CR SPEECH FOR CHILDREN’S FORUM MEETING（20／5／01）

Children, Ladies and Gentlemen－in UNICEF we like to always put the children first!－I would warmly thank you all for inviting me,my wife MOON and our son DIGGORY to your Forum today.

    When I look around this room I see“lao pengyou”－old and dear friends--with whom UNICEF has been Working on the promotion of “ERTONG CAN YU”-- Children's participation--in this amazing and wonderful country of China where my own mother was born.

    Last week I was lucky enough to attend the 5th Ministerial Consultation on shaping the Future for Children，here in Beijing．The Chinese Government invited 20 other countries of the region to discuss the future facing the children of the East Asia and Pacific Region and－for the first time ever－children were invited to attend as official members of the country delegations．“HAO ZHUYI”--what a great idea!

Your Vice－Premier Li Lanqing put it so well in keynote address：

  “Children are our future．Their well－being is the foundation for sustainable national growth．To love，care about and protect children has long been a national Priority..”

    And we all know that China has already achieved so much for its children－in the areas of health，education and all other aspects of child development－areas in which its leadership is recognized throughout the region and the world．

    China took on these responsibilities when it ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child－“EPTONG QUANLI GONG YUE”-- over ten years ago.

    During these ten years，China，along with the other countries of the region，has been trying to find ways to actively involve today’s children in the shaping of a better world for all．China has been a leader in this area also and is widely recognised today as being“a good neighbour”for all the children of the region．

    SHAPING A BETTER FUTURE means that LISTENING TO CHILDREN is more important than ever before．Let we the grown－ups，who have such vivid memories of our own childhoods， hear the ideas and concerns of our own children， help them define problems

and develop solutions FROM THEIR PEPSPECTIVES and encourage them to act as critical participants in issues which affect them．

    Finally I would return to the children who attended the Ministerial Consultation and the voice of a 16－year old Philippina girl  Nikki Devera  who，in an interview with CHINA DAILy，had this to Say：

    “I am a girl and vulnerable to trafficking， domesic violence and sexual abuse．But I need to learn how to protect myself using the law．Right now there are many laws， but children have little idea about them..”

     THAT surely is another important dimension of “EPTONG CAN YU”-children's participation－and those organizations and“LAO PENGYOU”-old and dear friends－－gathered here today such as the Youth league, Children's Express and CYC－net have a major potential role in communicating such information to children，to All children in the rural areas as well as in the cities．

    Ways still must be found to bring the new information technology to all parts of this enormous country in which live around 380 million children．

    380 MILLION children under 18 years of age……WHAT A TREMENDOUS RESPONSIBILITy!

    I therefore hope this Forum fully lives up to all your expectations－as I am Sure it will，as I am already aware of the commitment and expertise of the organizers－and I thank all of you for inviting the three members of the Rycroft family to this opening event．

    on behalf also of my son Diggory and my wife Moon，I wish you GOOD LUCK with your Forum and thank you all very much!

 

在儿童论坛会议上的演讲
2001年5月20日

　　亲爱的孩子们，女士们，先生们：
　　在联合国儿童基金会，我们总是把孩子们的称呼放在第一位，今天我非常感谢你们邀请我，我的太太moon和我的儿子Diggory来参加你们的论坛。
　　我放眼望去，看到了许多老朋友，靠着这些老朋友，联合国儿童基金会一直致力于“儿童参与”在我母亲出生的国家－－神奇的中国的发展。
　　上周，我有幸出席了在北京举办的第5届儿童未来发展部长级会议。中国政府邀请了亚太地区20多个国家参与讨论该地区儿童未来发展情况。在这次会议上，儿童第一次作为国家代表团正式成员参加会议。这真是一个好主意。
　　你们的副总理李岚清先生讲得非常好：
　　“儿童是我们的未来。他们的健康成长是国家可持续发展的基础，热爱、关心和保护孩子是我国长期的首要任务。”
　　众所周知，中国在儿童健康、教育和其他各方面都取得了令人瞩目的成绩，中国的主导作用在该地区和全世界都受到认可。
　　自从中国10多年前加入《儿童权利公约》以来就承担了这些责任，在这10年中，中国和其他国家共同不懈地促进儿童参与创造一个美好世界，中国已成为该地区这方面的领袖，并被广泛认同为该地区的一个“好邻居”。
　　“创造美好的未来”意味着倾听儿童的声音越来越重要。让我们这些曾经拥有美好儿童回忆的成年人，倾听和关心孩子们，帮助他们认识问题，培养他们从自己的角度寻找解决问题的方法，鼓励他们成为自身事务的积极参与者。
　　最后，我想引述出席本次部长会议的一位16岁菲律宾女孩Nikki Devera在接受中国日报采访时说的一句话：我是一个女孩，非常容易受到拐卖、家庭暴力和性泛滥的伤害。但是我想要学习如何用法律保护自己。现在虽然有许多法律，但儿童对它们却知之甚少……
　　这当然是“儿童参与”的又一个重要议题，我们今天到会的各位老朋友，各个组织机构如“儿童表达”、“共青团”“中国青少年计算机信息服务网”等应该在向孩子们传递这方面信息上发挥更大的作用。是向所有的孩子们－－包括农村和城市传递信息。
　　我们还应该探索使用先进的信息技术向中国的3亿8千万儿童传递信息，3亿8千万18岁以下儿童啊！这是多么大的责任啊！
    我在此衷心希望这个论坛向你们预期的目标发展，我相信你们一定会达到这个目标。因为我非常清楚你们这些组织者的专业水平和承诺。再次感谢你们邀请我们全家3人出席这个活动。我代表我的儿子Diggory和太太moon祝论坛好运。谢谢大家。