Who Has the Right?

Fifty-four articles outline the rights of children around the globe. 54! That’s the number that the world agreed on.

I am an ambassador for Children’s Rights Queensland and an Educational Mentor, a mother to 4 children and a grandmother to 2. This gives me a responsibility to stand up and shout about children’s rights. However, when we reflect on the 54 articles that outline children’s rights, it doesn’t take a title or a position to be qualified to advocate for children’s rights. Quite the opposite, it takes everybody who has a chance to.

When should we advocate? When should we speak up? Where should we do this? And to whom do we speak? These questions leave even the most well-meaning of educators, teachers and adults silent. The overwhelming nature of how emotional and passionate we all are as adults working and caring for young children can sometimes render people frozen and not really knowing what to say or do.

The answer to the above questions is to advocate and speak up all the time, even when your voice is unsure. Do this everywhere, even when you face ridicule. And speak to everyone, even when it may feel like it is not your place to. Sometimes standing up for the little people, makes the big people uncomfortable, and that’s ok!

It is the small things done consistently over time that make a difference. When you feel the little voice that tells you that “this is too big for you to take on,” lean into that challenge. As an adult, the United Nations convention on the child’s rights is written for you to read and understand.

You are the one to make a difference. If it isn’t you, then who is it?

Grab yourself a copy of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and read the 54 articles. Or even have a look at the simplified version or child-friendly version. If you were to take one of these articles and consider how you could speak about it with others and how you could change one approach that you have with the children in your own life, or your organisation does, then this small step is one step closer for all of the children around the world to enjoy the rights that they are entitled to.

If you want to change the world, begin by doing one small thing to change what you do. What good is having an international agreement if no one lives it every day? Your small decisions make a big difference for the children of the world and, ultimately, all of our future. Collectively together, a trickle becomes a river, and the children of the future depend on you to be brave enough to stand up for their rights.

Mandy Alborn - Educational Mentor Ambassador for Children’s Rights QLD