The World Listened Yes … I Was There! The Place ... - UNICEF yes - summer 2002.pdf · The Place to Learn Working for Children Pure Football, Pure Hope The World Listened Yes …

The World Listened Yes … I Was There!

The Place to Learn Working for Children

Pure Football, Pure Hope

The World Listened Yes … I Was There!

The Place to Learn Working for Children

Pure Football, Pure Hope

THE UNITED NATIONSSPECIAL SESSION

ON CHILDREN

The Special Session in May, dedicatedto the children and adolescents of theworld, was an unprecedented meetingof government leaders, Heads of Stateand NGOs at the United Nations GeneralAssembly. Attention focused on theConvention on the Rights of the Childand the role of NGOs as watchdogs onthe Governments of the world wasemphasised at every turn.

Media coverage was widespread anddaily live satellite TV feeds ensured thatthe event was followed across the Globewith the British Broadcasting Corpor-ation (BBC) offering special coveragethroughout.

See The World Listened, pages 8 & 9

Nearly 400 delegates from around the

world attended the Children’s Forum,

a preliminary to the

Special Session.

Photograph:

Susan Markisz

THE UNICEF/FIFAALLIANCE

On the 20th of November, 2001, theFederation of International FootballAssociations (FIFA) and UNICEFannounced a global alliance for thebenefit of children everywhere. Theannouncement, attended by UnitedNations Secretary-General, Kofi Annan,Joseph Blatter, President of FIFA,UNICEF Executive Director, CarolBellamy, the actor Roger Moore, aUNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, Peleand the American female football starBrandi Chastain was the outcome of a‘Memorandum of Understanding’ (MOU)encouraging activities at the nationallevel which will promote the game offootball and the Convention on theRights of the Child at the same time.

National alliances and activities arecurrently being developed betweenUNICEF country offices and FIFAnational federations.

See Pure Football, Pure Hope pages 4 & 5

2 Say Yes – the quarterly newsletter of UNICEF Turkey

IN THIS ISSUE

POLIO IS ERADICATEDIN TURKEY

As a result of mass immunisationactivities such as the National Immunis-ation Days (NIDs) and the ‘mopping-up’operations which have reached sixmillion children each year since 1995,the wild virus has been eliminated frommost regions in Turkey. Not one case ofpolio has been diagnosed in this countrysince November 1998.

That final case unfortunately delayedpolio-free certification by the EuropeanRegional Certification Committee. How-ever, the Committee finally certifiedEurope polio-free on the 21st of Junethis year. Congratulations to the manyhealth professionals and volunteers whocontributed to the success of the eradi-cation programme. Through their efforts,no longer will any Turkish child feardeath or disability from Poliomyelitis.

EDITORIAL

Published by UNICEF Turkey,Birlik Mahallesi No. 11,2. Cadde, 06610 Çankaya,Ankara, Turkey

Telephone: +90 (0)312 454 1000Facsimile: +90 (0)312 496 1461www.unicef.org.tr

Design byPrinted by Nurol

Say Yes – the quarterly newsletter of UNICEF Turkey 3

The excitement surrounding the2002 FIFA World Cup reminded usagain of the grip which football hason the lives and imaginations ofpeople everywhere throughout theworld. When we speak ofglobalisation, it is hard to beatfootball as an example of what theterm means. Television has spreadits popular appeal in countrieswhere the game was previouslyweak: South Korea’s performancebeing the perfect example of thestrides football has made in acountry which was not considered tobe a serious contender prior to thecompetition. Of course the

performance of the Turkish team who finally beat them for third place thrilledand charmed the whole nation and drew the admiration of a global audience.

The teams we saw on our television screens during the competition are eliteplayers. Back home, they are heroes to the millions and millions of children —boys and, increasingly, girls — who kick a ball around in the backyards, streets,parks and just about anywhere else they can find the space, dreaming of theday when they too will score one and perhaps net the cup itself for theircountry before a global audience. These children are exercising their right toplay — one of the rights enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Childwhich is perhaps too often overlooked.

Play develops the body, fires the imagination, and in the case of football,develops teamwork and interactive skills. Football and other games givechildren and young people an alternative to temptations like drugs, alcohol,smoking and all sorts of harmful practices. Participation in games give childrenan incentive to do well, provides an outlet for their energies and keeps themoccupied in absorbing, fun-filled activities.

