On November 20, 2019, the international community will mark the 30th anniversary of the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC30), the most comprehensive treaty on the rights of children which has been ratified by virtually all UN Members States. The enormous success of the CRC has resulted in numerous laws […]
Ms. Mercedes Román has been a key driving force in the implementation and dissemination of the Learning to Live Together Programme in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) since before it’s conception. She was part of the first group of experts, gathered by Arigatou International in 1998, to work on the launch of the Global Network of Religions for Children (GNRC), and has been working with Arigatou International ever since.
As GNRC Coordinator for Latin America, she conducted several test workshops in the region to try out what was then known as the Ethics Education Toolkit. After the launch of Learning to Live Together, she has conducted countless Facilitator Training Workshops in the region, as well as Europe.
Ms. Román has dedicated her life-work to serve the most vulnerable in our society, and to promote the rights of the child, to contribute to their full and sound development. Nowadays, she is the Senior Advisor for the GNRC in LAC and is also part of the group of experts working in the adaptation of the Learning to Live Together Programme to middle childhood years.
In this interview, she shares about her journey working with children and women in vulnerable situations, and how her family and religious background instilled in her a strong sense of justice, generosity and caring for the most needed members of society.
The theme of this year’s High-Level Political Forum – a UN platform where countries submit and discuss their Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs), is “Empowering people and ensuring inclusiveness and equality”, a theme closely linked with child poverty and Early Childhood Development (ECD). This Forum which will be held next month – July 2019, provides an
Investing in Early Years is Foundational to Ending Child Poverty Read More »
With a strong call to action to work together for a future of dignity, prosperity and peace for children, Dr. Daniel Muvengi, Regional Director of World Vision Kenya, opened the National Roundtable Discussion on Nurturing Values and Spirituality in Early Childhood for the Prevention of Violence that was held on 28 and 29 May, 2019,
Ms. María Lucía Uribe represented Arigatou International at the General Assembly of Members of the International Partnership on Religion and Sustainable Development (PaRD), which gathered its 105 current members from 1 to 3 May 2019, in Copenhagen, Denmark.
More than 700 children from West Kenya are expected to be reached by the Learning to Live Together Programme after sixty-four teachers from the counties of Baringo and Elgeyo-Marakwet participated in a 4-day Facilitator Training Workshop on the use of the Programme.
Tackling Violence in Baringo, Kenya, through Values-Based Education Read More »
In an increasingly globalized world, where the religious landscape is constantly evolving, discussing the right of the child to self-determination in religious beliefs and the extent of the role of the parents and caregivers in guiding them has become an urgent issue.
Several religious leaders and representatives from Permanent Missions to the United Nations Office in Geneva and faith-inspired organizations gathered at a conference titled Promoting Peace Together on May 21, 2019, to reflect on the importance of education for peace and interfaith dialogue.
“All of us know what has gone wrong and all of us know what needs to be done to end violence against children, but the question is do we have the courage to do something about it?” With these words, Dr. Krishnaraj Vanavarayar, Chairman of Bharativa Vidva Bhavan, launched the National Roundtable Discussion on Nurturing
A roundtable discussion on Nurturing Values and Spirituality in Early Childhood for the Prevention of Violence took place on 2 May 2019, bringing together more than 70 child protection practitioners, faith leaders and experts on early childhood in Beirut, Lebanon.
The Learning to Live Together Programme (LTLT) has reached over 300 students and teachers in Sri Lanka and India over the past year, thanks to the efforts of facilitators Kaviya Balaguruswamy and Parthipan Palanisamy. The workshops in Sri Lanka were held in Colombo, Kilinochchi, and Nuwaraeliya, and in Coimbatore in India.
Arigatou International, in close collaboration with the Office of the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General on Violence against Children (SRSG) and other key partners, has initiated a study which consists of a review of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) from a multi-religious perspective. The primary authors of the study