11 million children’s prize for the rights of the child

FOCUS ON REFUGEE CHILDREN, CHILD WORKERS AND ABUSED CHILDREN

This year’s three finalists for the World’s Children’s Prize for the
Rights of the Child (WCPRC), with prize money totalling SEK 1 million
(USD 140,000) are:

CYNTHIA MAUNG, Burma, who has fought for the health and education of
hundreds of thousands of refugee children for 20 years, both under the
military dictatorship in Burma and in refugee camps in Thailand.

INDERJIT KHURANA, India, who has run over a hundred schools and two
phone help lines for 21 years, helping the poorest, most vulnerable
children who live and work on station platforms.

BETTY MAKONI, Zimbabwe. After being abused as a child, Betty began to
fight to give girls the courage to demand their rights. She supports
those who are exposed to abuse and protects others from assault, forced
marriage, trafficking and sexual abuse.

WORLD’S LARGEST EDUCATIONAL INITIATIVE ON DEMOCRACY AND CHILDREN’S RIGHTS

The WCPRC empowers children and young people all over the world so that
they can make their voices heard and demand respect for their rights in
accordance with the UN Child Convention. The WCPRC has quickly grown into
the world's largest annual educational initiative for children on rights
and democracy. As part of this process, the children award the world’s
most respected prizes for outstanding contributions to the rights of the
child.

11 million students at 20,000 schools in 82 countries participate in the
WCPRC, and that number is growing constantly. Around five million of
those children will participate in a Global Vote to determine who will
receive the Global Friends’ Award 2007. An international child jury –
consisting of children who are experts on the rights of the child through
their own experiences as soldiers, refugees, street children or slaves in
brothels or on farms – chooses the recipient of the other major award,
the World’s Children’s Prize.

Over 300 organisations all over the world support the WCPRC, which also
collaborates with many Departments of Education and youth media projects
worldwide. The prize magazine, like the website, www.childrensworld.org,
is available in nine languages and is read by over 7 million young
people.

MANDELA IS A PATRON

The patrons of the WCPRC include Queen Silvia of Sweden, Nelson Mandela,
President Xanana Gusmão of East Timor, former Executive Director of
Unicef Carol Bellamy, former UN Under-Secretary-General Olara Otunnu, and
Nobel Prize Winner in Economics Joseph Stiglitz.

The prize money, SEK 1 million (USD 140,000), is to be used in the
recipients’ work for the rights of the child and will help some of the
world's most vulnerable children. It is supported by AstraZeneca, Banco
Fonder and pi.se. The WCPRC was founded by the Swedish organisation
Children’s World, and is a Swedish National Millennium Project.

This year’s prize ceremony will be held on 16 April at Gripsholm Castle
in Mariefred, where HM Queen Silvia will help the children to give out
the prizes. All three final candidates will be honoured. The recipients
of the prizes will be announced at a press conference at 12 noon on 13
April, at Södra Teatern, Mosebacke Torg, Stockholm, Sweden.

For more information on the WCPRC and the prize candidates see:

PRESS at www.childrensworld.org where you can also find high-res
pictures and video material.

Contact: Magnus Bergmar, +46(0)159-129 00, +46(0)70-515 58 39
magnus.bergmar@childrensworld.org