The highlight further indicates that children from countries participating in the 2024 Regional World Children’s Day would “present an updated Call-for-Action and hold their governments accountable for the commitments made to promoting child rights.”
The choice to have the celebrations on a weekend (November 15-17) instead of the usual November 20, this year being Wednesday, was “to ensure the commemorations have minimal interference with children’s education,” according to the highlight about the 2024 annual event that was held in Zimbabwe’s Victoria Falls.
Besides the host country, other Southern African nations that participated in the three-day 2024 Regional World Children’s Day commemorations included Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, and Zambia, all SADC member countries.
In their November 18 statement, Africa’s Christian professional laud SADC and its member nations “for their unwavering commitment to children’s rights and well-being.”
ACPF members say that the “presence of over 7,000 children at the event reaffirms the region’s dedication to the shared objectives of the AU Agenda 2063, specifically Aspiration 6, which envisions an Africa whose development is people-driven, relying on the potential of its children and youth.”
The event of the 2024 Regional World Children’s Day commemorations, they say, “aligns with the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC), adopted by the African Union (AU), which emphasizes the protection, development, and participation of children as essential to Africa’s socio-economic progress.”
Africa’s Christian professionals laud activities participants engaged in during the three-day commemorations, which included chess and golf tournaments and cultural exchanges among others.
These activities, they say, “reflect the spirit of Article 12 of the UNCRC, which promotes children’s participation in matters that affect their lives.”
The activities, ACPF members further say, are aligned with the “SADC Protocol on Education and Training, which encourages regional collaboration in nurturing talent and creativity among young people.”
In their November 18 statement, ACPF members go on to laud Botswana’s newly elected President, Duma Gideon Boko, for participating in the commemorations, saying it signals his administration’s “strong commitment to advancing child centred policies.”
