THE DAY OF THE AFRICAN CHILD AND OFFICIAL OPENING OF THE 22ND SESSION OF THE JUNIOR PARLIAMENT OF ZIMBABWE: 21 JUNE 2014 On the 16th June 2014, Zimbabwe will join the rest of the African continent in commemorating the Day of the African Child. The national commemorations are going to be held on the 21st of June at the Harare International Conference Centre alongside the Official Opening of the 22nd Session of the Junior Parliament of Zimbabwe. This year, the commemorations will be held under the theme, “Child friendly, quality, free and compulsory education for all children in Africa. His Excellency the President will be the Guest of Honour. The Day of the African Child came into being following a declaration by the African Union Heads of State, as an important day in commemoration of the 1976 protests by school children in Soweto, South Africa. The students protested against an education designed to further the purposes of the apartheid regime. The brutal response of the apartheid security agencies to the unarmed students’ protests resulted in the death of a number of children. The 1976 protests contributed greatly to the eventual collapse of the apartheid regime. In 1991, the African Union Assembly passed a resolution designating June 16 as a Day for the celebration of the African child. It is to this end that the Ministry of Youth, Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment through the Zimbabwe Youth Council has made a decision to use this day annually to convene the children’s parliament that will bring together children and young people from across the spectrum to debate, dialogue and share experiences. The children’s parliament will be used as a platform for children and youths to give feedback on their activities and convey their wishes to responsible authorities. It is also an opportunity for children to organise themselves to come up with common goals for their development. The office bearers for the office of The President, The two Vice Presidents, and the Child Speaker of Parliament shall be elected by the new parliamentarians on their first orientation workshop. The Orientation workshop will be held on the 18th and the 19th of June at the Harare Institute of Technology.
Posted on: Wed, 28 May 2014 08:45:42 +0000