Resource Library

The Sri Lankan Children,s Challenge!

Let,s Listen to Children,s Ideas and Take Their Opinions Seriously

Publisher: Save the Children

Place of Publish: Sri Lanka, Colombo

Year: 2002

Page Numbers: 48

Acc. No: 3252

Class No: 305.23 SRI-SL

Category: Books & Reports

Subjects: Children

Type of Resource: Monograph

Languages: English

In this book, over 11,000 children between the ages of 12 and 18 from every province in Sri Lanka are given a voice, and the sentiments they expressed during a nationwide consultation in 2001 has been reproduced here. Save the Children worked with a wide range of partners, to facilitate a detailed discussion on children’s priorities for the next decade. This occurred in the lead up to the UN Special Session on Children. Special attention was given to ensure that the voices of the vulnerable and marginalized were heard. The Sri Lankan Children’s Challenge culminated in the first ever Children’s Parliament where 130 children representing each province presented their challenge to policy and decision-makers from the government and other stakeholders. Thus, through this publication, Save the Children urges the government, donor community and civil society to recognise that children have a right to be at the heart of plans to achieve these goals; not as passive recipients but as social actors in their own right.