As part of the ‘Child Friendly Learning Environment’ programme which isdescribed on page 11 of this edition of the newsletter, UNICEF will workclosely with the Ministry of National Education and other partners tovigorously promote, amongst other things, adequate play spaces for children inall of the schools in the country. We are confident that this will contributesignificantly to the development of the minds and bodies of Turkish childrenand help keep them out of harms way.

And of course it will also provide an enlarged pool of excellent players forfuture Turkish assaults on the World Cup — Here’s looking forward toGermany in 2006!

Edmond McLoughneyUNICEF Representative, Turkey

Note: We very much like to hear readers reactions to the newsletter, so pleasefeel free to contact us with your comments and suggestions.

THE CHILD FRIENDLYLEARNING ENVIRONMENT

More than eighty participants took partin a workshop on the subject of ‘ChildFriendly Learning Environments’ in thelast week of June. The object of theCFLE is to enhance any environmentwhere a child is present, making it ‘childfriendly’ in order to help the child orchildren to reach their full potential. Theidentifying characteristics of the CFLEwere discussed, with a particular focuson school. More than two hundred suchcharacteristics were identified duringthe course of the workshop.

See The Place to Learn on page 11

(FIFA) has a history of involvement incampaigns supporting children. In 1999,in partnership with the United Nations,FIFA launched the ‘Pure Football, PureHope’ campaign raising funds forUNICEF through the sale of merchandise.

“The youth of today is thefuture of our world but it isalso the future of football”

Joseph (Sepp) Blatter

Thanks to FIFA’s involvement withUNICEF in the ‘Kick Polio Out of Africa’campaign, well-known players appearon TV and radio encouraging people toensure that they have been immunised.Good progress in Africa means that thisglobal campaign to eradicate thedisease is nearing completion.

Nothing matches the game of Football for its grip on the hearts of youngpeople. (The same may be said for the not-so-young, but the ability of olderenthusiasts to kick a ball with any style tends to decrease with age.) InTurkey, the ‘beautiful game’ has always been popular but it has neverenjoyed such undivided attention as it did during the FIFA World Cup 2002.In case you were asleep throughout the month of June — a near impossiblefeat on any day the National Team played — Turkey came third after abreak from the tournament of forty-eight years.


The Convention on the Rights of theChild (CRC) explicitly guarantees allchildren the right to play, leisure andrecreation. Being guided by the CRC,UNICEF understands that sport is anexcellent medium for making contactwith young people and the benefits offitness training to their general healthand well-being is unquestionable. So itwas with great pleasure that FIFAPresident, Joseph Blatter and UNICEFExecutive Director, Carol Bellamyformally launched the FIFA/UNICEFAlliance in November, 2001. Promotingthe 2002 FIFA World Cup as it’s firstmajor event, the Alliance dedicated thecompetition to the ‘Say Yes for Children’Campaign.

At the formal announcement, CarolBellamy said: “Football is somethingthat makes the ‘global community’ realas a humanitarian force. The footballcommunity has the power to advancehumanity. And to help ensure that allchildren everywhere have health,education and equality.”

The announcement was broadcastglobally, the following week, on theoccasion of the World Cup Draw inKorea, giving ‘Say Yes for Children’ awelcome boost.

Within minutes of the final whistle inSeoul, Turkish roads were congestedwith a festival of blaring horns andwaving flags and children everywhereskittered footballs up and down thestreets, excited and enthused by thesuccess of their National Team.

Weeks after the event, there’sanother game in the neighbourhoodevery evening and it isn’t uncommon tosee a child bouncing a ball on thepavement as he makes his way home.

Such is the influence of the WorldCup tournament — a truly global eventin everyone’s life. The game has anunparalleled history of demolishingbarriers of race, religion, class andnationality, bringing people together inthe most intransigent situations.

Being aware of the game’s powerfulinfluence on people, The Federation ofInternational Football Associations

PURE FOOTBALL,PURE HOPE

During the course of the tournamentchildren in ‘Say Yes’ t-shirts escortedplayers onto the pitch at the beginningof games. FIFA and UNICEF called onwarring factions around the world tolay down arms, enabling UNICEF todeliver food, supplies and other vitalservices to children in conflict areas.

