January 09, 2017
New Delhi: President Pranab Mukherjee on Sunday flagged off the ‘100 million for 100 million’ campaign – a global initiative of 2014 Nobel Peace Laureate Kailash Satyarthi – that will support 100 million youth to stand up and be the voice of the voiceless 100 million children and youth across the world, within the next five years.
In other words, 100 million youth representing one generation will come together to address the problems of the upcoming generation.
The launch was held on the second day of the two-day inaugural ‘Laureates and Leaders for Children Summit 2016’ at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi today. Along with Nobel Laureates and Leaders, the flag off by the President assumed special significance since 11 December is also the birthday of Mukherjee.
Speaking about the campaign imperatives, Nobel Peace Laureate Kailash Satyarthi said: “Starting today, let us build the legacy we want to leave behind. I see a world where every child is free, safe and educated... where justice guides the rule of law, where governments and inter-governmental agencies create holistic policies for the wellbeing of children. I see a world where science and technology play a pivotal role in creating systems that deter crime – where via economic arguments we make children the beneficiaries of growth and not slaves of it. I see a world where young people drive change.”
The campaign launch culminated the two-day ‘Laureates and Leaders for Children Summit 2016’ that brought together around 25 Laureates and Leaders, youth and more than 150 eminent personalities from diverse walks of life – academia, business, civil society, sports, arts and culture. The Summit was convened to harness the moral and political authority of the Laureates and Leaders to promote children’s rights to freedom and education by eliminating child trafficking, child labour, slavery and other forms of violence against children.
Champion for the rights of children, Kailash Satyarthi said at the launch, “Change is knocking on our doors, riding on the enthusiasm and idealism of the youth. We must see them – and they must see themselves – as part of the solutions.”
The ‘100 million’ campaign will use the power of youth and harness it to empower and support 100 million children who are denied basic rights to freedom, education and healthcare. It will be a partnership between universities, youth student organisations and teachers’ associations to promote values of global citizenship among the youth. The aim is to primarily use social media for sensitising people, building awareness about children’s causes, petitioning stakeholders, compelling governments, the international community and corporates to ascertain that no child labour, child slave or trafficked youth are involved in their supply and production chains.
