Wat een week!
Wat een week is het geweest! Vandaag heeft premier Balkenende de beurs op Wall street geopend en heeft hij de Verenigde Naties toegesproken. Verder heeft hij Secretaris Generaal Ban Ki Moon ontmoet, en heb ook ik een kiekje met de SG. deze zet ik dit weekend erop.Vanavond vliegen we weer terug naar Nederland, en dit weekend zal ik dan ook een iets uitgebreidere blog schrijven. Voor nu wil ik graag mijn speech delen, die ik afgelopen dinsdag mocht geven bij het Global Creative Leadership Summit en waar onder andere Johan Olaf Kos, Jan Goodall en premier Balkenende bij aanwezig waren. zie ook nu.nl!
Groetjes Sandra
Thank you prime minister.
There are two things that stand out for me in the speech my prime minister just gave. Firstly, the notification of a world fit for children.In a world fit for children all boys and girls go to school. We all know that this is currently not the case. In India I spoke with children that had to work in cottonfields and were never sent to school. Although they assured me they would have loved to go. But why should a mother send her child to school, if the quality of education is so poor that after seven years of education her child can write nor read. Why should a mother to send her child to school, if war and violence makes the road unsafe?How can a mother send her child to school, if HIV/Aids has taken her life way too early.
In a world fit for children in which all boys and girls go to school. We Can have such a world but we need a comprehensive approach. A sole focus on the Millennium Development Goals is not enough. We must also focus on the quality of education, on issues of peace and security, and on Sexual and Reproductive Rights including male and female condoms.
The second thing that stands out for me is, the reason Why children in the Netherlands are happy. Because we show them respect and because we involve them when making important decisions. And when the children get a little older they become young people like me, and we are involved when making national and international policy.
This is not the case in most countries. We can however learn from each other. We –the Netherlands- can learn from other countries and you can learn from us. At least when discussing youth issues and children issues I would urge you to involve young people like me and children in the process. We know what our problems are, because we live them, and we can come up with solutions and contribute. Just like my prime minister said: In a strong and social family everyone is involved and everyone works together. By passing by on a member of the family, you are not only disrespecting that member, you are also missing out on potential.
So for our children, for our future and for our present, make use of our potential and involve us.
I thank you.