The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) is the binding international instrument that incorporates the full range of human rights relevant for children. It spells out the basic human rights that children everywhere have, including, among others, the right to survival, to develop to the fullest, to protection from harmful influences, abuse and exploitation, and to participate fully in family, cultural and social life. The rights in the CRC are entrenched in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, Act 108 of 1996, Chapter 2, Section 28, sub-sections 1-3 which clearly sets out the rights of Children.
The practice of these rights was highlighted by South African learners during the Global Vote Day from 25 January to 15 May 2012.
The Global Vote was organized by the World’s Children Prize Foundation (WCPF). The WCPF goal is to work towards a more humane world, in which the rights of the child are respected by all. It teaches young people about democracy and global friendship by encouraging learners to assess and then vote for the person who has made the most critical contribution to implementing the Rights of the Child. The WCPF is supported by almost 58,000 registered Global Friend Schools across 102 countries and involve close to 28 million students across the world of which South Africa is an active partner.
All registered schools went through a process of voting to decide who should receive the World’s Children’s Prize for the Rights of the Child. In 2010, more than 7, 1 million children elected former President Nelson Mandela and Graça Machel as their Decade Child Rights Heroes. Mr Mandela, Mrs Machel and the Minister of Basic Education, Ms Angie Motshekga, are also patrons of the World’s Children’s Prize.
The candidates for the Global Vote 2012 were:
- Anna Mollel, Tanzania: She was nominated for her over 20 year struggle for the Massai children with disabilities in poor rural communities in northern Tanzania;
- Sekena Yacoobi, Afghanistan: She was nominated for her long and dangerous struggle to fulfill Afghan children’s and women’s right to education, healthcare and to learn about their rights; and
- Professor Ann Skelton, South Africa: She was nominated for her more than 20 year long successful fight for the right of children affected by justice system. Prof Skelton is the Director of the Centre for Child Law at the University of Pretoria.
At the World’s Children’s Press Conferences on Monday 21 May 2012, children revealed Anna Mollel as Child Rights Hero and the recipient of the 2012 World’s Children’s Prize for the Rights of the Child. The World’s Children’s Honorary Award went to Sakena Yacoobi and Prof Ann Skelton.
The Laureates of 2012: Anna Mollel, Sakena Yacoobi and Ann Skelton.
The World’s Children’s Prize Foundation (WCPF) and the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) attended the Department of Basic Education’s Race and Values Inter-Provincial Task Team in February 2011, at which Ms Marlene Winberg from WCPF and Ms Shameme Manjoo from IEC expressed their mutual interest in developing a partnership between the two organizations in the context of children’s rights, democracy and civic education.
The World’s Children’s Prize education programme was thus adopted as the vehicle to drive this process in South African schools. The IEC has adopted a policy to engage in a Youth Democracy and Civic Education programme for people under 18, in order to encourage a culture of human rights and democracy in South Africa.
Basic Education officials from the Race and Values Unit monitored the voting process which took place in Vukani Primary, Ntsha-Peu, Mzimuhle Primary all in Soshanguve and Motshegofadiwa Primary School in Hammanskraal. Many other schools in South Africa and around the world participated in the Global Vote Day.
Ms Gabatshwane Gumede, (17) from the North West Province, South Africa is the Child Jury. Gabatshwane was orphaned by AIDS when she was very young and has been a role model for children across the world. She will represent the children in South Africa and at the awards ceremony.
A summary of The World’s Children’s Prize International Education Programme is as follows:
- The programme is open to all schools and all children, 10-18 years old.
- The children study the stories of the three candidates and the children they fight for in the prize magazine, The Globe. They study the rights of children in the world and in their own country, and formulate their demands for these rights to be better respected. They also read about the World’s Children’s Prize Jury Children. The learners and their teachers use The Globe as a learning resource to engage in creative projects across the curriculum, as presented in the teacher’s guide.
- The learners read about children from the rest of the world who organize their Global Vote Day, set a date for their own Global Vote Day and prepare everything they will need for a democratic election. They celebrate their vote with a party or a ceremony and report the results to the S.A. office or in the ballot box on the website.
- The outcome of the Global Vote Day is revealed all over the world on the same day. Children may hold a ceremony or a press conference at their school on that day, using the World’s Children’s Prize’s press pack that is available to schools. During this occasion they may invite local politicians and municipal officers to their school to question them on children’s rights in their community.
- The programme ends with the Award Ceremony at the Gripsholm Castle in Mariefred, Sweden. All three prize candidates are honoured when Queen Silvia of Sweden assists the Jury Children to present the prizes.
For more information, please visit www.worldschildrensprize.org