|
REPORT
1996 World Summit of Children
CHILDREN’S WORLD FOOD SUMMIT DELEGATION
November 10-19, 1996, Rome, Italy
BACKGROUND
The 1995 World Summit of Children Project was a two-year endeavor involving over 20,000 children.
The ideas discussed at 27 worldwide PrepComs (educational preparatory meetings) were compiled and written down by the 110 delegates at the June 1995 International Summit held near San Francisco during the UN50 Charter celebration. The children decided that hunger is the most vital problem to be solved on the planet and that children could be a major force in alleviating this problem. At the Summit and later at a post-Summit meeting in Geneva they completed three strategies through which children could responsibly partner with adults by establishing international and national children’s structures.
1. A Young General Assembly (YGA) is a framework through which the United Nations can be
strengthened through the participation of children. The children’s Proposal describes levels of national, global regional and international organs which would ensure the world’s largest minority group, children, a voice in the UN. The YGA would cooperate with and assist the present UN General Assembly and be an activating link between the UN and the earth’s largest untapped resource- its children.
2. National Council of children (NC) is a representative group of children from all areas of a nation which would assist their government in more economically and efficiently designing and imple- menting solutions for children’s issues. A Council would make recommendations for the focus of expenditure and recruit children to take part in the implementation of solutions which it helps to plan. Ambassadors to the UN Young General Assembly would be selected by the Council.
3. Hear the Children Day (HTC Day) is an international day during which respect for children would be strengthened. The YGA and National Councils and children’s ideas about how young people can help alleviate major social problems would be heard and seriously considered. On this day, NC and YGA projects can be launched worldwide and locally such as the FAO/UN Food for All Campaign.
During the 1996 World Summit of Children Project, which consisted of 32 PrepComs and an International Summit in Costa Rica, the number of children involved rose to 42,000. Support for the three international children’s plans above was greatly strengthened and extended.
THE PREPARATION FOR ROME
A PARTNERSHIP WITH THE FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UN BEGINS
At the 1995 International Summit near San Francisco the children decided the most important problem on the planet was hunger and they wanted to focus their efforts in 1996 towards eliminating hunger and promoting the goals of World Food Summit being organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). In November 1995, Ellen Brogren of PEACEWAYS journeyed to Milan, Italy and was joined by Francesca dell’Acqua of the International Children’s Peace Council-Italy. Together the two went to FAO headquarters in Rome to meet with Kay Killingsworth, Secretary-General of the 1996 World Food Summit through which heads of state worldwide were to agree on a plan of action to eliminate world hunger and ensure food security for everyone. Kay was favorably impressed with the quality of the documents the children had written during the 1995 World Summit of Children meetings. She requested PEACEWAYS to gather ideas from children all over the world so they could be considered for inclusion in the initial draft document being prepared for the World Food Summit. This
had to be accomplished in two and a half weeks to meet the FAO deadline. Once home, Ellen sent out fax notices to all the ‘95 International Summit delegates asking them to hold meetings to discuss hunger issues in their nation and come up with ideas for possible solutions to the identified problems. Children from 30 countries responded quickly and their conclusions were sent to FAO.
Later Kay wrote, “We are truly grateful for the interest shown by children in the subject of food security and for their efforts in reading and commenting on the document. We have read the children’s comments with great interest and have found them to be very relevant and thoughtful. Not only do they add a particular focus emanating from children’s views and perceptions, but they identify in a very constructive and concrete way how children can contribute to the goals of food security and how education can play a very important role. These comments are being circulated; they will certainly receive due consideration in the drafting of the Summit policy statement and plan of action.”
This is the first time that children have had input into the initial draft of an international document !!
While in Rome Francesca and Ellen worked with Frida Aslan Vilella and made many personal contacts and found a place to house the 1996 Children’s Delegation to the World Food Summit.
THE AUGUST INTERNATIONAL SUMMIT IN COSTA RICA
In August, at the 1996 International Summit in Costa Rica, the children redefined the Young General Assembly (YGA) global regions and selected 24 delegates, two from each of the 12 YGA regions, to go to Rome during the World Food Summit as members of the Children’s Delegation to the World Food Summit. This delegation was given the task to make the international children’s plan for National Councils known as a vital contribution to the elimination of hunger. The children wrote a summary of ideas they wanted the delegation to consider for their Rome Statement to be written and presented during the FAO Summit.
