The World Day calls for:

• Universal ratification of the ILO’s Conventions on child labor (and of all ILO core Conventions)
• National policies and programs to ensure effective progress in the elimination of child labor
• Action to build the worldwide movement against child labor

As Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has stressed, “The exploitation of children anywhere should be a concern to people everywhere.” Children in situations of exploitative child labor are deprived education, and lack the opportunities to rise to their full potential and lift themselves, their families and their communities out of a cycle of poverty.

This year, the World Day Against Child Labor provided a spotlight on the right of all children to be protected from child labor and from other violations of fundamental human rights. Children enjoy the same human rights accorded to all people. But lacking the knowledge, experience or physical development of adults and the power to defend their own interests in an adult world, they also have distinct rights to protection by virtue of their age.

• In 2010, the international community adopted a Roadmap for achieving the elimination of the worst forms of child labor by 2016.
• Some 215 million children across the world are still trapped in child labor and it is estimated that 5 million children are in forced labor.
• In Asia and the Pacific, child labor is declining but the region has the most child laborers ages 5-17 (113.6 million, more than 48 million of them in hazardous work.
• There continues to be a need for specific future actions: strengthening workplace safety and health for all workers with specific safeguards for children between the minimum age for admission to employment and the age of 18.

The awareness day was recognized by countries and leaders around the world, many of which stated that education is the key to ending child labor and protecting youth.

“Education is a critical response to child labor and youth employment issues in Indonesia,” said Angela Kearney, UNICEF Representative in Indonesia. “If the number of children in work is to be reduced and their prospects when they do enter the workforce in later years are to be improved, investment in education at every level – from pre-school programs to vocational training—is essential.”

Salesian programs in more than 130 countries around the globe—including Indonesia—are providing such education and vocational training. Widely considered the world’s largest private provider of vocational and technical education, the Salesians focus on changing the course of a young person’s future by providing opportunity.

“Ending child labor will be the work of those providing better opportunities,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “And those better opportunities come from access to education.”

Learn more about the educational opportunities the Salesians provide around the globe at SalesianMissions.org >

Learn more about how the Salesians are giving brighter futures for child laborers in India (and how you can help) >

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Latest data indicates that more than 200 million children from low- and middle-income countries under the age of five are failing to attain their developmental potential because of poverty, poor heath and limited opportunities to learn.

This year’s theme for Global Action Week focuses on early learning under the slogan “Rights from the Start! Early Childhood Education Now!” Today, more than half of the world’s children remain excluded from pre-primary education.

Early childhood is defined as the period from birth to eight years old. A time of remarkable brain growth, it lays the foundation for future learning and development. In fact, 85 per cent of a child’s brain develops by age five, even before a child enters school.

“Quality early childhood programs, designed for the most vulnerable and combined with parenting support, have a significant impact on linguistic, cognitive and social skills necessary for lifelong learning,” said Susan Durston, UNICEF’s global chief of education.

“Opening the doors for early learning, also presents a unique opportunity to  break the cycle of poverty and disadvantage for many millions of children, including breaking down gender stereotypes through positive early gender socialization.”

By helping children prepare for school, early learning initiatives also lessen the effects of household deprivation, halt the transfer of educational disadvantage from parents to children and strengthen prospects for economic growth for families and communities.

However, many barriers stand in the way of early childhood learning. Barriers such as the lack of importance and resource allocation given to pre-primary education, lack of annual statistical data, cost of enrollment, limited availability of nearby early childhood facilities and a dearth of skilled educators and teachers persist in excluding children from pre-primary education.

While an increasing number of countries have developed and ratified national policies on early childhood care and learning, many of these policies continue to suffer from insufficient funding and fragmented planning, and as a result, they ultimately fail to translate into action.

To address some of these constraints, UNICEF focuses on ensuring that children enroll in school at the appropriate age and that those who enter the first grade of primary school come ready to learn.

By providing appropriate options for early learning, countries can then decide depending on the situation which strategy and option to implement for maximum result in getting children the opportunity for early learning.

For example, the Getting Ready for School: A Child to Child approach initiative provides a cost-effective supplemental model countries with resource constraints can use, which has shown significant gains in children’s readiness for school as well as get them into school at the right age.

Supporting countries in the development of national policies that support universal school readiness and translating them into action also helps provide this service to young children, especially the most marginalized.

“Getting children ready for school and in school at the right age demands concerted efforts and political will,” Durston said. “By investing in our youngest learners now, we not only enable them to fulfill their potential, but also contribute toward achieving all the Millennium Development Goals.”

About UNICEF

UNICEF works in 190 countries and territories to help children survive and thrive, from early childhood through adolescence. The world’s largest provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments. For more information about UNICEF and its work visit: www.unicef.org

About Child-to-Child Trust

Child-to-Child Trust is an international network promoting children’s participation in health and development based at the University of London’s Institute of Education. During the past 30 years, the work has spread to more than 70 countries worldwide and impacts more than a million children annually. To achieve its mission, the Trust promotes child-centered, active learning approaches that engage children on health and development issues. Children then disseminate their learning to other children, their families and their wider communities through participatory research activities. To advocate for these approaches the Child-to-Child Trust produces publications and teaching aids and provides training courses and consultancies. The Trust works through both local partners in-country as well as through large international organizations such as UNICEF and UNESCO. For more information visit www.child-to-child.org.

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See this release at its original location at www.unicef.org.

UN Photo/Kibae Park

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Salesian Missions has been providing agricultural education in Muyurina for over fifty years, according to Matt Welsh, program officer with Salesian Missions. Although the school’s academic and technical programs had grown in size, scope and diversity, many of the original structures that were built in the late 1950s and early 1960s were in desperate need of repair.

When Salesian Missions approached USAID’s American Schools and Hospitals Abroad Program regarding the possibility of assisting with this project in 2006, Muyurina had grown by leaps and bounds since its early days of operation. Today,it is a school of nearly 800 students, offering a range of degree programs, including a post-secondary program that is recognized by the Catholic University of Bolivia.

The new Multi-Use Center provides meeting space for the school and is available for a fee for local clubs and community groups to hold events and retreats in the space.  The fee is used as infrastructure support and to subsidize tuition for students.

In addition, this project provided much needed renovation to the school’s electric and water systems and the purchase of agricultural equipment helps to provide a better educational experience for the youth in attendance.

“The agricultural school offers more than just agricultural training,” said Welsh. “This is part of a larger program that also offers traditional secondary education and other vocational training, in addition to feeding programs for area children.”

“Many of the children attending the school come from an agricultural background but often their families have never received formal agricultural education and training,” said Welsh.

“The academic preparation provided enables youth to implement farming methods that are more efficient, which increases crop yields and delivers a food supply more readily accessible to their families and communities.”

Salesian Missions currently operates more than 90 agricultural schools around the world and has been providing educational, vocational and health programs for youth in Bolivia for more than 100 years.

Salesian Missions provides not only educational opportunities in more than 130 countries around the globe, they address core needs.

“The core of our mission is to provide educational opportunities to the poorest of the poor. When the youth receive training, they stay and contribute to the local economy and the needs of their communities,” said Welsh. “This delivers benefits for years after they leave our institute.”

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