Belgrade, 19 November 2022 – HRH Crown Princess Katherine sends a message to everyone for upcoming World Children’s Day, which is marked each year on 20 November, to pay a lot of attention to children, emphasizing that they are our greatest treasure, which we must protect and nurture.
World Children’s Day is UNICEF’s annual day of action for children, by children, marking the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The theme of this year’s marking of this day is “Inclusion, for every child”. From climate change, education, and mental health, to ending racism and discrimination, children and young people are raising their voices on the issues that matter to their generation and calling for adults to create a better future.
“This World Children’s Day, it’s more important than ever that the world listens to the ideas and demands of the young ones. Children are very smart and honest and believe me, they have a lot to say to us. It is something that stands for every child in the world. Their race, ethnicity, and religion don’t matter, they are all beautiful and all represent the future of our world.
The slogan of this year’s World Children’s Day reminds me of when I went to the United Nations Headquarters during the terrible war in the 1990ies in former Yugoslavia, disturbed by the fact that they were separating the humanitarian aid by the ethnicity and religion of the recipients. I spoke with all permanent members, showed them photos of babies, and asked them “Can you tell by these photos if the baby on them is Orthodox, Muslim, or Catholic? Is it a photo of a Serbian, Croat, or Bosnian baby? You can’t, and that is why all of them deserve equal help and support.”
It stands the same today – we must give love to all children, point out the problem of less and less time that parents and families spend with their children, we must show empathy towards the youngest, and try to provide them with a better and safer future. But also to respect their opinions and feelings. By respecting and providing to children, we are ensuring a better future for the world we live in”, said HRH Crown Princess Katherine.
HRH Crown Princess Katherine Foundation in Belgrade and the offices of the Lifeline Humanitarian Organization in Chicago, New York, Toronto, London, and Athens, whose patron is Crown Princess Katherine, pay the most attention to young ones and strive to enable children a carefree and happy childhood through their projects. Thousands of smiles on those children are the greatest reward for the work of all the good people who have made their lives better, through selfless charity. There is also a program “Children helping children” so the children can learn the joy of giving at an early age.
We should wear something blue оn 20 November, which is the color that symbolizes this day, and thus show everybody that we are ready to make this world more beautiful and better for the lives of our children.