KidsRights proudly looks back at the KidsRights School Summit that took place on May 1st at the New York Public Library. The Summit celebrated the impact of the newly developed KidsRights Children’s Rights Curriculum, that was piloted in recent months at selected High and Middle Schools in New York. Over 70 students and teachers gathered to showcase their learnings and present their changemaking projects for children’s rights.
Together with children and youth, KidsRights works towards a global movement of young changemakers for children’s rights. We inspire, inform and activate young changemakers to contribute to positive change. Through children’s rights education, based on the inspirational stories of the International Children’s Peace Prize winners, KidsRights annually educates more than 36,000 children in the Netherlands about their rights and empower them to acknowledge their boundless ability to move the world.
Over recent months, KidsRights crossed borders to additionally develop an international Children’s Rights Curriculum, reaching out to more than 680,000 students across 72 countries annually. The KidsRights Children’s Rights Curriculum is featured in the Rock Your World program of the Creative Visions Foundation; an innovative, project-based Middle / High School Curriculum, inspiring students to act for human rights.
The 2017 KidsRights School Summit gathered students and teachers from selected schools, to reflect on the impact of the recently developed educational program. Kehkashan Basu from the United Arab Emirates, 2016 winner of the International Children’s Peace Prize, inspired the audience. She shared her remarkable story of change, fighting to safeguard the future of our planet through her own organization, Green Hope. Kehkashan reminded the participants that truly everyone can move the world: “Environmental apathy must be done away with. We, children, have a leadership role to play and mold the future the way we want it.”
After Kehkashan’s inspirational kick-off to the Summit, the gathering acknowledged and celebrated the actions of the young changemakers that took part in the pilot, from Curtis High School, Somers Middle School and Barack Obama Green High School. Students took the stage to showcase their changemaking projects, and shared their suggestions to further improve the curriculum.
“I learned that anyone can make a difference and there are many ways to do that. Creating our own campaigns showed me that, Yes, I can create and spread awareness. And that I don’t have to be an adult to do this.” – Angelina, Somers Middle School
KidsRights would like to thank the New York Public Library for supporting the summit by offering their space for the meeting.