has to practise a religion, neither here nor in my other orphanage, which is for Catholic children. But those who want to must be able to do so. Once my friends knew all this, they’d all want to come!

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This doctor was not only funny, he was also very well-organised and had great ambitions for the children. Our lovely white house with four floors was not just an orphan- age that he had founded with his assistant, Madame Stefa (she was the woman who had frightened me so much at the beginning but who turned out to have a heart of gold). It was something I had never seen before, a Utopia6: a true children’s republic.We had homework, like everywhere else: we had to learn our lessons at school, keep ourselves clean, respect each other… Fine, the usual stuff. But here, we had rights too and that was revolutionary. Now, I had a bad habit: I was always fighting. Well, Korczak didn’t say: "Stop that immediately!" He knew full well that that was too difficult. On Friday afternoons, he would organise a big game where we could all make bets about our faults: – I’m going to fight only once this week. – No, Olek. I can’t accept that, you would definitely lose. Let’s say four times.

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– Twice!– That would be unfair of me. Let’s say three times. Take this chocolate and if you win your bet, you’ll win three more next Friday. Everything was like that. We gave our opinion. We voted. Yes, we voted on all sorts of subjects: how our daily life was organised, how popular new arrivals were – children and teachers alike. The ones who were liked the most enjoyed extra privileges: they went to the cinema more often, they chose their own chores, they were members of our Parliament7.We lived in a democracy8. Nothing that concerned us was decided without us. And even if we made a mistake, we sorted it out amongst ourselves. Our Children’s Court was there for that. There was a ball lying around in the playground. I saw it, I took it, I gave it a big kick and… oops! It went too high, too hard and broke a window in the silver factory next door. The boss was a grumpy man who never gave anything back. Jacob, the boy whose ball I had taken, complained to the court. – I only wanted to have fun, I didn’t know. I’m sorry.

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At night, when I was awake, I watched Korczak do his rounds. He came out of his glass box, which was between the girls’ dormitory and ours. He stopped next to each child, tucked in a blanket or stroked a feverish forehead… Where any other adult would lose their temper, he always found something funny to say or do. When one of us didn’t eat enough and became weak, he pretended to be the food: – Eat me, for pity’s sake! I am so sad on this plate! I would like to go on holiday in your stomach! When someone else couldn’t get to sleep, he would tell him ten stories. Yes, TEN. One for each finger. And at the end of each one, he would blow his fingers as if they were candles he was blowing out. And it worked. – I am writing a very big book on children’s sleep, he explained to me one evening as he sat on the edge of my bed. It is the most exciting thing in the world. Listen! The sound of breathing and whispering…

3A child’s

heart

After a discussion where everybody involved had their say, the verdict was given: – In accordance with article 52, the court forgives Olek, who acted foolishly but could not have foreseen the consequences of what he did.Phew! What a relief… It must be said that the first ninety-nine articles of our code, in other words the overwhelming majority, were articles of forgiveness and acquittal. As a result, I immediately wanted to do something good and I went and found Jacob: – I will work to buy you a new ball.

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It’s like a symphony. And you, why aren’t you asleep? – I’m scared.– Of what, Olek? He took my hand.– I don’t know. Nothing. I am scared of my father’s ghost. – My God, he says, it’s true. Your heart is beating very fast! It’s pounding! Listen, I have an idea. Do you want to come with me tomorrow morning? I have to give a course of lessons on teaching skills to students. I would have followed him to the end of the Earth and he knew it. And the following morning, I was proud to walk through the streets of Warsaw with him. The first lesson took place in the radioscopy9 room in the children’s hospital.I clung on to his hand. It was strange. He had left with no books and no papers. Dozens of young people looked at me as if I were a strange animal. Without saying a word, Korczak

unbuttoned my shirt, made me go behind a fluorescent screen and then turned out the light. I was trembling, I was scared (and freezing) to death! Silence. Then:– You have just seen a child’s heart, Korczak said as he switched the light on again. You, who are going to become teachers, remember before raising your hand to a child, before delivering any kind of punishment, remember what the heart of a frightened child looks like. Adults will never be fully aware of a child’s suffering. Then he put my clothes back on, took my hand again and, before leaving, he said:– The lesson is over. Goodbye!