Ogün Temizkano¤lu presenteda television spot underlining

the importance of qualityeducation for all children

Local broadcast campaigns wereproduced in participating countrieswhere footballers urged people to takeaction in support of children. Many ofthe footballers donated memorabilia toa Yahoo! auction in support of UNICEF.

Following the objectives of ‘Say Yesfor Children’, the Alliance aims to placechildren’s rights high on the publicagenda, mobilising support ‘to changethe world for, and with, children’.

UNICEF Turkey and the TurkishFootball Federation (TFF) made aninformal agreement to have well-knownplayers deliver messages to raiseawareness of children’s rights issuesthrough the media. The former Inter-national Captain, Ogün Temizkano¤lupresented a television spot underliningthe importance of quality education forall children.

Further projects for the partnershipin Turkey are under discussion.

The 2002 FIFA World Cup was onlythe start of a partnership which will putthe world’s most popular game at theservice of it’s most precious resource,children. FIFA is committed to being apowerful humanitarian force andUNICEF will channel that commitmentto young people everywhere.

The Alliance is an opportunity forUNICEF to raise it’s profile and reachout to a much wider global audience,maximising potential media attentionfor it’s activities.

Looking towards the 2006 FIFAWorld Cup in Germany, it is clear thatstrong country level partnershipsbetween UNICEF and FIFA-affiliatednational football associations willensure the long-term strength andsustainability of the Alliance.

Haydi Türkiye!

WHERE TO NOW?With the FIFA World Cup 2002 competition behind us, discussions arecurrently under way about how football can be used to enhance existingprogrammes, to develop new ones and to reach new audiences at the nationallevel. Here are some ideas, outlined under the key areas of the FIFA/UNICEFMemorandum of Understanding:

EDUCATION

• Girl’s education: developing women’s football programmes (in countrieswhere it is culturally relevant) as a tool for developing self-esteem in youngwomen and girls and to help girls enroll or stay in school.

• Football as an education tool to teach children important lessons onHIV/AIDS, conflict resolution and other issues.

CHILD PROTECTION

• Football as a tool in conflict countries, promoting children’s right to play(and also as an anchor for children’s rights in general).

• Promotion of football and recreation in general as a return to normalcy andreclamation of childhood in conflict or disaster situations.

• Distribution of recreation kits (sustainably — not just for one-off events).

• Football as a tool of conflict management and peace education. Wherethere have been conflicts, FIFA could provide kits and coaching for gamesand UNICEF could provide the conflict resolution elements of the project.

HIV/AIDS

• Football as an important and productive diversion for young people.

• Inter-generational dialogue through football, building community spirit.

• An opportunity to raise the profile of HIV/AIDS, increasing acceptance ofyoung people’s right to know about the issues.

• Disseminating important messages on HIV/AIDS — especially protectionissues — to young people.

• Football as a bridge to reach youngmen and boys (hard to attract toHIV information programmesand related services).

• Football as a tool to mobiliseyoung people, making themagents for change on HIV/AIDSprevention, non-violence and dis-armament issues.

• Nationwide sports tournaments(preferably between districts orregions hostile to each other).

• Media coverage involving football stars andGoodwill Ambassadors.

• The possibility of FIFA incorporating HIV/AIDSeducation into it’s own institutionalised trainingprogrammes for referees, coaches and players.


I asked Mr Erzik to make a speech onbehalf of the FIFA/UNICEF Alliancenow making it’s Global Debut at theWorld Cup since FIFA had dedicatedthe competition to ‘Say Yes forChildren’. He very kindly agreed andproceeded to detail the objectives of the

Alliance to the assembly of reportersand football reps. He pointed outthat this is in fact the first timeever that the World Cup

competition has beendedicated to a humanitar-ian cause, indeed thesingle most important

humanitarian cause —the good health, well-being and development

of children everywhere.Talking about the

activities of the Alliancein Turkey, he mentioned

the special emphasis oneducation, especially girl’seducation — an issue

which becomes daily more pressing.

Warm-up: Arrivals. At the end of a twenty-six hour flight from Ankara toSeoul for the FIFA World Cup 2002. Tired and irritable, I collected my bagsand almost sleepwalked my way to the arrivals lounge. Someone called “HoflGeldiniz!” and hearing the familiar greeting so far away from home snappedme out of my jet-lagged trance in an instant. Those were the first words I’dheard in Korea. They made a good start.

