The five nominees of 2009 are:
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.
