Childrenspeaceprize

During the 10th World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates in Berlin:

NOMINATIONS INTERNATIONAL CHILDREN’S PEACE PRIZE 2009 ANNOUNCED

Amsterdam, November 10th 2009 – The nominations for the fifth International Children’s Peace Prize were announced today during the Nobel Peace Summit in Berlin. From all the entries, the Expert Committee nominated five children for this prestigious prize. The winner will be presented with the award during the official ceremony, in the Knight’s Hall in The Hague on December 3^rd, from the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize winner Professor Wangari Maathai.

In the presence of numerous assembled Nobel Peace Prize Laureates, including Mikhail Gorbachev, F.W. de Klerk, Muhammad Yunus, and Lech Walesa, KidsRights’ founder Marc Dullaert announced the five children who have been nominated for the International Children’s Peace prize for 2009.

Fatema (12 years) from Afghanistan promotes the right to education in Afghanistan, a country where it is not always obvious that girls go to school. She also strives to increase the number of female teachers in schools and fights against corporal punishment of children in school.

Rasmita (15 years) from India fights for the rights of physically challenged children. In a community where many physically challenged children do not get the opportunity to go to school, Rasmita, who is physically challenged herself, strives to help these children gain access to education.

Baruani (16 years) from the Democratic Republic of Congo, living in Tanzania, stands up for fellow child refugees. By means of his radio programme ‘Children for Children’, he provides a platform for children to speak out about the problems they experience as refugees.

Daniel (18 years) from Macedonia, coming from an orphaned background, promotes the rights of extremely vulnerable children threatened by the scourge of human trafficking.

Emanuel (16 years) from the Philippines helps to educate children who have limited or no access to schooling. He has converted a large pushcart into a mobile school, which he and his friends of the ‘Dynamic Teen Company’ use to bring educational materials to children in their own neighbourhoods.

International Children’s Peace Prize

The International Children’s Peace Prize is an initiative of KidsRights and is presented annually to a child for his or her devotion to the rights of the child, anywhere in the world. The goal of the prize is twofold: it is a sign of recognition for the winners, and it also offers them a platform to promote their ideals and causes. In this way, the messages that these young heroes represent can reach a broader public, thereby making a greater impact in the promotion of children’s rights. The Children’s Peace Prize is accompanied by an award of €100,000 to be invested in projects closely connected to the winner’s area of devotion. Nominees for the Children’s Peace Prize can come from anyone, in any country, who has knowledge of an exceptional child dedicated to promoting children’s rights. An independent Expert Committee assesses the entrants and selects the final nominees.

Previous Winners

The first Children’s Peace Prize was dedicated posthumously to Nkosi Johnson, for his work to offer a more dignified existence to South African children with hiv and aids. In 2006, the honour went to Om Prakash Gurjar from India. He received the prize from Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and former president of South Africa, F.W. de Klerk, for his unrelenting work to combat child labour and liberate child slaves in India. In 2007, the honour was bestowed on Thandiwe Charma from Zambia. She received the Children’s Peace Prize from Nobel Prize Laureate Betty Williams and Sir Bob Geldof for her devotion to the rights of children in her country, especially their right to education. Last year, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Desmond Tutu presented Mayra Avellar Neves with the Children’s Peace Prize for her ongoing fight against the violence in the favella’s of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

In the coming days, the Expert Committee will judge who is to receive the 5^th Children’s Peace Prize on December 3^rd.  The Committee is comprised of the following members:

• Nevena Vuckovic Sahovic, member of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child,
• Prof. Jaap Doek, former Chairman of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child,
• Frans Röselaers, former Director of the ILO’s (International Labour Organisation) International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC),
• Jeroo Billimoria, Founder and Chair of Child Helpline International and Founder and Director of Aflatoun, Child Savings International, and
• Marc Dullaert, Founder and Chairman of the KidsRights Foundation and spiritual father of the Children’s Peace Prize.

KidsRights

The Dutch Foundation, KidsRights, stands up for the rights of vulnerable children across the world. To achieve this, KidsRights offers direct, tailored support to these children and generates attention for their problems and rights. KidsRights helps by financing existing, well-organised local aid projects and offers a platform to children, who themselves are usually unable to attract the eyes and ears of the world. In the words of Nobel Peace Prize Winner Desmond Tutu, “KidsRights seeks to give a voice to the voiceless.“

ABN AMRO has committed itself to be main sponsor of the Children’s Peace Prize. The bank not only donates money, but also intensively involves its employees in this sponsorship. Each year, hundreds of ABRAMRO employees are involved as volunteers in promoting a variety of projects organised by KidsRights.

Further information regarding the International Children’s Peace Prize, including the programme of the presentation ceremony on December 3^rd, can be found on www.childrenspeaceprize.org.

Additional information about KidsRights can be found at www.kidsrights.org.

Note to editor/Not for publication:

For further information please contact Lindy Noach, +31 (0)6 28126908 or e-mail lindy@kidsrights.nl