Well-known footballers have given theirsupport to media campaigns designedto raise awareness of the subject inTurkey and UNICEF is hoping todevelop the strategy further.

However, the World Cup is theWorld Cup and my spirits sank a littlewhen it came to reporters questionswhich were entirely focused on thegame itself. Such is the fanaticaldevotion enjoyed by the game thatthere really seems to be little room inthe minds of supporters for anythingother than tactics.

I decided that I was tired-out,exhausted by the flight, and that Iwouldn’t let this observation deflate myenthusiasm to promote the children’scause. I made a note to explore theissue in the cool light of day and said ‘‹yiGeceler’ to my colleagues.

Second HalfTurkey plays China — a battle of theRepublics — and the stress on ourNational Team was tangible. CanCobano¤lu, the Press Manager wasdiligent and helpful, providing inform-ation to the assembled company ofmore than seventy national andinternational media representativesabout the UNICEF Turkey and TFApartnership. He mentioned how the ‘Say

Kick-OffIt was straight down to business on thefirst night with a reception at theTurkish Embassy for representatives ofthe Turkish Football Association (TFA),fienes Erzik, Board Member of FIFA,the media and of course supporters of

the National Team.


YES … I WAS THERE!

quotes in support of this unprecedentedinitiative.

While the media appeared to dotheir level best to cover the Alliance, theWorld Cup is about football and, asmany of my colleagues in that campwere keen to point out, they were firstand foremost in Seoul and Japan toreport back on Football.

“I have met people all over theworld through playing soccer

and I can say that footballknows no boundaries. It is

important for kids across theglobe to know that anything

they dream is possiblein soccer and in life.”Landon Donovan, USA

Meetings with representatives ofother competing teams were friendlyand informative but sadly the pressureof the event tended to confound theirbest intentions. Mick McCarthy, theRepublic of Ireland coach readilyagreed to have his team play a matchwith a children’s team on WorldChildren’s Football Day but the Irishunfortunately lost to Spain and had toreturn home before June 19th.

Similarly, the Press Officer for theSpanish team was also very cooperativeand offered to get some quotes on theAlliance from his players but he had toexplain in the end that they were undera great deal of pressure. And eventuallythe Spanish themselves were on their

way home.Thankfully,

the team

from the USA were very conscious ofthe campaign and made a great deal ofit at their press calls. Brian McBridesaid: “UNICEF and FIFA’s ‘Say Yes forChildren Football Day’ is another greatway to help kids all over the world. I’mglad to have been a part of UNICEF’sAIDS awareness campaign in the US”.

The ScoreBefore my visit to Seoul, I was aware ofthe influence football exerts on people(I’m Turkish, after all) but I had verymuch underestimated just howprofound an effect that is. It occurredto me that the fanatical devotion offootball supporters sucks everything inand substitutes it with the fever of thegame itself. Looking to the future of theAlliance, we should perhaps find waysto circumvent this ’black hole’ in theattention-span which tends to replaceall other matters with the players’performance on the pitch.

The FIFA World Cup 2002 was amagnificent start to a campaign whichwill develop on the more modest, yetmore relevant local level. Footballmeans so much to everyone that itcannot help but serve in the best senseas a motivator for governments,communities, families and individuals tomake this world of ours fit for children.

No matter which team you support.

Sema Hosta,Communication Officer,

Yes for Children’ banner was unfurledduring friendly games and referred toOgün Temizkano¤lu’s television appear-ances in support of educationalawareness.

He said: “We believe in the power offootball but more importantly, webelieve that children are our future. Weshould work together to make a betterworld for children and to ensure accessto high quality education for allchildren.”

During the course of the match, Iwas busy promoting the Alliance on thepress stand, talking to various tv peopleand reporters and making sure thatthey had all read our press releases. Itwasn’t difficult to keep track of Turkey’sprogress, however, since there was adeafening roar of support for each ofthe three goals scored against China.

UNICEF’s presence at the game wasvery much in evidence: the publicservice announcement ‘Change theWorld with Children: The Power ofFootball’ was aired at the beginning ofall the games and sight of the childescorts in their ‘Say Yes’ t-shirtsaccompanying players at the start ofthe game was an unforgettably movingexperience for me. The ‘Say Yes’ logowas the only form of branding allowedon the pitch — another significantWorld Cup ‘first’. I was very muchheartened to see that in our commercialworld where so much hinges oncompetition between global brands,there is real support among the bigcorporations for ‘a world fit forchildren’.