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On Saturdays we were allowed to visit our families. I took a wild goldfinch10 that I had managed to tame to show my mother. But at the first tram stop, a policeman who knew me from the time when I was a hooligan saw me with the cage, made me get off and dragged me to the police station without listening to me: – You stole it and, what is more, you are not allowed to keep a bird in a cage! Go on, fly away! And you, you hooligan, get out of my sight! I was rooted to the spot. So he took me back to the orphanage. Korczak rushed over the moment he saw us.The policeman explained everything. – It is against the law to keep wild birds in a cage. – What law? Korczak asked, more sad than angry. The one made by adults? But there are other laws and other courts for children. I wanted to teach Olek to give the bird back its freedom himself. You’ve ruined everything. The shamefaced policeman walked off, muttering his

4The goldfinch

and the canary

apologies. Half an hour later, he returned with another goldfinch in a paper bag! We put it in the cage. – You think it’s singing, Korczak said to me. Wrong: it’s crying. Its only pleasure was its freedom, and we’ve taken that away from it. – But, Doctor, you told me that when you were young, you had a bird in a cage too. – Yes, but a tame canary, not a wild bird. It was that canary which taught me that I was Jewish. When

it died, I was very upset and wanted to bury it

and put a cross on its grave. But the caretaker’s son told me: "You can’t put up a cross.

Your canary is Jewish, like you, and Jews aren’t allowed to have crosses.

They go to hell."

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They were the first anti-Semitic11 sentences that I had heard… Sadly, not the last. Tell me, wouldn’t you like to open this cage yourself? – Yes! And I would like to earn enough money to buy other birds so that I can set them free too. – Good idea. You could write articles for the "Little Review"12.This adventure with the policeman is worth describing. I must tell you something. We had a parliament, a court and laws but also something that is a condition of any democracy: an independent newspaper written entirely by children for children and distributed throughout Poland as a supplement to the Friday newspaper "Our Review"12. And I was going to write for it!

It was summer and we were leaving for our summer camp, The Little Rose, in the countryside south of Warsaw. At the camp there was a farm and fifteen acres of fields and woods. It was sheer bliss. We went out at night to watch the fireflies and owls; we picked wild strawberries, blueberries and flowers. In the evenings, we sat round the fire and Korczak told us the story of Puss in Boots, his favourite fairytale, or King Matthew I, the story of a child who became king and wanted to change the world. Korczak wrote that one himself. We made the king’s flag just as he had described it: green with a fine four-leafed clover, and we took it on all our walks. But, one day, this harmony was shattered. Something wasn’t right, we were in a bad mood. Right in the middle of picking apples, we decided to go on strike. – We’re tired of working!– This gravel path is hurting our feet! – We want to run barefoot!

5Strike at

summer camp

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– All right, Korczak said in reply to our proposal to replace the path with trodden earth. We set to work. Spades, shovels, wheelbarrows! Our tiredness vanished and our bad mood evaporated. When you choose your work yourself, everything feels better immediately. After a week, our path was superb, soft on the feet and even. But then catastrophe struck. That night, a downpour fell on the camp. The next morning, all our hard work was a

muddy puddle. – Everything exists for a

reason, even though this reason is sometimes hidden, the doctor said consolingly. If you want to put the gravel back again, I will give you a

hand! While digging, I noticed some fine white

gravel. Korczak used to collect our milk teeth. He would buy them from us so that he could build a magnificent tooth castle in a secret room in the attic. I decided to try my luck. It had been a long time since I had lost a tooth. – Hmm, splendid, he murmured. Not a single cavity, congra-tulations! Show me the lovely hole it has left in your mouth. I burst out laughing. He was generous but not stupid. Pretending to be angry, he rolled his eyes, roared and dipped into what he called his "bag of reprimands" for a few well-chosen insults: – Stupid wheelbarrow full of gravel! You false tooth made of Plasticine, you useless double tooth, you’re lying through your pebbly teeth!

