Childrenspeaceprize

The nomination round for the International Children’s Peace Prize 2012 has officially started. Organizations and governments have been addressed to nominate a child between the age of 12-18 years old, who they think is performing extraordinary efforts to improve or implement children’s rights for themselves and children in their environment.

In still too many countries children’s rights are not at all or only partially recognized and implemented. The fact that there are children who will stand up for these rights and make sure that they are upheld, is very important. The Children’s Peace Prize gives these children a platform to speak and is a recognition for their work.

Therefore, KidsRights calls out to everyone worldwide to nominate a child who would deserve the International Children’s Peace Prize. The deadline for sending in nomination forms is 1^st March 2012. The nominations can be send to info@childrenspeaceprize.org

The nomination form (English and Spanish) can be downloaded below.

• Nomination form
• Formulario de nominación

Winner is committed to the rights of disabled children in South Africa

Amsterdam, 21 November 2011 – This afternoon the International Children’s Peace Prize 2011 was awarded to Michaela Mycroft (17) from South Africa. From the five nominated children, who were announced by Desmond Tutu at the end of October, the Expert Committee chose her as the winner. The prize was presented to her by Nobel Peace Laureate Mairead Maguire.

Michaela, also called Chaeli, received this award for her commitment to the rights of children with disabilities in South Africa through her project: the Chaeli Campaign. The International Children’s Peace Prize, an initiative of the Dutch organization KidsRights, is presented annually to an exceptional child,  whose courageous or otherwise remarkable acts and thoughts have made a difference in countering problems, which affect children around the world. This year it will be the 7^th time a child is rewarded with the International Children’s Peace Prize. In a short period the prize has become the most prestigious international prize in the field of children’s rights.

Emotional Ceremony

In the Hall of Knights in The Hague, more than 400 national and international guests gathered to honor this special girl. A number of representatives from the government, industry and non-governmental organizations were speaking at the ceremony, including State Secretary of Health, Welfare and Sport, Marlies Veldhuijzen van Zanten, Chief of Child Protection Section UNICEF, Susan Bissell and Nobel Peace Laureate Mairead Maguire. She has been active for years fighting for peace and human rights and during the ceremony she was noticeably touched by this young heroine. After the inspiring words of these speakers, Chaeli received the Nkosi, a special sculpture that shows  a child moving the world. This sculpture symbolizes the impact this award has: in the last years, it has reached millions of people and it provides a global platform for Chaeli to promote her message and to tell her brave story.

Chaeli was born with Cerebral Palsy, through which the function of her arms and legs is limited. But where others see limitations, she sees possibilities; with her positive attitude, she is an inspiration to many.

“Hope is what keeps us going,” Chaeli said in her speech. “It’s what keeps us striving for the lives we deserve. I have hope for myself, but I also have hope for all other children with disabilities. I hope that my actions as an ability activist will leave the world more accepting and more accommodating for all people and not just people with disabilities, because we are all different and we all have the need to be accepted regardless of having a disability or not.”

The Chaeli Campaign

At the age of 9, Chaeli and her friends and sister started a project to raise money for an motorized wheelchair for Chaeli. In just seven weeks they raised more than enough money, so Chaeli decided to help more disabled children. This project has become the Chaeli Campaign, a professional organization that annually helps more than 3000 children with disabilities in South Africa with equipment, physical therapy and which defends the rights and acceptance of disabled children. Chaeli inspires other children to start projects and for that she has developed an ambassadors program.

Nobel Peace Laureate emphasizes importance of children’s involvement in improving children’s rights worldwide

Amsterdam, 25 October 2011 – Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Nobel Peace Laureate, announced the five nominees for the International Children’s Peace Prize 2011 in Cape Town today. The prize is an initiative of the Dutch organization KidsRights and was launched by KidsRights during 2005 Nobel Peace Laureates’ Summit chaired by Mikhail Gorbachev. The International Children’s Peace Prize is presented annually to a child, whose courageous or otherwise remarkable acts have made a difference in countering problems which affect children around the world.

The nominees for 2011 are Liza (17) from Palestine, Malala (13) from Pakistan, Michaela (17) from South Africa, Nikolay (17) from Armenia and Winfred (14) from Uganda*. They were chosen out of 98 children that were put forward by organizations and individuals from 42 different countries. One of them will be rewarded with the Children’s Peace Prize on 21 November 2011 in the Netherlands. This year it will be the 7^th time a child is rewarded with the Children’s Peace Prize. Every year millions of people worldwide are touched by the special stories of the children. In a short period the prize has become the most prestigious international prize in the field of children’s rights.

“The International Children’s Peace Prize is a very important prize because it facilitates a platform for children, who make a valuable contribution to a peaceful world,” explains Desmond Tutu. “These five nominated children are very brave since they are fighting for children’s rights in their country every day, sometimes even in dangerous situations. Children are the future, but often they are not heard: the Children’s Peace Prize gives a voice to the voiceless.”

