Each November, World Children’s Day is celebrated as a global moment for children, by children. But what is this day really about and how can students get involved?
Rights For Every Child
November 20th is the UN’s Universal Children’s Day, the day when the most widely ratified human rights treaty in history, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, was adopted. This year marks the 30th anniversary of its adoption and at UNICEF, we celebrate the progress made for children, while also demanding action and holding leaders accountable to the promises made to protect the rights for every child.
One of the best ways we can ensure that children’s rights are being protected is to amplify children’s voices and listen as they share their concerns and wishes for the world.
Children are telling us, loud and clear: it is time for every child to have every right.
As kids around the world stand up for their rights, here are four ways your students can take action.
1. Complete our new World Children’s Day Kid Power Up!
This new 5-minute Connect video, “How Does Change Happen?” helps students understand how they have the power to make change happen. As always, playing Kid Power Ups helps the team save lives globally and earns Kid Power Coins for giving back to local causes.
Play the World Children’s Day Kid Power Up!
2. Complete this World Children’s Day Brainstorm Worksheet.
After playing the Kid Power Up, we have a new Brainstorm Worksheet that students can do in class (read the Teacher’s Instruction Guide first). This companion activity is a great way for students to brainstorm about issues that are more pressing to children, locally and globally — and how they can work together to start addressing them.
• Read the Instructional Guide.
• Download the Brainstorm Worksheet.
3. Write letters to elected officials.
For change to happen, it’s critical that students’ voices are heard. Our World Children’s Day worksheet also includes a template Letter to Elected Officials that students can follow to write and send to their local officials.
• Download the template Letter to Elected Officials.
• Please share your letters with us at [email protected] or tag us on social media @UNICEFKidPower.
We highly encourage students to send their letters to your elected officials! Tag them on social media or find out how to contact them. Here are two websites that can help you find out how to contact your elected officials:
4. Host a Kids Takeover or other activity that amplifies students’ voices.
There are lots of child-led activities going on across the world. Landmarks and cities are being painted UNICEF blue, kids are taking over news stations, and national summits are being live-streamed. You can learn more about World Children’s Day events here. You can also download a free lesson plan from our partners at World’s Largest Lesson.
We can hardly wait to see how the UNICEF Kid Power team takes over on World Children’s Day. Be sure to tag us @UNICEFKidPower so we can amplify your students’ voices even more and share with the world!
______________________________________________________________________________
UNICEF Kid Power is free for all teachers in the U.S. to use. Join thousands of others across the country connecting everyday actions to real-world impact. Sign up here!