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6Thirteen years later:

winter 1939In Europe and the United States, carefree years gave way to a severe economic crisis. Worried and bankrupt, the Germans elected Adolf Hitler, the head of the Nazi party, as their leader. Convinced that there were "inferior races" that had to be destroyed, he would undertake the largest systematic massacre in history13.On 1 September 1939, he invaded Poland, pushing the whole world into war. In just one month, the country was on its knees. There was no more gas, no more electricity and no more bread. There were incendiary bombs and rubble everywhere. Millions of refugees were fleeing for their lives. Even more serious, how-ever: it was no longer our home. As if this nightmare were not enough, it was -30 °C that winter. I had left the orphanage and hadn’t seen Korczak for a long time but I had heard him the previous evening on the radio. Five years ago, it had been his radio programme that had turned the whole country upside down. For everybody, he had

become "the old doctor". Yesterday evening, he had started again. He was addressing the young: "Don’t stay at home all huddled together crying. Go out into the streets and make yourselves useful!" To the children, he said: "Go out and play by all means, but respect the suffering of those who have just lost a child who went to defend their country. It is hard for them to hear you laugh and sing".As ever, he was trying to convince human beings to understand and love each other, even in hell. His warm voice made me want to see him again. I pushed the gate on Krochmalna Street. The huge building had not changed. It was just dirty. And all the windows were broken because of the bombs. Korczak didn’t look well. His back was stooped and his eyes were red. As a sign of his resistance to the Nazi occupation, he was wear- ing his Polish doctor’s uniform. Poland no longer existed.

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– Doctor, do you remember me?– Jacob? No. Um… Igor? Hmm, no, it’s not that either. Well, whoever you are, please excuse me, I’m getting old! Come in, my boy, what has become of you? – I’m Olek and I’m a glazier. And since I broke a few windows around here fifteen years ago, I have come to see if I could put that right… "The court forgives the accused because he has promised to right his wrongs." Korczak burst out laughing.– Olek! You haven’t forgotten a thing! A glazier… Like my great-grandfather. What a fine job it is that allows you to spread warmth and light! Come, we’ll go round the house together. You’ll see, it’s not warm, it must be Providence that has sent you. – You know, Doctor, I’m going to leave Warsaw soon. For Palestine!14

– That’s the best thing you can do, but do it quickly. I believe that soon life will no longer be possible at all for Jews in Poland. You know, I had the opportunity to stay on a kibbutz15 once. I admire their educational system. You share everything; the whole community takes care of the children. I would like to go like you, learn Hebrew, write and leave behind the horror that awaits us here. But the children need me. I don’t want to abandon them, whatever happens…

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In 1941, I had more news of Korczak through friends on the kibbutz to whom he had managed to send a letter in secret. He was looking everywhere for help for the orphanage which, following the Nazis’ anti-Jewish laws, had had to move into the Warsaw ghetto. This was a closed district just for Jews. He talked about terrible scenes. When a wheat seller had said to him: "I’m not allowed to sell to Jews now, it’s forbidden!" he had replied: "Give it to us as a present then!" Nothing ever made him lose his sense of humour. I gave what I could: a parcel of dried fruit and warm clothes. I don’t know if it ever got to him. What happened next, I found out after the war. On 6 August 1942, Korczak, Madame Stefa, the 192 children and eight adult employees of the orphanage were arrested by the Nazis. They had to walk three kilometres to the railway station with policemen, their whips, their guns and their dogs16. In this orderly procession, four by four, one little boy carried the green flag of King Matthew I. When they arrived near the railway siding, it was swarming with

7The last step

people. People were shouting, pushing and shoving, and trampling on each other. They waited, and then it was their turn to get into the death trucks. Apparently, at the last minute, a German SS officer17 gave Korczak a permit to go home without the children. He read it. Then he took one child in his arms and another by the hand, he smiled at them and they all got into the truck. A witness later wrote: "I will never forget that scene for as long as I live. It was not a step towards the trucks but, rather, a silent protest against that murderous regime…It was the sort of procession that no man ever sees in his lifetime." That very evening, they arrived at Treblinka, the death camp 150 kilometres away. Within two hours, the Nazis had gassed them, burnt them and reduced them to ashes.

