Held last April 11, 2018, at the Stockholm Royal Palace in Sweden, the 10th Global Child Forum was formally opened by the King of Sweden himself, His Majesty King Carl Gustaf XVI. This year’s central discussion was on children’s rights and the role of the business community.
Over 300 representatives coming from global companies, financial institutions and major players from different countries like the United Nations (UN) and governments discussed the impact of businesses on children.
Children’s Joy Foundation, Inc., represented by Ms. Rosemarie Navallo-Dimagnaong, Executive Director of CJFI, was the only representative from the Philippines for the civil society sector.
King Carl warmly welcomed all the participants who, hand-in-hand, wants to create a better future for the children as future leaders.
Leaders in the corporate and financial sectors have a unique opportunity to protect and strengthen children’s rights. - HM King Carl Gustaf XVI #gcforum18 @GCForum Click To TweetDuring the networking break from 10:25 AM to 12 PM, Ms. Dimagnaong met the members of the Swedish Royal Family including Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Victoria and Princess Sofia. She also had the opportunity to meet with Anna Maria Bildt from the European Parliament whose main areas of concern are on migration, security of women, children’s rights, the digital single market, and food issues.
Investing in a Child’s Quality Education
At 1:45 PM in the afternoon, the group was divided into four Action Labs, running in parallel sessions:
(a) ActionLab 1 – Corporate Impact on Community and Environment: Ensuring children’s well-being around supply chains and operations.
(b) ActionLab 2 – The Business Case for Investing in Quality Education: Finding opportunities for impact.
(c) ActionLab 3 – Speaking up: Young people’s participation in business decision-making.
(d) ActionLab 4 – An Integrated Response to Child Labour: Turning supply chain challenges into mutual opportunities.
Ms. Dimagnaong joined the second Action Labs and presented a position paper entitled “Fulfilling the Mission of Love and Compassion through the Gift of Education”.
Download CJFI’s 10th Global Forum Position Paper
In this paper, a preview of the Philippine’s political and educational landscape was presented particularly the economic inequality and poor quality of education in the country which worsens the gap between the rich and the poor. The paper also presented the interventions, programs, and services that the Children’s Joy Foundation, Inc. is implementing to help alleviate this crisis.
Child’s Rights Advocates Inspired the Audience in GCF2018
Lise Kingo, the CEO of UN Global Sustainability Initiative, and Princess Laurentien of the Netherlands who operates the Missing Chapter Foundation that gives children a voice in the society spoke before the crowd of delegates.
Two youth workers from Indonesia, Fauza Ananda and Ruth Kesia, also moved the crowd to tears with their experiences of child labor.
Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Victoria ended the day with a speech regarding the United Nation’s 17 global goals all related to children’s rights.
One thing has become increasingly clear to me. Children’s rights are not just part of the Global Goals, children’s rights are what the Global Goals are all about. - Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Victoria #gcforum18 @GCForum Click To Tweet Written by: Rodney Z.