Today is Children's Day

11/20/2003

"Beauty and grace are performed whether or not we will or sense them. The least we can do is try to be there." - Annie Dillard

TODAY IS CHILDREN'S DAY

A new national holiday has been unofficially announced by the national board of the United States National Committee of OMEP. It is a day to honor all children and to promote a better understanding of their needs and rights as human beings. The kick-off events will be held today, Thursday, November 20. After that, on the 20th of every month, children's advocates will celebrate an aspect of children's lives. Advocates around the nation will contact public officials, write letters to the editor and op-ed columns, and convene debates about children's issues. The first Children's Day coincides with the 14th anniversary of the signing of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. An Activity Packet is available at OMEP-USNC's Website www.omep-usnc.org.

"We're encouraging parents, teachers, caregivers and anyone who cares about children to take part on the first Children's Day," stated Lita Haddal, also an OMEP-USNC board member and child care specialist at the Wisconsin Child Care Information Center. "And we want to hear about activities that take place throughout the country."

"OMEP is the only international organization working for the education of all young children at the local and global level," stated Dr. Gwendolyn Coe, current president of OMEP-USNC and head of the Early Childhood Education Program at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville. "In 1948, following the devastation of a world war, children's advocates in Prague created an organization to recall the needs that are unique to young children."

OMEP-USNC, a non-profit organization whose membership is open to all who care for and about children, is an Exchange Strategic Partner. For more information about OMEP-USNC and other Exchange Strategic Partners, go to http://mail.ccie.com/go/eed/0051.

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