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I am old now. I take my head in my hands and think again of my first day with him. I trace the letters of his name on my head, which is now as bald as his was then, and I say to those SS officers beyond space and time: Janusz Korczak. It was the name of our king. It is the name of a great man, the name of the first great defender of children’s rights.

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"The child has a right to love, respect, education and the best conditions for his growth and development. The child has the right to be himself and to live in the present: children are not people of tomorrow, they are people of today. The child has the right to desire, to demand, to ask and to be taken seriously. The child has the right to be wrong. The child has the right to have secrets. The child has the right to have his

property and his budget respected. The child has the right to resist educational influences that conflict with his beliefs. The child has the right to protest against injustice. The child has the right to a children’s court where he can judge and be judged by his peers and he has the right to be defended in a justice system that specialises in children. The child has the right to have his sadness respected. […]."

Janusz Korczak’s list

You say: Dealings with children are tiring. You’re right. You say:Because you have to lower yourself to their intellect. Lower, stoop, bend, crouch down.You are mistaken. It isn’t that which is so tiring. But because we have to reach up to their feelings. Reach up, stretch, stand on our tip-toes.So as not to offend.

Janusz Korczak, When I am little again.

Poem

Janusz Korczak had started to draw up a list of the rights of the child. Here is an extract from it:

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!"#$%$&'()*+"He is known all over the world today as a man who deserves our admiration and the same respect that he gave children. According to their tradition, Israelis consider him to be one of the Just whose pure heart can save the world.

!"&*,%-$+At the age of 33, he created an orphanage and then another a few years

later. He wanted justice to reign there and for the children to become

true citizens. They set up a parliament and a children’s court and founded

a newspaper. By working together, they learned to respect each other

and developed a sense of responsibility. In Korczak’s eyes, there was no

such thing as a stupid job: he valued even the most humble of work and

was quite happy to do the cleaning himself. Although he was very

indulgent with the children, he was also very strict towards adults who

did not show them any respect.

Always ready to listen to young children, this Polish doctor inspired the text on which the rights of the child are based.

!"./0/*%'+1A doctor, author and teacher, Janusz Korczak was

born in Warsaw (Poland) in 1878 into a Jewish family. At the

age of only 5, he wanted to rebuild the world to ensure that there

were no longer children who were poor and abandoned, and others

who were favoured like himself.

Janusz Korczak in 1934 surrounded by children in the large

playground at the Orphans’ Home

(Warsaw).

Janusz Korczak in 1923 in his second orphanage in Warsaw.

"TO LEARN MORE ABOUT JANUSZ KORCZAK: THERE ARE AROUND TWENTY JANUSZ KORCZAK

NATIONAL ASSOCIATIONS AND ONE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION WHOSE HEADQUARTERS IS IN

WARSAW. THEIR AIM IS TO TRANSMIT THE LEGACY OF DR. KORCZAK AND TO CONTINUE ITS

ACTION FOR A BETTER RESPECT OF THE CHILD. SEE HTTP://KORCZAK.INFO/DOC"

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2002

1990

1979

1924

1789

1948

1946

1959

TIMELINE

1989

Since Janusz Korczak’s fight to defend children, there have been advances but there is still a long way to go…

What is the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)?• A convention is an agreement between countries to obey the same law. When the government of a country ratifies a convention, that means it agrees to obey the law writ-ten down in that convention.

• The Convention on the Rights of the Child was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 20 November 1989, after 10 years of discussions. The Convention lists the rights that people under the age of 18 have. When you have rights it means that you are allowed to do or to have something.

