The Whole Child A project to introduce the UN Convention on The Rights of the Child to 8-13 year-olds The UNICEF-UK Participation Save the Children T Articles This book is one of three designed to introduce the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child to 8-13 year olds, and deals with those Articles which cover the child’s PARTICIPATION in his/her own development. "The way a society treats children reflects not only its qualities of compassion and protective caring but also its sense of justice, its commitment to the future and its urge to enhance the human condition for coming generations. This is as indisputably true of the community of nations as it is of nations individually." Mr. Javier Perez de Cuellar, Secretary-General of the United Nations, in a message to an International Meeting on the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Ligano, Italy, September 1987. The series has been produced, in collaboration, by: UNICEF-UK Save the Children and Oxford Development Education Unit ISBN 1 871440 02 5 (UNICEF-UK) ISBN 1 870322 17 1 (SCF) Copyright: SCF/UNICEF-UK 1990 This material may be photocopied for use in schools. Front cover photo of Syrian boy by Gerin/UNICEF CONTENTS Page A topic web: ‘The Whole Child’ ii Introduction 1 The Articles of the Convention 2 Unit A: Information 4 Unit B: Identity 11 Unit C: Childhood 18 Unit D: Education 27 Unit E: Culture, religion & language 38 Unit F: Play & leisure 43 Unit G: Freedom of speech & opinion 49 Resource list 53 World map 55 Acknowledgements We would like to thank the following schools for helping us by trialling these materials: Sparsholt Primary School, Sparsholt, Hants St Peter’s RC Primary School, Winchester, Hants Westgate Secondary School, Winchester, Hants Owlesbury Primary School, Owlesbury, Hants All Saints Primary School, Winchester, Hants and Dee Edmunds for the illustrations. festivals/ceremonies world religions passports/identity cards chants fashions (incl giraffe­ necked women, lip discs, bound feet, punk styles) national games naming ceremonies songs & rhymes art forms/music/dance from other countries use of family names drama/costume/etc I team games family trees ( Gramps’ etc) \ traditional games worldwide competitive games (Olympics etc) origin of family names daily worship \ play for the disabled Esperanto birth certificates non-competitive games z history of popular Eng as the \ International through painting, poetry, //names (Dickens/ design a play area airline lang modelling, singing, drama, Zsurvey of names-—- Shakespear/etc) movement, collage & \ puppetry the right to play / changing names the origin of words cross-cultural learning name games - labelling <. names / nicknames language ARTISTIC PLAY IDENTITY Happy Families CULTURE EXPRESSION names which reflect L characteristics THE WHOLE CHILD what is a child? INFORMATION CHILDHOOD songs/rhymes/ posters \ videos / sayings leaflets how to make the EDUCATION FREEDOM OF SPEECH children's games : history of etc Conyention known I \ 'share and tell' and around the world free & compulsory \ analysis of Articles listening to others^---})ra|ns^rm|ng childhood memories / comparisons ^/the law courtrooms /of adults 'magic microphone' \ children to make discipline^—rules, punishments up own Articles ----- retrospective hopes rules of society / debating techniques of famous people for the future ranking exercises history of edriaw \ \ classroom elections suitable media studies school uniforms \ suitable/not for children children's TV / newspapers / tackling local issues literacy/adult literacy \ minority representation^ readers' letters organisations for children language Eng as 2nd lang world affairs \ Brownies/Guides/Woodcrafters/etc minority opinion \ / (societies/ass^ciations) the changing status advertisements / what is learned of the child [ responsibilities at misinterpretation of info before school/at self-expression \ home/at school/in home through puppetry the community selecting info time lines environmental ed role play X childhood ailments teaching about---- . social ed. 