16 November 2018
The World Council of Churches (WCC) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) invite the media to celebrate World Children’s day on Wednesday, 21 November at the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva.
The celebration, which is part of the WCC’s 70-year anniversary, will include keynote addresses on vital aspects of child rights by high-level officials from both organizations, including WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit; deputy regional director Philippe Cori, UNICEF Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia; and His All Holiness the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, who will deliver a message from the Orthodox Church on inter-generational climate justice and support to children on the move as spiritual responsibility.
In 2015, the WCC and UNICEF signed a comprehensive global agreement to promote children’s rights and well-being.
The event on Wednesday celebrates both organizations’ 70-plus years commitment to child rights, as well as three years of close collaboration. It gathers experts, who will share their knowledge on pertinent child rights issues, with special attention to:
- Ending violence in schools
- Support to migrant and refugee children
- Inter-generational climate justice.
A brand-new episode of “Les Parlottes des Theopopettes” developed by the Protestant Church in Geneva, will be performed in the afternoon in front of 80 invited school children and their parents.
For more details, please see attached programme.
I order to facilitate the needs of the media, we kindly ask you to formally accredit yourself by sending the following information by email before Tuesday, 20 November, 9 am to media@wcc-coe.org
Name:
Date of birth: Outlet:
Position:
Press card number:
For questions regarding the programme or interview requests:
WCC director of communication Marianne Ejdersten; e-mail: mej@wcc-coe.org, mobile phone: +41 79 507 63 63
WCC media coordinator: Claus Grue, email: claus.grue@wcc-coe.org, mobile phone: +46 70 611 09 77
A very warm welcome to World Children’s Day!