THE PARTNERSHIP WITH FAO DEEPENS
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) invited PEACEWAYS to attend the International Consultation of NGOs at FAO headquarters in Rome September 19-21, 1996. Ellen called in and requested permission to bring a child because PEACEWAYS’ policy of operation is to model the partnership with adults and children that it is promoting. It took several days, but approval did come and 15 year Paul Garcia from Denver, USA was selected. Ellen and Paul started their journey on Hear the Children Day. They were met in Rome by Frida Aslan Vilella who brought them to an international student’s dormitory Fratelli Maristi to stay. As soon as they were settled in Paul and Ellen accompanied by Frida for translation went to visit officials in the Italian Permanent Mission to FAO and with the FAO Youth Forum. Brigitte Beretta, founder of International Children’s Peace Council-Italy and Francesca dell’Acqua arrived from Milan in the evening.
The next day the four went to FAO headquarters where 15 year old Paul Garcia was looked at with amazement, but received an official registration badge and was given full speaking and voting privileges as any other invited delegate. The International Consultation had been called so that NGOs could have a last voice in the draft document after it had been altered by regional meetings. Eighty percent of the 45 page document was in brackets which needed to be removed by consensus. There were 200 NGOs from 70 countries present and a wide variety of interests were represented. It seemed like an impossible task. After working in three language groups and seeing how slow the progress was, it was decided to break into seven working groups and divide the document into seven parts.
Paul and Ellen joined 26 others in the Commitment One group. Commitment One states: “We shall ensure an enabling legal, social and economic environment at all levels designed to create the best conditions for durable peace and eradication of poverty based on full and equal participation of women and men, which is most conducive to achieving sustainable food security for all.” The brackets were such that there was still opportunity to include references to children and child rights. Paul and Ellen were responsible for getting three phrases about children and child rights agreed upon and also a paragraph about the participation of children in eliminating hunger. At the final editing plenary, Paul was distressed that the phrase “rural children” had been omitted and when the chair requested that all requests for changes be made in writing, Paul wrote out his position and turned it in.
This is the first time a child has been given full speaking and voting privileges at such a meeting !!
Paul found out about the US government briefing for US NGOs and both Paul and Ellen attended a most informative session. Paul repeated a request that had been made in Washington, D.C. last spring to have a child included in the US Food Summit Delegation. The people from the State Department gave a positive response about considering it. The membership of the delegation was still being decided. However, later the US Congress refused any funding for the US official World Food Summit Delegation so a child was not included because of lack of funds.
THE YOUNG DELEGATES HAD MANY DIFFICULTIES
The delegates worked very hard to obtain funding to get to Rome. The delegation lodgings at Casa San Bernardo in Rome were secured because of the generosity of Leo C. J. Lee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of China and the assistance of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in San Francisco. Most of the 24 peer-selected delegates overcame many financial difficulties. However, many of the children who had raised funds were given visa denials without explanation and rude treatment by Italian Embassies. Nine children ages 10-17 out of the 24 delegates selected arrived in Rome.
THE ROME EXPERIENCE
The young delegates arrived tired from long flights, but excited about renewing their Summit friendships and about the work ahead. They were warmly welcomed and made to feel at home by the staff of the Casa San Bernardo. Sunday evening the work began with delegate reports. Monday morning the delegates began work on their statement by studying and discussing the World Food Summit document. Clare, Paul and Ellen went to FAO to try for the third time to get photo ID cards required for Summit admittance.. They stood in line for 4 hours and 15 minutes. Clare had brought her homework and used her waiting time to study. Paul had arrived early that morning and found a quiet spot to sleep. At San Bernardo, the others continued to study and discuss the World Food Summit Statement of Policy and Plan of Action in preparation for writing their Statement.
This meeting was not like any of the PrepComs or the International Summits of the World Summit of Children Projects. The other meetings were family gatherings where everyone arrived together, worked and played together at the same location and left together. During the Children’s Delegation to the World Food Summit, the Italian delegation was not fully present until the fifth day and they left three days early, the Romanian delegation and the delegate from Africa also had to leave early. Because of the restrictions imposed by the World Food Summit only two children were given clearance to attend: Clare Huang and Paul Garcia. At the Summit NGOs only had access to printed materials and the in-house TV monitors. Both Clare and Paul talked with many people from NGOs about the children’s National Council plan and they brought printed materials for the other children and reported on their daily
adventures. Every avenue open was tried to get the children’s written Statement out with no success. Clare and Paul did have two interviews on Italian national radio and Clare had a third interview describing the PrepComs and Hear the Children Day events that the Taipei Family Helper Project was organizing in her country. A portion of the Children’s Delegation Statement was printed in a daily newspaper distributed to Summit participants. The plan that 42,000 children had been involved in developing for two years to help governments implement the Food Summit goals was made unavailable to the people who could benefit from it. However, the presence of Clare and Paul, the only two children attending, served to bring a few people to thinking about children in a new light.
The US State Department held nightly briefings on the daily activities at the World Food Summit to inform NGO participants. The first evening the Children’s Delegation arrived, they were asked to leave. After some convincing from Ellen, and especially after some of the children spoke, they were welcomed.
