EveryChild
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International Children's Day in St Petersburg
A festival of events was organised by our Russian colleagues in St Petersburg, in collaboration with local government and businesses, to celebrate International Children's Day on 1st June and to raise public awareness of child protection and rights. The festival's motto was "May there always be Mummy, may there always be me, may there always be a safe family for every child". The events took place in several districts of the city and included children's choirs, theatre presentations and various competitions and games.
One of the competitions - 'Do You Know Your Rights?' - asked children and parents a series of questions designed to test their knowledge on the rights of children in accordance with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Afterwards teenage volunteers went into the crowd to ask parents and children for their opinions on child protection, and who or what children should be protected from. They helped raise awareness of the issues and start a healthy debate.
Women's and teenagers' clubs, supported by EveryChild, planted a flowerbed to serve as a permanent reminder that adults should respect and protect children's rights at all times.
2nd June saw the St Petersburg Urban Race, an event where contestants combine running, cycling, rollerblading and canoeing to overcome numerous hurdles. The event was sponsored by international financial organisation Deloitte and the Russian Lenta hypermarket chain who picked up all expenses incurred by the race. All profits were distributed among local charities; EveryChild's share was used to buy special equipment for our Day Centre for children with special needs and a summer camp for foster families run by 'Parents Bridge', our local partners in St Petersburg.
Further events around the city will take place in the week following International Children's Day, under the banner of 'Children Need Families Not Institutions'. All funds raised will go towards supporting children with special needs and children at risk of being abandoned to the state-run institutions.
The festivities will end with a high profile screening of the documentary 'The Road Home' (produced in partnership with Early Intervention Institute, EveryChild and HealthProm) at the British Council offices in St Petersburg. The screening will be attended by local government representatives from the St Petersburg and Leningrad region, the various ministries and bodies responsible for child welfare, as well as representatives from local NGOs and businesses.