'tale telling' world disasters multicultural ed health records futures suggestion box dreams/nightmares INTRODUCTION November 20th 1989 is a day which children of the world should celebrate; for on that day the United Nations General Assembly formally adopted The Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Convention is made up of 54 Articles, and they are reprinted in full in the Teachers’ Handbook which accompanies this series of project books. We have grouped the Articles of the Convention into three categories: PARTICIPATION PROVISION PROTECTION ‘The Whole Child’ looks at the Participation Articles. These are the rights which concern a child’s basic cultural identity; his/her childhood and involvement in the wider society. Although some of these Articles may be viewed as provisions for the child by the adult world, there is now a consensus that the child should be an active and contributing participant and not merely a passive recipient in all that concerns his/her development. The approach is through child-centred activities which lead children to consider themselves and their own experience in relation to the Articles and the experiences of other children elsewhere. The topic web on the previous page gives an idea of the wider range of possible areas of study. You may be able to add to it and almost certainly will not want to attempt all of it. We have attempted in these materials to comply with the requirements of the National Curriculum and have indicated specific relevant Attainment Targets wherever possible in the Teachers’ Handbook. The other titles in this series are: ‘Its Our Right’ which looks at the PROVISION ARTICLES. ‘Keep Us Safe’ which looks at the PROTECTION ARTICLES. Heather Jarvis, Education Officer, UNICEF-UK Jackie Chapman, Educational Consultant, Oxford DE Unit Chris Gibb, Education Officer, SCF Don Harrison, Educational Consultant, SCF 1 The complete text on the Convention on the Rights of the Child, together with an unofficial summary, is given in the accompanying Teacher's Handbook. The Articles to which this book specifically refers are the following: Article 1 regardless of frontiers, either orally, in For the purpose of the present Convention writing or in print, in the form of art, or a child means every human being below through any other media of the child’s the age of 18 years unless, under the law choice. applicable to the child, majority is 2. The exercise of this right may be subject attained earlier. to certain restrictions, but these shall only be such as are provided by law and are Article 7 necessary: 1. The child shall be registered immediately a) for respect of the rights or after birth and shall have the right from reputations of others; or birth to a name, the right to acquire a b) for the protection of national nationality, and, as far as possible, the security or of public order , or of right to know and be cared for by his or public health or morals. her parents. 2. States Parties shall ensure the Article 14 implementation of these rights in 1. States Parties shall respect the right of accordance with their national law and the child to freedom of thought, conscience their obligations under the relevant and religion. international instruments in this field, in 2. States Parties shall respect the rights and particular where the child would duties of the parents and, when otherwise be stateless. applicable, legal guardians, to provide direction to the child in the exercise of his Article 8 or her right in a manner consistent with States Parties undertake to respect the the evolving capacities of the child.” right of the child to preserve his or her 3. Freedom to manifest one’s religion or identity, including nationality, name and beliefs may be subject only to such family relations as recognised by law limitations as are prescribed by law and without unlawful interference. are necessary to protect public safety, order, health, or morals or the Article 12 fundamental rights and freedoms of 1. States Parties shall assure to the child others. who is capable of forming his or her own views the right to express those views Article 15 freely in all matters affecting the child, 1. States Parties recognise the rights of the the views of the child being given due child to freedom of association and to weight in accordance with the age and freedom of peaceful assembly. maturity of the child. 2. No restrictions may be placed on the 2. For this purpose, the child shall in exercise of these rights other than those particular be provided the opportunity to imposed in conformity with the law and be heard in any judicial and which are necessary in a democratic administrative proceedings affecting the society in the interests of national security child, either directly, or through a or public safety, public order, the representative or an appropriate body, in a protection of public health or morals or manner consistent with the procedural the protection of the rights and freedoms rules of national law. of others. Article 13 Article 17 1. The child shall have the right to freedom States Parties recognise the important of expression; this right shall include function performed by the mass media freedom to seek, receive and impart and shall ensure that the child has access information and ideas of all kinds, to information and material from a 2 diversity of national and international with the child’s human dignity and in sources, especially those aimed at the conformity with the present Convention. promotion