Invitation: Putting Children First - June 25th, New Delhi
Lysa John
Sent: Tuesday, June 23, 2009 11:26 AM
"Putting Children First"
Venue : India International Centre,
Max Mueller Marg, New Delhi-110 003
Date : Thursday, 25 June 2009
Time : 9.45 am to 1.30 pm
What is India doing to make this country fit for children? What are the
intention, investment, impact and imperative before the Nation?
Four out of every 10 people in India are children. What is India's intention
towards them? What are the investments for their survival, protection,
development and inclusion in the life and progress of the nation?
As the world marks 9 years since the international adoption of the 2000-2015
millennium development goals, 7 years since the World Fit for Children
commitments were accepted and as India moves to a new chapter in political
leadership and governance 35 years after adopting a landmark national policy
for children, we need to asses and affirm what India must now do for the
youngest among its people.
In the recently concluded Rashtriya Bal Adhikar Sabha initiated by IACR and
World Vision India children from around the country prioritized their needs
and raised the demand for at least 25% of the national budget to be
allocated for programmes directly impacting children.
While contesting for the 2009 elections, political parties released their
manifestos laying out their plans for the future government. We need to
take stock of the commitments they have made to the common citizens,
especially to the children who form 41 % of the population.
Generally issues of children get neglected, as they are not part of the
'vote bank'. In her address to the newly elect Parliament early June, the
President's 100 day plan does not have anything to offer to the children
though it touches upon issues of poverty.
The pre-poll commitments become a reality only when they find space in
policy and budget allocations. Citizen participation in the budget is key to
ensure that the rights of the children are addressed and secured. In this
context, as the new Government takes charge, it would be good to look at
their commitments towards children, what they have missed out and advocate
for budget commitments for the same.
Objective:
. To advocate issues of children so that they are prioritized and
budgeted for by the new Government.
Process
Groups like CBGA, IACR, WNTA, NCE, and World Vision would facilitate a
colloquium in Delhi to draw up advocacy plans for putting children First..
Future advocacy activities like forum meetings, colloquiums and public
meetings as well as research reports; white papers, media engagements and
face-to-face meetings with key bureaucrats would be chalked out.
Partnering with teams who have the expertise on analyzing budgets and child
rights, in order to raise a collective voice for the children.
In solidarity,
Reni Jacob / KA Jayakumar
World vision India