And a big hand for the people atTürkiye Radyo Televizyon Kurumu(TRT) who covered the FIFA/UNICEFAlliance and gave me the opportunity totalk about the partnership on both theglobal and national levels.

Final WhistleThe TFA were very helpful andsupportive before they left for Japan,donating a shirt signed by all themembers of the Team. This has gone toBritain to be auctioned along withsimilar memorabilia of the tournamentin aid of UNICEF. Given Turkey’s finalresult, I’m sure that it will fetch agood price. Many of the competingteams made similar donations and Iwas glad to hear that players wereaware of the Alliance and offered


The outcome of the Forum waspresented to the Plenary of the SpecialSession. The child delegates said: “Weare not the sources of problems; we arethe resources that are needed to solvethem. We are not expenses; we areinvestments. We are not just young

people; we are people and citizens ofthis world. You call us the future.But we are also the present.”

“I believe that forthe first time in the

history of theUnited Nations,children are notjust being seen

— they arebeing heard.”Carol Bellamy,

UNICEFExecutiveDirector

Other significantsupporting eventswere the Parliamen-tary Forum, hostedby the inter-

parliamentary union

The commitment of world leaders overa decade ago at the World Summit forChildren has helped to place children’srights at the top of the global agenda.Participants in the United NationsSpecial Session on Children assembledin May to review progress made sincethen and to set further goals andstandards for the future.

Delegates set to the task of creatinga new plan for the coming decade whichwill ensure:

• the best possible start in life for allchildren;

• a good-quality basic education forall children;

• the opportunities for all children,especially adolescents, for meaning-ful participation in theircommunities.

The official programme consisted ofthree parts: a Debate between Heads ofMember States and observers, Heads ofrelevant entities of the UN system and

THE WORLD LISTENED

Wilmot, from Liberia, testifies on the impact of war on children at a United Nations Security Council Meeting on Children and Armed

Conflict, on the eve of the Special Session on Children. Photograph: Susan Markisz

certain NGOs; the Ad Hoc Committee ofthe Whole (speakers were GeneralAssembly observers, UN systementities not represented at thehead level and NGOs) and theRound Table (where threeseparate panels discussed‘Renewal of commitmentand future action forchildren in the nextdecade’).

Supporting events wereorganised around theSpecial Session, notablythe Children’s Forum, facili-tated by UNICEF, whichgathered nearly 400children from governmentand NGO delegationsaround the world todiscuss the key actions forchildren and the draftoutcome document of theSpecial Session, ‘A WorldFit for Children’ in advanceof the official event.


Photograph: P

aula Bronstein

It was the most important global event on children since the 1990 WorldSummit for Children. This time around the UN Special Session on Childrenwas a formal event involving not only government leaders but major NGOsas well. Children made all the difference: making themselves heard and theirpresence — so fundamental to the success of this landmark event — felt.


and UNICEF, which discussed the impactof legislation and budgetary allocations onthe well-being of children and Mrs NaneAnnan’s informal discussion between FirstSpouses on the theme of Women’sLeadership for Children.

“You have a right to live a lifesafe from the threat of war,

abuse and exploitation.These rights are obvious yet

we, the grown-ups, have failedyou deplorably in upholding

many of them.”Kofi Annan,

UN Secretary-General

The Celebration of Leadership forChildren proved to be a high point of theevent when Nelson Mandela deliveredthe record-breaking list of almost ahundred million signatures from theGlobal Movement for Children’s ‘SayYes for Children’ campaign to thePresident of the General Assembly.During the course of the SpecialSession, the GMC was also grantedformal acceptance as a legitimate force.

Turkey, where one in every fourpeople signed the ‘Say Yes for Children’pledge, was especially commended.

Key conventions and protocols ad-mitted for ratification included:

• The Optional Protocol to the CRC onthe sale of children, child prostitutionand child pornography;

• The Optional Protocol to the CRC onthe involvement of children in armedconflict;

• The Protocol to Prevent, Suppressand Punish Trafficking in Persons,Especially Women and Children, supp-lementing the UN Convention againstTransnational Organised Crime;

• The Amendment to Article 43.2 ofthe CRC, raising from ten to eighteenthe number of members of theCommittee on the Rights of the Child.

