November 20 marks an important anniversary: all the partner members of the PARTAGE RISE network are celebrating the International Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). This year, the CRC celebrated its 35th birthday. And like every year, you, the network’s partners in the field, committed to defending children against all forms of abuse, have responded to our call for a joint event: ‘The Great Gallery of Children’s Rights’.
Following a survey carried out last summer, it was the creation of a large gallery of rights that was voted for. The concept is quite simple and allows children to participate freely: on a sheet of paper, each child illustrates the right that seems most important to him or her. The idea is not to perform or compete, but to give free rein to their creativity and artistic expression. Children are so gifted. They have a lot to say when adults give them space!
You supported the children by providing them with materials and, of course, by staging an exhibition in the places where they live: playgrounds, social centres and village squares. The gallery was often a pretext for discussing rights. Because parents, teachers, all educators and the community in general have a role to play. Children know how to remind them. This exhibition makes them visible and puts them at the centre of adults’ attention. A first step towards promoting their rights!
This large gallery has woven an imaginary thread of drawings that has travelled around the world: from Haiti to Honduras, from Ecuador to Brazil, via Burkina Faso, Benin, Madagascar and the Comoros in Africa, not forgetting a diversion through Romania, Egypt, Lebanon and Palestine, before moving on to Asia and Nepal, India and Thailand. These works of art, more than mere creations, are voices of hope and a vision of a better future, calling on elders and leaders to ensure that the rights of every child are celebrated and protected.
Well done to the children for their talent and courage. When the beauty of the drawings meets the ugliness of the bombs, art carries such a powerful message… and reminds adults that children must not be abandoned, especially those growing up in the midst of war and violence, in Lebanon, Haiti, Burkina Faso or Palestine.
Thank you to the adults who support them and guide them along the path of rights, for their unfailing commitment on a daily basis, whatever the cost.
Marie BENKETAF, Head of Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning