2010-11-15

Who will be 24 million children’s child rights hero?

Today, in the World’s Children’s Press Conferences all over the world, the three people selected by children to be candidates for the 2011 World’s Children’s Prize for the Rights of the Child will be announced.

Millions of children all over the world will participate in a Global Vote to determine their prize laureate, on the basis of the candidates’ work for the rights of the child. The patrons of the World’s Children’s Prize include H.M. Queen Silvia of Sweden and Nelson Mandela.

The three candidates are:

• Cecilia Flores-Oebanda, from the Philippines, for her 20-year struggle against child labour and trafficking, and her support for girls who have been sex slaves.

• Monira Rahman, from Bangladesh, for her courageous fight for those – mainly girls – who have been attacked with acid or petrol and had their appearances destroyed.

• Murhabazi Namegabe, from DR Congo for 20 years of dangerous work to free children who have been forced to become child soldiers and sex slaves.

These three candidates were selected from this year’s nominations by the World’s Children’s Prize International Child Jury. The members of the Child Jury are experts in the rights of the child through their own experiences of having those rights violated, for example, as child soldiers and slaves.

World’s largest rights education project

The World’s Children’s Prize, which aims to contribute towards a more humane world, is the world’s largest annual educational programme for young people on the rights of the child, democracy, the environment and global friendship. 53,500 schools with 24 million students in 101 countries are involved. The children who participate gain faith in the future and a chance to demand respect for their rights. In the Global Vote, the children decide who will receive their prestigious award for their unique work for the rights of the child. 7.1 million children voted in the last Global Vote. The two candidates who do not get the most votes receive the World’s Children’s Honorary Award.
   Since the launch of the World’s Children’s Prize in 2000, 28 prize laureates have been selected and have become role models for children all over the world. The prize money has helped give tens of thousands of the world’s most vulnerable children a better life.
   The World’s Children’s Prize is implemented in collaboration with over 50,000 teachers and almost 500 organisations, departments of education and youth media projects. Through the World’s Children’s Prize, hundreds of millions of people every year learn through the media about violations of the rights of the child.

Millions of disadvantaged children participate

Among the children who learn about their rights and democracy through the World’s Children’s Prize are millions of children whose own rights have been violated. They include former child soldiers, debt slaves and street children, children who have lost their parents to AIDS, genocide or the tsunami, and children who live in dictatorships. Many of them didn’t even know that they had rights before they got involved. The prize magazine, The Globe, and the website, worldschildrensprize.org, are both published in 10 languages and read by participants all over the world. The magazine is even smuggled into villages in the Burmese dictatorship, where children learn about their rights and organise their own democratic vote.

Mandela and Queen Silvia

The patrons of the World’s Children’s Prize include Nelson Mandela, H.M. Queen Silvia of Sweden, Graça Machel and Nobel prize laureates President José Ramos Horta och Joseph Stiglitz.

   The supporters of The World’s Children’s Prize Foundation, which is based in the Swedish town of Mariefred, include the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), the Swedish Postcode Lottery, Save the Children Sweden, Hugo Stenbeck Foundation, the Surve Family Foundation, Swedish Television- Radiohjälpen, Altor, eWork and Ericsson.

   In June 2008, at the AGM of the 16,000-member International Association of Business Communicators in New York, the World’s Children’s Prize was recognised as ‘The most important communication initiative on the planet’.

   The prize sum for 2011 is 100,000 US dollars, which must be used in the prize laureate’s work for the rights of the child.

Contact: Magnus Bergmar, +46-159-129 00, +46-70-515 58 39 magnus.bergmar@worldschildrensprize.org

The three candidates for the 2011 World’s Children’s Prize:

Cecilia Flores-Oebanda, nominated for her 20-year struggle against child labour and trafficking. Cecilia herself was only five when she started working, and she has made it her life’s work to fight for the rights of the poorest and most vulnerable children. Cecilia founded the organisation Visayan Forum, which has rescued tens of thousands of girls from slave labour and trafficking. They do preventative work in towns and rural areas to stop children from being exploited. Cecilia has influenced legislation in the Philippines and the wider world to bring about better protection for children. Despite constant death threats, she doesn’t give up. Cecilia and Visayan Forum run eight halfway houses for girls all over the country, four support centres for domestic workers and one safe house, a home for those worst affected who cannot return home because their parents would sell them again. Since 2000, Cecilia and Visayan Forum have helped 60,000 victims of trafficking and taken several cases to court. They have trained thousands of partners to combat trafficking, including judges, prosecutors, police, travel agencies and government authorities.

Monira Rahman, nominated for her courageous fight to put an end to acid and petrol violence in Bangladesh. Most of those affected are girls, but women, boys and men are also attacked. The motive behind attacks on girls is often jealousy, and attacks on men often arise out of disputes over land. Acid violence has been common for some time, but previously the public didn’t know about it, and the media didn’t report it. Monira has changed all that. She founded ASF, the Acid Survivors Foundation, for all survivors of attacks using acid and petrol. The organisation started its work in 1999. In the organisation’s early years, there was more than one acid attack every day in Bangladesh. Today, there are only half as many attacks. But the goal is for no-one - no child, no girl, no woman and no man - to be attacked with acid or petrol by the year 2015. ASF helps survivors to live an active life, with dignity. They even offer plastic surgery, if necessary. The survivors themselves are the greatest activists against this kind of violence.

Murhabazi Namegabe, nominated for over 20 years of dangerous work for children in the war-torn Democratic Republic of the Congo. Since 1989, Murhabazi has freed 4000 child soldiers and over 4500 girls who have been sexually abused by armed groups, and taken care of 4600 unaccompanied refugee children, through his organisation BVES. Through his 35 homes and schools, he gives some of the world’s most vulnerable children food, clothing, medical care, therapy, the chance to go to school, safety and love. Most of the children are reunited with their families. 60,000 children have passed through the various BVES centres and now have a better life, thanks to Murhabazi. He and BVES speak out on behalf of children in DR Congo, by constantly challenging the government, all armed groups, organisations and everyone else in society to take care of the country’s children. Not everyone likes Murhabazi’s work. He has been imprisoned and beaten, and he constantly receives death threats. Seven of his colleagues have been killed.


> Download PDF
> Download Text