Concern Campaign Academy
True life: Learning how to campaign and what we can do to help stop child labour.
Recently, I was honoured to take part in the Concern Campaign Academy 08/09. It was quite an experience and I learnt a lot! This year, the Academy focus was on child labour. As defined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child; Article 32.1, Child labour is work performed by a child, which is likely to interfere with the child's education; be harmful to their health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development.
Myself and a number of teenagers from all over Ireland met up several times during the course of the school year to discuss this issue.
Lizzy Noonan, Concern's rep, made every meeting full of activity. Not only did we learn about child labour but the Academy gave us the opportunity to actually do something about it! Learning how to take action by organising campaigns or lobbying varies groups was definitely the highlight. Inspired, a group of my friends and I even went out on Grafton Street getting people to sign our Stop Child Labour petition. Also, full of energy, we wrote numerous letters to our government, highlighting their importation of child laboured goods and the results of reducing aid even in the current economic climate.
We were able to get involved with other organisations to broaden our view on how to oppose the exploitation of children. We met with delegates from Irish Aid, Fianna Fail, SpunOut.ie and many others on separate occasions. It helped us; the Campaigning Academy, achieve our final goal of writing up a press release and an Academy Declaration.
If I didn't take part in this academy I would never have known that there are 218 million child labourers in our world, or that 22,000 children die in work related accidents every single year. If you ever get the chance to take part in future Campaigning Academy's with Concern I would truly recommend it! Not only is it a fantastic opportunity but you also get the chance to meet amazing people and learn about yet more foibles in our twenty-first century world!
Log on to www.stopchildlabour.net for more information.
By: Laura Keogh
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