• Of course there are situations in which rights are not respected and this is why organisations like UNICEF have a lot to do.

• Leaders of almost every country in the world have agreed to these rights and to work for their realisation. They also work to help those children whose rights are not respected.

• The 54 articles of the Convention and the two Optional Protocols20 spell out the basic rights of all children under 18 years old everywhere. All the rights are connected to each other, and all are equally important. These rights include, among others, the right to life, the right to survival, the right to have access to services such as education and healthcare; the right to develop your personality, abilities and talents to your fullest capacity; the right to pro-tection against discrimination of all kinds; the right to grow up and live in an environment of happiness, love and understanding; the right to have a say, and the right to participate fully in family, cultural and social life. •As you grow up, you have more responsibility to make choices and exercise your rights. The Convention also refers to your responsibilities and in particular: you have the responsibility to respect the rights of others, especially of your parents; to make sure that you do not bully or harm each other; to do what you can to look after the environment; to learn as much as your capabilities allow and, where possible, to share your knowledge and experience with others; to help others in difficulty; and you have the responsibility to respect the ideas, thoughts or religious principles of others.

On 20 November 2009 the Convention on the Rights of the Child turned 20 years old! To know everything about the CRC go to www.unicef.org/rightsite/

A second Declaration on the Rights of the Child is agreed by the UN General Assembly, which is like a

parliament of all the countries in the UN.

The new text is adopted by the UN General Assembly as the "Convention on the Rights

of the Child". All countries vote for it.

20 November becomes Universal Children’s Day.

In a Special Session of the UN General Assembly, presidents and heads of states meet to review

progress for children since the Word Summit. For the first time, children participate as official

delegates and speak to world leaders.

Presidents and heads of states meet in New York for the World Summit for Children. They agree on improved nutrition19, health

and education of children in the world over the next 10 years.

Poland starts to draft a new text on children's rights. It is more detailed than the Declaration and obliges countries to respect the rights listed

in the text.

First Declaration of the Rights of the Child adopted by the League of Nations 18. It stated that “mankind

owes to the child the best it has to give”.

Declaration of the Rights of Man. It applied to all human beings,

adults or children.

UNICEF is created by the United Nations (UN) after World War 2 to provide food, clothing and healthcare to children affected by the war.

UNICEF becomes a permanent part of the UN in 1953.

Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the UN, stated that: “Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and

assistance.”

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Almost every country in the world has adopted the convention, thus committing to do their best to respect its principles and to improve respect for the rights of the child. You can see the whole text on the internet:

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The right to be spared from war

During wartime, the protection of children is a priority.

Those under the age of 15 do not have to become soldiers (article 38).

The right not to be exploited

Nobody has the right to force a child to work, especially if this work

endangers his health and his education (article 32).

In 2009, the International Convention on the Rights of the Child celebrated its 20th anniversary! Adopted in 1989, this text details in 54 articles the fundamental rights of children under the age of 18. Here are some extracts from it.

The right to equality

All children are equal: girls, boys, regardless of

their origins or those of their parents (article 2).

The right to a familyEvery child must be able to live in a family and maintain relationswith both parents even if they live separately (article 9).

The right to be protected from all forms of violenceNobody has the right to maltreat a child (article 19).

The right to health, to lifeEvery child has the right to be properly nourished and cared for (article 24).

The right to education

Primary education

The right to free timeEvery child has the right to play, to dream, to do sport andto have access to cultural and artistic activities (article 31).

The right to an identity

Every child must have a surname,

fi rst name and nationality (article 7).

The right to an opinion

Adults must take into account

the opinions of children on every matter

for everybody (article 28).

36

must be compulsory and free

that concerns them (article 12).

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Do you know more about your rights after reading this booklet? See for yourself!

CHECK WHAT YOU KNOW!

