On March 18- 2018, the Beijing Children’s Legal Aid and Research Center and Alibaba Group opened the A20 Global Social Leadership Summit on Child Advocacy in Beijing. Representatives of non-government organizations on child care and protection from 20 countries from Asia, Africa and Europe participated and shared their advocacy experiences on child care and protection, as well as the challenges they face and their visions for the future.
The successful convening of this Summit signifies the internationalization of Chinese domestic child protection organizations, which is becoming more influential in international– especially developing countries– child protection field.
From the very beginning the objectives of the A20 Summit were: (1) to establish a global platform for exchanges and cooperation of child protection work, (2) to unite the world’s best children protection organizations, and (3) to promote the exchange and cooperation of child protection around the world, especially in developing countries. After the announcement of registration in early December 2017, a total of 64 social organizations from 38 countries on five continents had registered within a month. Finally, twenty institutions (eleven from Asia, seven Africa, and two Europe) are selected, including representatives from India, Mongolia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Cambodia, South Korea, Kenya, Tanzania, Liberia, Malawi, Mauritius, Sudan, Zimbabwe, Hungary, Albania, Azerbaijan and other countries as well as representatives of international organizations participated in the first A20 Global Social Care Leadership Summit.
A20 Global Social Consensus on Child Advocacy
Building a Dynamic Platform for Global Child Protection Cooperation
March 23, 2018 | Beijing, China
On March 18- 2018, the Beijing Children’s Legal Aid and Research Center and Alibaba Group opened the A20 Global Social Leadership Summit on Child Advocacy in Beijing. The Summit is supported by the China NGO Network for International Exchanges and the China Soong Ching Ling Science and Culture Exchange Center for Youth People. Representatives of non-government organizations on child care and protection from 20 countries from Asia, Africa and Europe participated and shared their advocacy experiences on child care and protection, as well as the challenges they face and their visions for the future.
We hereby would like to announce that we have reached a consensus on the following issues:
- Caring for and protecting children should be the primary concern of the global community. Today’s society faces challenges in respect to children rights, such as terrorism, regional conflicts, pollution, climate change, and poverty. Children are not only direct victims of these challenges, but also the hope and foundation for resolving them in the future. Therefore, we believe that in order to fully implement the United Nation Convention on the Rights of Children, and to address the common challenges faced by human society, the global community should further emphasize the care and protection of children.
- Non-governmental organizations should play a more active role in advocating for the care and protecting of children. With recent rapid social development and the challenges it brings, the development of civil society’s global child advocacy efforts have fallen behind, especially in developing countries where organizations face policy, funding, and talent constraints, as well as a lack of awareness. Therefore, in order to lay a foundation for the sustainable development of all countries, we believe that the global community should pay more attention and provide increased support to domestic non-governmental organizations on child care and protection that reflect their own cultures and continuously serve their children, especially especially in developing countries.
- Strengthening the collaboration between non-governmental organizations and the private sector should be high on the agenda for child care and protection. Businesses today play an increasingly important role in child survival and development. We fully recognize that, in the Internet era, it is particularly important to fully utilize the resources of technology companies in the care and protection of children. We anticipate more in-depth cooperation between civil society and the private sector, giving full play to their respective advantages in order to make greater contributions to the well being of children around the globe.
- Build a dynamic global platform for child protection. We recognize that there is an insufficient level of international and regional communication and collaboration in the area of child care and protection, and that certain cultures as well as unique challenges and experiences in developing countries tend to be neglected. The Summit is a historic moment for the promotion of global child care and protection, particularly in developing countries. We will take this opportunity to exchange information and resources as well as share our experiences and discuss questions and concerns. We will work together to build a dynamic global platform for child protection, laying the foundation for a peaceful and amiable human culture and for a shared future of humanity.