Children’s Rights Activity Book Launched
The Bliss Center in Belize City was over flowing this morning with children from various primary schools. The event was the launch of an activity book that will teach them about their rights and the responsibilities that come with those rights. Health, education, family life, play and recreation, an adequate standard of living and to be protected from abuse and harm are the rights that should be guaranteed to children, according to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Children. The new publication focuses on these issues. News Five’s Isani Cayetano reports.
Isani Cayetano, Reporting
“Having Fun with Rights: A Children’s Rights Activity Book” was formally introduced this morning at the Bliss Center for the Performing Arts. The publication which targets children between the ages of eight and eleven-years-old is intended to simplify the teaching of children’s rights by making it more collaborative and entertaining.
Kim Simplis Barrow, Special Envoy for Women & Children
Kim Simplis Barrow
“I am extremely excited to bring you our latest publication: Having Fun with Rights: A Children’s Activity Book. This has been in the making for the past two years and what we have created will hopefully make the teaching of children’s rights more interactive and enjoyable. What makes this book special is that it is a teaching and learning tool for everyone, children, educators and parents. It is also designed to really get children thinking, rather than just memorizing. So boys and girls, what you will find in this book is a series of activities based on your rights and responsibilities. To make sure the book is meaningful and makes sense to you the activities are based on situations you may face at school at home or in other social settings. We want to do several things with this book. First of all, we want to ensure that each of you know that you have rights, that you know what those right are and whether they are being respected. But it is also important to remember that with rights come responsibilities and one of the greatest responsibilities is respecting the rights of children.”
With Support from UNICEF, the book also places significant focus on the responsibilities that come with each of the rights to create and nurture positive behavior and promote child-appropriate responsibilities, especially at home.
Ivan Yerovi
Ivan Yerovi, Country Representative, UNICEF
“But to learn children’s rights is about you being conscious about your right to education, your right to receive good care, your right to be in a family, your right to be registered when you are born, your right to be well-fed. But the good thing about this book is that you will learn about your rights while you have fun. You have the right to play. Did you know that? You have the right to play, that’s your right, because the life of a child is pretty much going to school, playing and being at home. You have the right to be treated well, not to be corporal punished, not to be called names. And the idea is precisely for you to learn about these things.”
The development process of creating the activity book included workshops with students of Hummingbird Elementary School and All Saints Primary School. This took place in May of last year and feedback was gathered on content, as well as the appearance of the book. Those sessions also resulted in a name being chosen for the publication.
Kim Simplis Barrow
“Having a better understanding of your rights will help to protect you from being mistreated and help you to be aware of your actions and how they affect others. You are the most precious members of our society and it is our responsibility as adults to protect you, provide you with all the love, care and support to make sure that you grow up to be the best person that you can be.”
This is the second children’s book issued by the Special Envoy for Women and Children with the goal of empowering children with information.
Isani Cayetano reporting for News Five.
