You might have noticed that several buildings in Luxembourg are lit up in blue this week, here is why:
November 20th marks World Children’s Day and in Luxembourg, different events take place to support children’s rights, organised by UNICEF in Luxembourg. In a world, that still pretty much evolves around Covid-19, children all over the world are dealing with the consequences of the pandemic on top of their usual challenges. Millions of children are still denied a fair chance of having a good life for no reason other than the country they are born in or their gender.
They live in poverty; they do not get proper health care or the chance to go to school. They are victims of abuse and harassment, or they are discriminated because of their sexuality and gender identity. They are exposed to all sorts of threats from the internet; and they are very worried about the environmental situation.
To shed some light in the truest sense of the word onto these challenges, many buildings will be lit up blue this week to show support for children’s rights. On this fun day with a serious message, children also take over important roles in politics, media, or sports to draw attention to the challenges that children face. Here in Luxembourg, UNICEF’s Youth Ambassadors will shadow Ms Lenert, Minister of Health, Mr Meisch, Minister of Education, Children and Youth, as well as the Grand Duchess Maria Teresa for a couple of hours as part of their commitment to children’s rights.
Some of the UNICEF Youth Ambassadors will bake blue cake pops, which they will hand out. As a Youth ambassador myself, my idea is to organise a small exhibition about the mental health situation of young people in Luxembourg at my school.
November 20th is not chosen randomly. It is the date, when in 1959, the UN General Assembly adopted the Declaration on the Rights of the Child, and later in 1989, the Convention on the Rights of the Child. On this day, the world leaders came together to make a historic commitment to children, which is to treat each child as an individual with their own rights and most importantly, to ensure that each child must be allowed to grow, learn, play, and develop.
Everyone can get involved to highlight the challenges that many children face each day and World Children’s Day is the perfect occasion to do so! You can show your support in different ways, for example by participating in the #GoBlue movement, lighting up a building in blue, getting active by letting children take over an important role, engage with the topic by talking to your child or, if you are a teacher, to your students. You can also donate to the cause or, if you like, you can simply wear something blue.
To quote an Australian UNICEF Youth Ambassador: “Let‘s all do our part to ensure we have a tomorrow, today.”
Jade, UNICEF Ambassador
