Annual Reports Past Events Past News Origins
Annual Reports
2010-2011
World Forum 2011 inspired, encouraged, and supported the initiation of a Working Group on Children’s Rights. This report summarizes the beginning of the group, relying on the notes gathered by Pam Boulton and Ellen Hall.
Along with World Forum organizers, Pam Boulton and Ellen Hall facilitated three sessions:
- UN Convention on the Rights of the Child: What Difference Has it Made? Stories from Around the World
- Children’s Rights
- Rights of Children — Building Community: Conversations Surrounding Children’s Rights.
Additionally, the World Forum invited Ellen Hall to present the book Seen and Heard: Children’s Rights in Early Childhood Education, given to all during one of the morning plenary sessions.
All three sessions were well attended, and the discussions that emanated from the presentations were interesting, lively, and thought provoking. Highlights are listed below:
- What does it mean that children have rights?
- Why do children not have rights?
- What do we know about rights on paper vs. rights in reality?
- What does the CRC include?
- What is missing from the CRC?
- Do we want to focus on the CRC or expand our discussion?
- As a Working Group of the World Forum, would we have a ‘statement’?
Areas of interest include:
- Cultural approaches
- Families
- Immigration
- Indigenous peoples
- Language
- Poverty
- Power
- Racism
- Reconciliation
- Right to an identity
- Right to be a child
- Right to a strong, special adult
- Special rights
- Teacher education
- Toxicity and disease
- Vulnerability
Plans are underway to convene a Working Group to develop a Working Forum on Children’s Rights preceding World Forum 2013. The Working Group will meet in Spring 2012, either in Norway or Chicago, Illinois. It is anticipated that the Working Forum could provide a space and time for sharing issues surrounding ratification and implementation of the UNCRC, stories of small victories, and questions to guide future work. One outcome could be the creation of a position statement surrounding the rights and responsibilities of children and adults.
Additional Information
The World Forum Foundation web site has posted new information about the Children’s Rights Campaign for U.S. ratification of the UNCRC.
If you are interested in our work, please consider joining the Working Group on Children’s Rights.
Origins of the Working Group on Children’s Rights
…coming soon…
Past Children’s Rights Events
…coming soon…
Past Children’s Rights News
…coming soon…