The cooperation of the media wasvital for the promotion of children’srights issues on the worldwide platform.Hopefully, in the wake of the SpecialSession the relationship will developand concerned agencies around theworld will encourage partnerships withthe media at the local level.

FACTS AND FIGURESIt finally happened! After more than a decade and one postponement fromSeptember, 2001, the United Nations Special Session convened in New Yorkduring May. So who was there, what did they do and what did they achieve?

THE PARTICIPANTS

• 164 boys and 242 girls between the ages of 7 and 18 years old.

• 265 of these children were part of official government delegations such asSimge Haznedaro¤lu and Mehmet Yeflilyurt of Turkey.

• Hasan Gemici, Minister Responsible for Women and Children lead theTurkish Delegation of 19 including the child delegates.

• ‘Special Invitee’ Professor ‹hsan Do¤ramac›, eminent authority onchildren’s issues who works extensively with UNICEF at the global level.

• There were 69 Summit level Government participants including Heads ofState, Crown Princes, Vice Presidents and Deputy Prime Ministers.

• 43 Heads of State and/or Government.

• 187 of 189 UN Member States spoke at General Assembly Plenary Debates.

• 54 First Spouses.

• 141 children of a total of 1,732 participants formed 91 NGO delegations.

• 314 NGOs from developing countries and 385 from industrialised countries.

• 250 parliamentarians from 75 countries.

• 3 Nobel Peace Prize Laureates: Kofi Annan, 2001; Nelson Mandela, 1993and Rigoberta Menchú Tum, 1992.

• 10 United Nations entities were represented at directorial level.

• 9 UNICEF Goodwill Ambassadors.

• Over 1,200 journalists including more tha 50 young journalists.

• Almost 200 volunteers from UNICEF and elsewhere.

SIGNIFICANT RESULTS

• 94,875,927 ‘Say Yes for Children’ pledges were delivered by Nelson Mandelato the President of the General Assembly, setting a Guinness World Recordfor the largest ever response to an international pledge campaign.

• 24 countries took Treaty action during the course of the SSC (1–17th May).

• For the first time in history, 2 children spoke at the General Assembly.

EVENTS AND PROCESSES

• 43 separate events were organised by governments along with the UnitedNations and other international organisations. 63 were organised by NGOs.

• 44 Governments, including 7 Heads of State and/or Government and 4Heads of UN agencies took part in the 5 Inter-generational Dialogue sessions.

• 15 NGO speakers addressed the General Assembly Plenary and Ad HocCommittees of the Whole.

• Almost 40,000 Child and Youth opinion poll interviews were conductedworldwide in the lead-up to the Special Session.

• The Children’s Forum was conducted in 3 languages: English, French andSpanish. Translations in Arabic, Bangla (Bengali), Chinese, Portuguese andVietnamese were available during other sessions.

Twenty-eight Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) formed the ‘TurkishChildren’s Rights Coalition’ (TCRC) at the beginning of January, 2001, theirmission being to ensure the full implementation of children’s rights. Since1994, when the Government ratified the Convention on the Rights of theChild, the subject of children’s rights has grown daily more prominent inTurkey, encompassing health, education and recreation amongst manyother socio-economic issues. As such, a broad variety of agencies, bothgovernmental and non-governmental, are interested.

Aiming to enforce the rights of the child,everywhere, the TCRC plans to networkall NGOs operational in Turkey, buildlocal coalitions throughout the countryand promote children’s rights issues.The TCRC also represents Turkey atinternational meetings on children’srights. For this year, the coalition hasbeen elected as Vice-President for theNGO/UNICEF Central and EasternEurope, Commonwealth of IndependentStates and Baltics Regional Network.

The coalition has seven coordinators,elected by members, each of whom isresponsible for the respective fields ofEducation, Health, International Rela-tions, Communication, Legal Rights andFinance. Supporting the coordinatorsare five press representatives.

The TCRC upholds a simple list offive principles under the Voluntary

Partnership Agreement (VPA), accept-ed in January:

• Every child has a right to live in aperfect world.

