Youth Delegates Pen Children’s
Declaration at
Children's World Congress
A full year of preparatory activities at local, national, and regional levels allowed children to debate, elect their own representatives, and lay the groundwork for their arguments for abolishing child labor and ensuring education for all. The children were their own speakers, decision-makers, and beneficiaries at the CWC, urging governments and world leaders to fulfill their obligations and promises.
The congress, held at the Palazzo dei Congressi, offered plenary and working sessions, as well as opportunities for face-to-face interaction with world leaders regarding their commitments to eliminate child labor and provide education for all. Representing the Administration from the United States was Arnold Levine, Deputy Under Secretary for International Affairs, U.S. Department of Labor.
Emily, one of the U.S. youth delegates, joined representatives from each region represented at the Congress in developing the outcome statement, Children’s Declaration: We Are the Present, Our Voice Is the Future. At the conclusion of the CWC, youth delegates committed to take the declaration back to their governments and to international organizations and to form an advocacy base for action in their respective countries.
Following the CWC, thousands of school children and adults marched from the Piazza della Signoria to Piazza Santissima Annunziata in the heart of Florence. U.S. representatives carried a banner, designed by students at Hubble Middle School in Wheaton, Il. The U.S. team proudly wore t-shirts designed by Spencer Lundquist, a 12-year-old student from Lucas Elementary School in Iowa City.
U.S. Delegation
The U.S. youth delegation was comprised of Blanca (Oregon, 17), Dora (Texas, 16), Emily (Connecticut, 16), Kendra (Iowa, 14), Kimberly (California, 17), and Maura (New York, 15). Each brought experience in child labor and advocacy, as well as passion for the issue to the congress.
The delegates had opportunities to share their concern about child labor problems in the United States and abroad. The issue was raised at their breakfast meeting with Deputy Under Secretary Arnold Levine at the American Consulate, as well as during numerous interviews with Italian, U.S., and other media. Additionally, their perspectives on the Congress and child labor will be highlighted in upcoming issues of New Moon Magazine and GUMBO Television.
What’s Next?
Another Congress. Due to an 11th hour decision by the Italian Government to deny visas to all but a handful of delegates coming from Africa and South and Southeast Asia, the Global March Against Child Labor will be planning another Congress in the near future. The second Congress will provide the vehicle for the children who were selected from visa-denying countries to be heard. Representatives from the Florence Congress will also attend the next Congress to provide continuity and cohesiveness between the two groups.
Meanwhile, the U.S. delegates will take their public education and advocacy efforts back to their communities and to Washington, D.C. In preparation for these activities, the U.S. delegates have prepared a paper on the worst forms of child labor in the United States and a PowerPoint presentation on youth advocacy. These tools will be available soon on the Child Labor Coalition Web site at www.stopchildlabor.org.
Click here more information, including pictures, from Global March
[CLC Home] [Contact CLC] [Join CLC] [NCL Home]