The inspiring stories of the nominees

The five nominees have all made an impressive difference in their environment, all five in their own way:

Liza uses sports to promote peace between Israeli and Palestinian youngsters and fights for the empowerment of Palestinian girls, something which is very difficult in the male-dominated society.

Malala focuses on the right to education with a focus on education for girls, which was banned during the Talibanisation in Pakistan. Malala dared to stand up for herself and other girls and used national and international media to let the world know girls should also have the right to go to school.

Michaela was born with Cerebral Palsy, through which she has limited function in her legs and arms. She fights for the rights and inclusion of children with disabilities in South Africa. Her effort to help other children led to the start of the ‘Chaeli Campaign’, a professional organization with more than 20 employees, which helps disabled children.

Nikolay organizes discussions and presentations on human rights and also shares his knowledge through his website and blog. He wants to inspire other children to do the same and spread the word of human rights and democracy in the Armenian society, where the children are often not heard.

Winfred stands up for abused children. She documents cases of violence against children in schools and communities; she also set up a counseling club where abused children are helped by other children. In this way, she tries to improve the situation of children in her environment.

Pupils of different primary schools in the Netherlands were present at the ceremony of the International Children’s Peace Prize 2010. The pupils had participated in the school programme KidsRights has created for elementary schools in the Netherlands. The programme teaches children of grade 7 and 8 about the importance of children’s rights, both on a national and an international level, and about the International Children’s Peace Prize. During the programme the pupils are shown that they also can have impact on the improvement of children’s rights without having to go through great lengths. Just by informing others about the importance of the improvement of children’s rights one they can already help.

The pupils were given the opportunity to attend the ceremony of the International Children’s Peace Prize 2010 and participate in the children’s press conference thereafter. At the children’s press conference, the pupils asked several enthusiastic questions to the special guests and speakers of the ceremony, such as Gerdi Verbeet (President of the Dutch house of Representatives), Jo Becker (Children’s Rights division of Human Rights Watch), Rigoberta Menchú Tum (Nobel Peace Laureate) and Baruani (winner of the Children’s Peace Prize 2009). Of course, the children had many questions for the new winner, Francia, as well. The KidsRights Ambassadors, Caroline De Bruijn and Erik de Vogel, were also present. The children were very well prepared with several questions for each speaker. With the many different nationalities present at the press conference, it was a unique “language and translation” fest in Swahili, Spanish, English and Dutch. The host of the press conference and the interpreters were up for a great challenge! But did a wonderful job. The children’s press conference turned out to be a great success, both enjoyed by the speakers as well as the children.

The Dominican 16-year-old campaigns for the right of children to registration

Monday it was announced, during a ceremony in the Hall of Knights in The Hague, that Francia Simon is the winner of the International Children’s Peace Prize 2010. Francia, who is 16 years old and lives in the Dominican Republic, campaigns for the right of children to registration, name and nationality – both for children born in the Dominican Republic as for refugee children from Haiti. It is only after official registration that children can gain access to essential rights such as health care and education. Francia found herself faced with possible exclusion from education. In response, she carried out extensive research and showed great perseverance in pursuing her own registration. She succeeded and gained lasting access to secondary education. Since then, Francia has been using the knowledge and strength she acquired during the complicated registration process to help other children without birth certificates to obtain state recognition. She has already helped over 130 children to receive an official name and nationality. By doing this, Francia increases the children’s own self-esteem and gives them the chance to lead a more secure and fulfilling life.

Francia was presented with the prize by Guatemalan human rights activist Rigoberta Menchú Tum, who in 1992 received the Nobel Peace Prize at the age of 33, and as such became the youngest ever laureate. The ceremony was attended by various representatives of government, the business community and non-government organisations. Guest speakers included children’s rights specialist Jo Becker of Human Rights Watch and Kailash Satyarthi, founder of Global March Against Child Labour and chairman of the Education For All Campaign.

Every year, children from all over the world are nominated for the International Children’s Peace Prize. The winner of the prize is given a platform to help him or her voice out the message on the right, for which the child is fighting. Moreover, the KidsRights Foundation – initiator of the international award – invests 100,000 euros in the project that will be set up to support the cause of the winner.

The winner Francia is pleased and moved to receive the prize: “It is my wish to go around the world looking for children without a birth certificate, to help them get it, so that they can achieve their goals of becoming engineers, architects, etc. I hope my story spreads around the world.”

The nominees for the International Children’s Peace Prize 2010 were announced during the World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates, which took place this weekend in Hiroshima. The programme in Hiroshima brought together laureates of the Nobel Peace Prize, including Mikhail Gorbachev and the Dalai Lama. On Saturday, Marc Dullaert, founder of the KidsRights Foundation, announced the four nominees for the International Children’s Peace Prize 2010 in the presence of the Nobel Peace laureates. The candidates have been selected by an independent Expert Committee out of almost 80 nominations from all over the world.

