Vow of Silence--- Wednesday
Nov. 17th First Bell to Last Bell of the School Day
Why November?
The Vow of Silence campaign is held in November
because 21 years ago, on November 20, 1989, the world was introduced to the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Convention,
ratified by more countries than any other United Nations treaty, solidified the universal rights that every child in the world
should receive regardless of race, nationality or religion. These include the right to an education, health care and proper development, as well as protection from
exploitation and abuse. But after all this time we must ask ourselves: are the voices of children around the world being heard? Are their rights being upheld? The answer too often is no.
Stay silent on November 17th in solidarity
with children whose human rights are not being upheld. Show the world that we are not doing enough to protect the rights of
children.
Why are so many children
kept silent?
Some children are silenced by hunger, others
by lack of education. Some are forced to work as child labourers and are punished for speaking out against unsafe and unfair
work conditions.
Check out the facts below, and then take
some time to learn more about these issues. There are plenty of great resources online, including FreeTheChildren.com.
•
121 million primary-school aged children are denied the opportunity to attend school. Most of these children are girls.
•
218 million children around the world work as child labourers. More than half (126 million, to be exact) work in hazardous
conditions:
in mine fields, with chemicals and pesticides,
with explosives and with dangerous machinery.
•
An estimated 300,000 boys and girls are exploited by armies during times of conflict when they areforced to act as
soldiers, sex slaves and servants.
•
Every day, 28,000 children die from poverty-related causes.
The more educated you are, the more you can
teach others about these important issues and encourage them to get involved. Remember:
education inspires passion, and passion inspires
people.
STEPS to take part
Step 1: Sign
up today
Step 2: Go home this weekend and research further at http://www.iamsilent.com/new/
Step 3: find
something black to wear
Step 4: have
something (safe) ready to put an X over your mouth (lipstick, face paint)
Step 5: let
your teachers know you will be doing this next Wednesday and will not be able to communicate (you can take notes and work
on assignments but you cannot communicate with anyone)
Step 6: pick
up a fact about Child rights to put on your shirt from room 33 on Wednesday morning
Step 7: Participate
on Wednesday by:
· Wearing
black and fact
· Marking
your mouth with an X
· Staying
silent from communication for whole school day... Silent means NO:
· Talking
· Messages
(written or electronic)
· E-mail
· No
text messaging
· No
phone
· No
sign language
· NO COMMUNICATION
Step 8: Gather
in room 32 after school on Wednesday to collectively regain your voice and debrief the day... do not communicate until we
are all back together.
Step 9: Explain
to your classes on Thursday What you were doing and Why...