• Without excluding any child, work forchildren so that they have enoughknowledge and resources to start life.

• Families, societies and childrenthemselves should endeavour tomake a world where children can livein dignity, security, prosperity andwhere they have the opportunity toexplore and develop themselves.

• To focus on children’s problems andfind appropriate solutions.

• At the beginning of this millenium, toadvocate for equality, justice, peace,health and happiness for Turkishchildren and children everywhere.


WORKING FORCHILDREN

The first campaign of the TCRC was topromote ‘Say Yes for Children’, offeringit’s support to UNICEF and the TurkishGovernment in order to contribute to thefinal total of more than sixteen millionpledges. The campaign received almostuniversal support from the public, fromcelebrities and from the private sectorand fundraising for it’s success proved tobe a gigantic task. Other activities duringthe past year included:

• Training in Advocacy and theConduct of Advocacy Campaigns;

• Setting up the ‘Children’s Assembly’with the fiiflli Council, ‹stanbul;

• A painting competition for children;

• Helping to form a local coalition inthe GAP Region;

• Helping children to plan and form acoalition using techniques of dramaand art;

• Supporting the BreastfeedingCampaign;

The TCRC has planned a series ofshort campaigns, panel meetings anddiscussions throughout the country withthe cooperation of the Ministry ofNational Education (MoNE). Thesupport of recording artists andperformers is being sought for a seriesof records, videos and radio andtelevision promotions.

Press Conference for the Say Yes for Children Campaign, May 2001: TCRC Coordinator, Ebru Yarcan, Necmi Hayal, Deputy Mayor of fiiflli

District Council, Songwriter, Zeynep Talu, Singer, Nükhet Duru, and Sema Hosta, UNICEF.

projects by MoNE and other ministriesand non-govermental organisationswere presented for analysis.

It has to be said that this was anawesome task given the scope of thesubject. The efforts of participants to bevery specific in their efforts to identifythe child friendly characteristics in eachpresented project in order to achieveconcrete conclusions is to be applauded.

A list of more than two hundredCFLE-identifying characteristics wasfinalised with a particular focus on theschool environment. These were thenlisted in eight categories:

• the academic curriculum

• health and safety issues

• the participation of children (inschool councils, clubs etc …)

• individual references or different needs

• discipline and rules

• the physical environment

• school administration, organisationand philosophy

• counselling and guidance services

A two-day preliminary trainingseminar was organised under theguidance of a British expert with theparticipation of the principals, teachersand students of six local schools. Theseminar provided excellent groundingon the nature of CFLEs, illustrating theimportance of participation by children

themselves and how CFLEs can beactualised in the schools.

Planning AheadThe next step is to give a final shape tothe characteristics of CFLEs in consult-ation with a team of specialists andexperts in a two-day ‘Writeshop’ whichhas been scheduled to prioritise ashortlist. Training kits will be preparedusing the ten most important issues forguidance and the CFLE project will beimplemented in pilot schools before theend of the year. Ultimately the program-me will be expanded nationwide by theyear 2005.

A very immediate and hearteningoutcome of the CFLE workshop is thatparticipants from the Board ofEducation have already integrated therelated characteristics of childrens’participation into their draft regulationon school councils and clubs. At the timeof press, they were hoping to havesubmitted the document for approvalby the end of July.

As Gökçe Çiçek and her friends putit, during the course of the Workshop:“We all dream of a school where nochild is left out and all of the childrenare so healthy and happy to participateand eager to learn that they don’t evenwant to leave for the Summer holidays”.

And that is what all of us, all theparticipants in the Workshop, havecommited to work for until it becomesa reality for the children of Turkey.

More than eighty participants took partin the workshop — children, teachers,school principals, school inspectors,central and local officials from theMinistry of National Education (MoNE),the Social Services Department(SHÇEK), the Ministry of Agriculture(MoA) and several NGOs. The object wasto consider what is required from anyenvironment where a child is present inorder to ensure his or her freedom todevelop, to secure the right to survivaland protection and obtain the vital skillsof critical thinking, problem solving andworking with others.

In short, to assist the child inrealising his or her full potential for ahappy, healthy and productive life.

On consideration of these aspects,participants attempted to reach aconsensus on the concept of CFLE, deve-loping a list of characteristics necessaryto establish such an environment. Theywould then focus on the best way thattheir various agencies and institutionsmight facilitate the establishment ofchild friendly learning environments.