 The nominees for the International Children’s Peace Prize 2010:

• Tatiana (age 15) from the United States is working to increase the literacy of children in Africa. Tatiana herself collects books which she then sends to countries such as Botswana and Lesotho, in order to give the children there the opportunity to learn to read and write as well.
• Getahun (age 16) from Ethiopia wants to stop violence against children. So he speaks at traditional coffee meetings held by adults in his neighbourhood in order to create awareness of the problem, and he has set up a children’s parliament as a medium to protect children’s rights both in the community and at national level.
• Francia (age 16) from the Dominican Republic is campaigning for children’s rights to registration, a name and nationality. It is only after official registration that children have access to essential rights such as healthcare and education. She herself was registered just one year ago.
• Emmanuel (age 14) from Rwanda is working for the right to education and to break the vicious circle of poverty. He is doing this by teaching other children how to save money, so that they can pay their school fees themselves. He himself let one hen raise its chicks and then subsequently was able to sell ten hens. From this money he bought a bicycle which he rents out. The revenue enables him and his brother to go to school.

Every year an Expert Committee determines who is to be the winner of the International Children’s Peace Prize. The International Children’s Peace Prize 2010 will be presented in the Hall of the Knights in The Hague on 29 November by the Guatemalan human rights activist Rigoberta Menchú Tum, who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1992 as the youngest ever laureate (age 33).

The International Children’s Peace Prize ceremony 2010 will take place on the 29th of November 2010, at 15pm in ‘de Ridderzaal’ in The Hague.

The nominations for this year’s young winner will be announced on the 13th of November, during the Nobel for Peace Summit 2010 in Hiroshima, Japan. Right after, the nominations can be found on our website under Nominees 2010.

Refugee from Congo is Winner of 5th Children’s Peace Prize

On December 3rd Baruani Ndume received the fifth International Children’s Peace Prize from Nobel Prize winner Wangari Maathai. At the end of this anniversary year ceremony, officially opened by Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende, he received this prestigious prize for his efforts on behalf of children in the refugee camp in Tanzania. His radio programme provides a platform for discussion about the problems encountered by children in the refugee camp. Furthermore, thanks to the programme’s wide appeal, he has helped to reunite many children with their parents and families after they were separated by the war.

‘All the prize winners and nominees are heroes’, said the Prime Minister. ‘Heroes who make a difference. Heroes who make their own dreams and the dreams of others come true. (…) As adults, we should learn from their example and put our own ideals into practice, as these children have done. Without endless talk and without fear of failure.’

Baruani

At the age of 7, Baruani fled from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  While fleeing the country, he lost his parents and ended up in the Nyarugusu refugee camp in Tanzania, where he has lived ever since. Over 60,000 other refugees, more than half of whom are children, inhabit the camp. Baruani works to help these children in a very special way. With only limited resources, he has succeeded in setting up a radio programme in which he talks about problems and challenges with his peer refugee children. By means of appeals on his show, he tries to reunite children and parents who have become separated while escaping from DR Congo. The programme has been highly successful and is now broadcast in DR Congo, Tanzania, Burundi, and Rwanda. Thanks to this, many children have now been reunited with their families.

5 Years of the International Children’s Peace Prize and its Impact

In the past five years, the Children’s Peace Prize has had an enormous impact on the promotion of children’s rights. For example, after winning the prize, the 2006 winner Om Prakasch put child slavery high on the agenda in India, his homeland. He was received by the Indian premier, while Gordon Brown (then the Chancellor of the Exchequer in the UK) made £200 million available “to eradicate child slavery and illiteracy” in India. Thandiwe Chama from Zambia was also able to broadcast her message to the world when she won the prize in 2007. Via the BBC World Service, the story of her struggle for the right to education was brought to millions of households. It was partly as a result of this that a new Education Act was passed in her country. Mayra Avellar Neves, last year’s winner, is still fighting for the safety of children in the slums of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.  At the recent UN summit in New York, she was able to speak with foreign ministers Hillary Clinton (USA), Celso Amorim (Brazil) and Maxime Verhagen (Netherlands) on the subject of ‘Violence Against the Girl Child’. In the words of Marc Dullaert, founder of KidsRights and initiator of the International Children’s Peace Prize: “The podium offered by the International Children’s Peace Prize to these courageous children makes it possible to help many children, otherwise unheard, throughout the world by protecting and guaranteeing their rights.”

KidsRights

The International Children’s Peace Prize is an initiative of the KidsRights Foundation. KidsRights works to improve the situation of vulnerable children all over the world. The foundation helps children via bespoke aid projects and offers them a platform to speak out for their rights. In the words of Desmond Tutu: “KidsRights seeks to give a voice to the voiceless.”

ABN AMRO

The events in connection with the 2009 International Children’s Peace Prize are also made possible by KidsRights’ social partner, ABN AMRO. Like KidsRights, ABN AMRO believes that every child has the right to develop his or her own talents.

For more information on the International Children’s Peace Prize, visit www.childrenspeaceprize.com and www.kidsrights.org.