Advocate for Children and Youth celebrates 25th Anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child with walk, social media campaign
- EFN Staff | November 19, 2014
The Saskatchewan Advocate for Children and Youth will celebrate Canada’s National Child Day with an event in Regina on Thursday, November 20 and the launch of a social media awareness campaign using the hashtags #ChildRightsSK and #YouthVoiceSK.
On November 20, staff from the Advocate’s office are partnering with Street Culture Shelter in Regina for a short program on children’s rights at 10:30 a.m., following by a walk along Cornwall Street at noon to raise awareness of child and youth rights, and National Child Day.
The Advocate has also created posters for people to complete and share on social media using the hashtags #ChildRightsSK and #YouthVoiceSK. The posters have sentences to complete, such as “I have the right to” and “Every child has the right to.”
“National Child Day is a special opportunity each year to celebrate our children and youth, and to raise awareness about their interests and well-being in the province,” said Pringle. “This year it is particularly important, as the Convention turns 25 the same month that our own office is celebrating its 20th anniversary.”
National Child Day commemorates Canada’s ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which spells out the basic human rights to which children under the age of 18 are entitled. It was approved by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1989 and ratified by Canada in 1991. The Convention says that governments are in charge of making sure that children have rights and that those rights are respected.
The Advocate for Children and Youth is an independent officer of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan, and is appointed and reports to the Legislative Assembly.
The Advocate leads a team of regional advocates, investigators and other staff who work on behalf of the province's young people. Our vision is that the rights, interests and well-being of children and youth are respected and valued in our communities and in government legislation, policy, programs and practice.
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