Both PEACEWAYS and the Children’s International Peace Council-Italy were given clearance to attend the NGO Forum. At first, only organization names were to be on the badges and it was planned to have two different children attend each day. However, at the last minute, names were written on the badges so the rotation plan was abandoned and Yaa Aboagye and S. Rajesh Krishnan represented children at the Forum. The two delegates reported that they were the only children attending and there was hardly any focus on children at the Forum. A lot of the workshops and talks were focused on women’s issues. The spirit of the Beijing Women’s Conference was carried to Rome through a strong representation of African women. There was not enough emphasis put on the right to food as a human right. Both delegates enjoyed speaking to other individuals and the National Council plan was well received. However, they were not allowed to hold a public discussion/workshop.
The happiest times for the child delegates in Rome were when they made presentations to schools about the World Summit of Children Projects and the National Council Plan. Elena Galli Alesse of Rome had arranged meetings to which students from several schools located in Rome and even outside of Rome came. The Italians were attentive during the presentations about the World Summit of Children Projects and the National Council plans. Nora-Maria Hapca, the 10 year delegate from Romania, delighted audiences with her violin playing. There were very active question periods during which the Italian students asked very practical questions about how to start a National Council. Through the coordinating efforts of Elena, Italian students will be working to establish the National Council idea in many different ways. Frida Aslan Vilella arranged for the Delegation to speak at the Leonardo da Vinci School. There, because no auditorium was available, a series of two or three classes crowded into a classroom to hear the Delegation and ask questions. Frida tirelessly interpreted English/Italian for the several presentations. It was a tiring, but very rewarding day for the children.
The Children’s Delegation had come to Rome to let governmental officials know about their plan for National Councils of children through which governments can more efficiently and economically implement the goals of the World Food Summit Plan of Action and the Food for All Campaign. They did not accomplish this goal because of restrictions which made it impossible for children to have a recognized voice. However, in their networking at the World Food Summit and the NGO Forum, they feel they made some allies. Many delightful events did occur. The children enjoyed the Italian students. On Sunday morning some Italian students showed the children (no adults allowed) some of the beautiful historical sights of Rome. One evening Nora-Maria presented a concert at which she played a violin solo chosen especially for each member of the Delegation. In the day-to-day living and at meals the children learned a lot from each other and proved that children can break down barriers of prejudice quickly and can live in a spirit of joyful cooperation. Also, as individuals able to express their beliefs and ideas, the children felt they grew by leaps and bounds. As the youngest Delegate, ten-year-old Nora-Maria, said, “I learned how children can help children and all of mankind.”
STATEMENT
from
THE CHILDREN’S WORLD FOOD SUMMIT DELEGATION
We are children with a vision. Presently children constitute one third of the world’s population. We are the untapped potential of society today and will become the world of tomorrow. If society continues to disempower its children, we all face a devastating future.
We address this statement to you, leaders of the world. You must listen to us if you wish to truly represent us. If we cannot voice our opinions and contribute to the well-being of humankind, where will the future lie ?
We can trust in you only when you have courage and strength of heart. If you were a parent of the whole world, you would love your children. We are your children.
You extended your hand to us in the 1990 World Summit for Children document to promote a global partnership with you for the achievement of common goals. Since then, children have been conferring at national and international levels discussing this partnership. In 1994 the children began annual World Summit of Children (WSOC) projects. As a result, over 42,000 children have been involved in projects to improve their communities in the areas of human and child rights, education, health, environment and the elimination of hunger. In 1995 the WSOC children decided that they would target the elimination of hunger as their top priority. To establish this partnership and help achieve food security, they proposed:
a) A Young General Assembly (YGA)- an assembly of child delegates from every country in the world which, as part of the UN, will address children’s problems and act as a first line of communication between children, their governments and the UN;
b) National Councils of children (NCs)- a group of children representing all regions of their nation which will assist their governments in defining children’s problems and suggesting and implementing solutions. Ambassadors from the NCs would comprise the YGA; and
c) Hear the Children Day (HTC Day)- a day to strengthen communication ties and the partnership between children and adults. By doing so, articles 13 and 14 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child are being preserved and the World Food Summit goals can be promoted.
Considering the establishment of a YGA is not in the immediate future, it is imperative that national governments aid NGOs and children in establishing National Councils as soon as possible. These councils can help governments in implementing the World Food Summit Plan of Action and the Food for All Campaign more economically and efficiently by organizing the nation’s children.
By the time the World Food Summit Plan of Action comes into total effect in approximately five years, children could statistically be one-half of the world’s population. The World Food Summit document groups children with the disadvantaged, particularly needy, socially vulnerable, insecure and infirm. We would like you to remember that children are capable of making decisions along with you in matters of mutual concern.
Rome, Italy
|