UNESCO conference and exhibition put the spotlight on street children

Paris, 17 November

• © François Perri

A conference, “Taking action for street children”, will be organized on 26 November* by UNESCO and the Air France Foundation to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

According to UNICEF estimates, some 100 to 150 million children around the world are street children. Half of them live on the South American continent and nearly 30 million in Asia. The conference “Taking action for street children” will begin by assessing the situation and then focus on the recognition of children’s rights, prevention and reintegration.

Speakers at the conference will be Irene Rizzini, professor at the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) and director of the International Center for Research and Policy on Children (CIESPI); Abdoulaye Ndiaye, magistrate, General Secretary of the Senegalese Ministry of Justice; Dr. Xavier Emmanuelli, founder and head of the French NGO Samusocial International; and Najat M’Jid, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography.

The conference will be followed an award ceremony, opened by Irina Bokova, the Director-General of UNESCO, and François Brousse, head of the Air France Foundation. The first Air France Foundation prize will be presented to Dr Xavier Emmanuelli. A preview of the documentary “Street Children” will follow. Directed by Michel Bulté, the film portrays children surviving in difficult circumstances in Brazil, Romania, Senegal, Viet Nam and France.

“Just Kids!”, an exhibition of photos of underprivileged children taken by François Perri, will open on 20 November, the anniversary date of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Chantal Biya, UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Education and Social Inclusion, will inaugurate the show, presented at UNESCO Headquarters (Miró Hall) until 10 December.

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*The conference will be held from 3.45 to 7 p.m. at UNESCO Headquarters,
125 avenue de Suffren, 75007 Paris

• Autor (es):UNESCOPRESS
• Fuente:Media advisory No. 2009-66
• 17-11-2009