Janusz Korczak, the father of children’s rights, was:FrenchPolishEnglish

The Convention on the Rights of the Child applies to children who are:Under 13Under 18Under 7

Children can express their opinion:Only when they are 18AlwaysOnly when adults ask them to do so

In how many countries does UNICEF work?6512over 150

The Anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child takes place every year on:10 December1 May20 November

In 2009, the Convention on the Rights of the Child celebrated its:20th anniversary18th anniversary50th anniversary

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QUIZ QUIZ Have the rights of the child inspired you? If so, get your pencils out and use this space to draw one of the articles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child that you !nd particularly important.

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Children's and youth parliaments exist in many countries of the world. They make it possible for young people to express themselves and shape their future. The Convention on the Rights of the Child states that you should be consulted when adults are making decisions that affect you, and that your opinions should be taken into account (Article 12).

The Azerbaijan Youth Parliament has 85 members, each chosen by peers in school-based elections held in every district in the country. It was created after a formal agreement between the country’s adult state parliament and UNICEF in 2007, as a means for young people to contribute to policy formulation by the adult parliament.

Each year UNICEF organises several meetings between Young Delegates and adults that take major decisions affecting young people. Through these meetings young people express children’s views before decisions are taken.

The Malawi Youth Parliament has been held annually since 2001 and is supported by UNICEF. Malawian children are able to express themselves through their parliamentarians: the youth delegates discuss their views regarding key questions in their country, for example health, education, food and other situations where children in Malawi do not see their rights respected. The youth delegates prepare resolutions that they submit to the adult parliament to make sure their opinions are being heard.

With UNICEF support, Youth Parliaments are now functioning in all 12 prefectures in Albania, inspiring youth to believe and participate in democracy. Two hundred democratically elected young parliamentarians, aged 14 to 18, participate in these representative assemblies. They speak to adults who take important decisions for the country and they then prepare youth action agendas and present their action plans to local governments. They also organise training for all the children who want to understand how major decisions are taken in the country.

This is the motto of UNICEF, the United Nations Children’s Fund. UNICEF is an international organisation that was created in 1946 to help the children who were suffering after the war in Europe.

Today, UNICEF works with governments, other aid organisations, companies, schools, families and children in over 150 developing countries21 to make sure that all children get vaccinated, have safe drinking water, can go to school and are protected from violence and harm. Through this cooperation UNICEF helps to strengthen medical services so that mothers can give birth safely and to protect children from dangerous diseases. UNICEF informs young people how to protect themselves against HIV/AIDS22 and helps to support affected families, and UNICEF helps to improve education systems so that all children – and in particular girls – can complete at least primary education.

In all our work we want to listen to the voices of children and make them heard by adults taking decisions. In industrialised23 countries, UNICEF National Committees talk to governments, adults and children to make sure that children’s rights are respected, both in the country and worldwide. To support children in developing countries, National Committees collect money for UNICEF programmes that help these children.

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The Junior 8 Summit, or J8, is a forum where young people from around the world meet and discuss global issues and share their views and recommen-dations with G8 leaders and the world community. The Summit is a parallel young people’s event to the annual Group of 8 (G8) Summit, where leaders from eight major industrialised democracies (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States) meet to discuss global issues of major concern.

The 2009 J8 Summit involved the participation of delegations from both G8 and non-G8 countries that had been invited to the G8 Summit: Brazil, China, Egypt, India, Mexico and South Africa. For the first time, 14 young people representing both G8 and non-G8 countries met with their respective heads of state, and five youth delegations were invited to attend bilateral meetings with their country’s political leaders during the Summit.

The Junior 8 Summit

At the end of their week of deliberations, representatives of the J8 Summit present their recommendations, in the form of a J8 Declaration, to G8 leaders during a face-to-face meeting.

In addition to recommendations which they present to the G8 leaders, young people also agree on the actions they will undertake on return to their own countries and plan follow up events.