Characterising the CFLEIn order to proceed, it was decided thatthe most productive strategy would beto look at ‘Good Practices’ (successfulprojects already in operation) and tolocate the child-friendly characteristicswhich might serve as a model forqualifying CFLEs.

So fifteen different but successful


THE PLACE TO LEARN

“I dream …” says twelve year old Gökçe Çiçek, the artist who made thisdrawing, “I dream of a school where I’ll be very sad when the summerholidays come." Gökçe was one of the children who attended the UNICEF-assisted workshop on ‘Child Friendly Learning Environments’ (CFLE) inAnkara between the 24th and 28th of June. The participation of thesechildren and their teachers was critical to the productivity of the event.


GOALS FOR 2005

• To reduce the Infant MortalityRate from 42.7‰ to 20‰.

• To reduce the Maternal MortalityRate by 50%.

• To increase the rates of exclusivebreastfeeding.

• To eliminate Iodine DeficiencyDisorders in children.

• To expand the Family and ChildTraining Programme (FACT) toreach 3 million families.

• To reduce female illiteracyto half of the 1999 rate.

• To improve the health anddevelopment of adolescents.

• To significantly minimise theratio of children in need ofspecial protection.

• To build local capacity in socialmonitoring and planning forchildren and women.

• To ensure that Turkey’slegislation is fully compliant withCRC/CEDAW.

• To have a sustainable, interactiveChild, Women and YouthInformation Network.

• To respond to the needs ofchildren and women during andafter emergencies.

UNICEF takes this opportunity to thank all of the donors who have generouslyprovided resources and financial support in the past. Special thanks are dueto the CDC Center, USA, the United States Fund for UNICEF, the TurkishNational Committee for UNIC, the United Kingdom Committee for UNICEF,the European Economic Community, the Turkish National Committee forUNICEF, the Canadian UNICEF Committee, the Hellenic NationalCommittee, the Spanish Committee for UNICEF, the Italian Committee forUNICEF, the Netherlands Committee for UNICEF, the Swiss Committee forUNICEF, le Comité Français pour l’UNICEF, the Hong Kong NationalCommittee and the Japanese Committee for UNICEF — your assistance isgreatly appreciated.

UNICEF works to both preserve and enhance the lives of children the worldover and the success of our programmes depends upon the partnership andsupport of governments, non-governmental organisations, institutions andindividuals. To make a tax-deductible donation to any project or programmeplease contact the UNICEF Turkey National Committee in Ankara or ‹stanbul(see below). To help you make your choice(s) ask us for a copy of the DonorFunding Catalogue (See Recent Publications above).

UNICEF Turkey Country Office: Telephone: +90 (0) 312 454 1000Facsimile: +90 (0) 312 496 1461Email: [email protected]

UNICEF Turkey National Committee: Telephone: +90 (0) 312 438 1745Ankara +90 (0) 312 438 0077

Facsimile: +90 (0) 312 439 0250Email: [email protected]

UNICEF Turkey National Committee: Telephone: +90 (0) 212 252 5222‹stanbul +90 (0) 212 249 6686

Facsimile: +90 (0) 212 252 9727

UNICEF DONORS

Donor Funding CatalogueA brief description of unfundedUNICEF projects in Turkey detailingbudgetary requirements for donorreference.

We The ChildrenLandmark report by the UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan.

Say Yes, February 2002First issue of this newsletter featuringthe ‘Say Yes for Children’ Campaign.

Say Yes, Spring 2002A special issue of the UNICEF Turkeynewsletter in honour of the UN SpecialSession on Children. Featuring aninterview with Minister Responsible forWomen and Children, Hasan Gemici.

Turkey’s ChildrenGeneral information about Turkey,outlining progress made in healthcare,education and children’s rights byUNICEF and it’s partners.

RECENT PUBLICATIONS

Copies of all the publications listed below may be obtained free of charge onrequest from UNICEF Turkey, Birlik Mahallesi No.11, 2. Cadde,06610 Çankaya, Ankara, Turkey

TURKEY

Documents

The World Listened Yes … I Was There! The Place ... - UNICEF yes - summer 2002.pdf · The Place to Learn Working for Children Pure Football, Pure Hope The World Listened Yes …