BC Child Rights Public Awareness Campaign

 

In November 2010 SCY, The Representative for Children and Youth, BC Centre for Safe Schools and Communities, and Reel Youth launched BC's first multi-media public awareness campaign. The Campaign website is www.everychild.ca.

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) affirms children’s entitlement to development, protection, participation, and non-discrimination. The UNCRC has been signed by every country in the world except for two, making it the most ratified Convention in the world. The UNCRC represents almost a century of efforts to promote the well-being of children. It is the "most comprehensive expression of human rights ever developed by the international community." (UNICEF, 1994)

The UNCRC acknowledges that children’s rights can only be realized through the care and assistance of adults with the meaningful participation of children and youth.

Two reports by Canada’s Standing Senate Committee on Human Rights, Who’s in Charge Here? Effective Implementation of Canada’s International Obligations with Respect to the Rights of Children, and the 2007 report, Children: The Silenced Citizens-Effective Implementation of Canada’s International Obligations with Respect to the Rights of Children, conclude that there is a lack of awareness of the UNCRC and a need for public awareness initiatives across the country.

The Society for Children and Youth of BC, Representative for Children and Youth, BC Centre for Safe Schools and Communities, and Reel Youth are similarly mandated to promote the safety, well-being, and maximum development of children and youth throughout BC. Because knowledge of the UNCRC and children’s rights is generally lacking at all levels of society, these four agencies formed a partnership  to develop and implement a provincial child rights public education campaign.

Our campaign uses the UNCRC as a unifying framework for government and community programs and services to children, youth and families, and strengthening relationships in the community and all levels of government through our joint efforts to develop and implement strategies to increase the public awareness of child rights.

The campaign is based on the belief that greater public awareness will lead to:

• Increased political will, implementation monitoring, research, education, inclusion and participation of children—and society at large—in rights initiatives
• Increased advocacy by children and adult supporters (duty bearers)
• Positive proactive responses to advocacy by family, community, funders, politicians
• Increased funding and services
• Realization of children’s rights and improved well-being

The project specifically targets adults in BC—because it is adults that are ultimately responsible for ensuring that child rights are upheld. Our strategies have been broken into phases that include a base-line survey, focus groups, multi-media campaign, regional community forums, provincial conference, and a project completion survey.

As the realization of children’s rights in British Columbia is a shared responsibility of the whole community, a committee representing provincial and federal governments, funding agencies, community service organizations, youth organizations, and provincial advocacy bodies has been established to advise the project partners throughout the development and implementation of this campaign. 

Christina Thiele, Communications & Child Rights Projects Coordinator

Society for Children and Youth of BC | 604.822.0033