Over the past five years (Rome, Italy 2009; Chitose, Japan 2008; Wismar, Germany 2007; St. Petersburg, Russia 2006; and the first-ever ‘C8’ in Gleneagles, UK), the Junior 8 Summit has grown into a “J8 community” of young advocates from both industrialised and developing countries. This initiative aims to build global citizenship and solidarity among young people around the world, by learning and sharing their ideas about J8 topics through different platforms, like ‘Voices of Youth’ Discussion Forum, (www.unicef.org/voy) which connects them to J8 participants and other young people around the world.

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160 youth Delegates from 40 countries represented the young people of the world. They expressed their thoughts and ideas and presented calls for action on how to create a sustainable world for future generations.

The forum resulted in the adoption of a final resolution with recommendations for world action on climate change. The youth delegates’ Declaration outlines the main concerns and recommendations shared by all climate ambassadors, stressing how climate change has threatened their lives and that of their families. They committed to personal changes in their own lives and demanded that governments worldwide take action to protect our planet from the impact of climate change.

The main recommendations are that industrialised countries ramp up spending on adaptation; that cities be well planned and sustainable; that safety standards, regulations and emergency protocols be established to prepare for climate induced disasters; that better water conservation be practised; and that education on the rising of sea levels and flooding and biodiversity-related projects be provided.

The final paragraph of the Declaration shows clearly what they think: “The battle against climate change is upon all of us. We are ready to act and we invite you to join us. Climate change is affecting our lives, our families and our future,” the document states. “We must act immediately and we are ready to fulfil our commitments. We are prepared to give all we have as long as there is the possibility of saving our planet.” (See the Children’s Climate Forum Declaration at www.unicef.org/media/media_51997.html).

To better implement their promises, the young people have formed a social network so they can share their experiences and difficulties as they take forward what they have learned in Copenhagen (www.uniteforclimate.org/).

In early December 2009 the state leaders of the world gathered in Copenhagen, Denmark to discuss climate change and try to reach an agreement on how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The event was named COP15 (Conference for the Parties no. 15), and the results are very important for the future options for addressing the challenges presented by climate change.

The decisions taken by the COP15 will affect children's and young people’s lives today and shape their world of tomorrow. For this reason UNICEF and the City of Copenhagen took action to provide children and young people of the world a chance to be heard in the debate by arranging a children and youth forum, the Children’s Climate Forum (CCF) in the week prior to the COP15, at the end of November 2009.

Children's Climate Forum (CCF)

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The answers are: Moon: 2.5 trips Earth: 48 times

Did you know that UNICEF makes greetings cards & gifts to raise money for children like you?

This is how it all began…in 1949 a little seven year old girl called Jitka Samkova, from a country called Czechoslovakia, painted a picture for UNICEF as a thank you for the help we had given to her village during the Second World War.

UNICEF was delighted to receive the picture and in order to share it with everyone, produced the design first as a poster and then as a greeting card that you can see below.

Ever since then, UNICEF has been pro-ducing greeting cards and gifts to raise money for children.

With the money we get from selling cards and gifts, we help children all

over the world by providing them with good healthcare, clean water, edu-cation and protection. We also inform children about their rights and ensure their voices are heard.

Since 1949 we have sold more than four billion (4,000,000,000) UNICEF greeting cards.

UNICEF works in more than 150 countries and every year helps millions and millions of children all over the world.

To find out more about UNICEF Cards and Gifts visit: www.unicef.org

UNICEF Cards & Gifts

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! Around the Earth

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Some 8,000 young people aged between 12 and 17 from across Sudan have been nominated "Peace Ambassadors". This huge event was organised in December 2009 by the Ministry of Education of Sudan with support from the United Nations Peacekeeping24 Mission in Darfur, Sudan and UNICEF.

The young people were awarded a certificate and a suggested list of simple actions they can carry out in order to promote peace themselves. The 11 actions that UNICEF proposes include making friends with people from different ethnic groups to promote understanding between communities as well as resolving problems by talking and listening.

In a country affected by a devastating war, UNICEF makes efforts so that the young people who become peace ambassadors can then return to their homes and promote messages of peace and reconciliation in their communities. UNICEF supports children and young people who realise that they can contribute to peace in Sudan and can become actors of change.