Advocating for the rights of all children
World Children’s Day, established in 1954 as Universal Children’s Day, aims to promote international togetherness with the intention of improving children’s welfare. In Australia, World Children’s Day is celebrated on the 4th Wednesday in October which this year falls on Wednesday October 26th, as part of Children’s Week (22-30th October).
World Children’s Day offers each of us an inspirational entry-point to advocate for, promote and celebrate children’s rights, translating into dialogues and actions that aim to build a better world for all children.
At the 2022 REAIE Research Symposium, Claudia Giudici, in her newly appointed role as Regional Director of children and adolescents for the region Emilia Romagna, advocated for the right that all children hold, that of being listened to. To remove this right is to remove the visibility of children, to place children in a space of anonymity.
Claudia highlighted the health and educational inequalities throughout the world, made more visible during the COVID pandemic and proposed that we, as educators hold a compass which directs the route we must try to travel in relation to children’s rights.
Claudia stressed that children’s rights are either born or die daily with our thoughts, ideas and actions (or inactions). She proposed the right to have rights defines the idea of equality and humanity and that when childhood suffers the whole universe suffers.
If we are to create a better future for every child we must listen thoughtfully to children, to their way of being and thinking and to their questions about the world, for it is in children’s voices that we gain a sense of humanity and hope for the future. For all children to be in full possession of their rights, Claudia reminded us of our great responsibility to advocate, affirm and uphold the rights of all children.
Today as we celebrate the children in our lives let us also pledge to advocate the right to have rights…to take action towards a better future for all children in our communities, Australia and the world.
For further reading:
United Nation’s Convention on the Rights of the Child.(UNCRC)
Ruth Wallbridge and Heather Conroy
