World Day Q&A

What is the World Day of Prayer and Action for Children?
Why participate in the World Day of Prayer and Action for Children?
What is the typical structure of a Day of Prayer and Action?
Is the World Day of Prayer and Action for Children an occasion for proselytizing?
What is the focus of the World Day this year?
How can individuals and groups participate?
What is being planned for World Day 2011?
What is meant by “religious” or “faith-based” communities?
What is the value of working with religious communities?
Are religious communities and child protection organizations at odds philosophically?
How can religious communities stop violence against children?
RESOURCES

What is the World Day of Prayer and Action for Children?

The World Day of Prayer and Action for Children is a global movement to mobilize secular and faith-based organizations to work together for the well-being of children. It is held every year in the week of 20 November to coincide with Universal Children’s Day and the anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Through a unique combination of faith celebrations, prayer and tangible actions, the World Day is an opportunity to enlist the enormous influence and resources of the world’s religious communities to further global goals for children, both by building on existing child advocacy programs and developing new models to ensure children’s rights.

The World Day of Prayer and Action for Children was established in 2008 by the Arigatou International, an international faith-based NGO.  The World Day was celebrated in 2009, with more than 9,000 people participating in 22 countries. The World Day was celebrated in 2010 with more than 36,500 people participating in 48 countries through 69 events.

Why participate in the World Day of Prayer and Action for Children?

Protecting children from violence, exploitation and abuse is essential for protecting their rights to survival, growth and development. Violence and in particular, violence against children, is a major threat to global development and an obstacle to our progress in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

The global community must put children at the center of its efforts and work in partnership with all sectors of society to Stop Violence against Children. Key among these essential partners are religious communities, which embrace five billion of the world’s people and whose broad reach and inspirational power can significantly further both the global goals and individual countries efforts on behalf of children.

What is the typical structure of a Day of Prayer and Action?

A World Day event typically begins with a faith celebration organized by religious leaders in the community. Faith celebrations can bring together people of the same faith or people of different faiths to pray and recommit themselves to working for children’s well-being.

The celebration is usually followed by a collaborative “take action” project carried out with local community groups, government, UN agencies or other faith-based organizations designed to meet the needs of children in that community.

Is the World Day of Prayer and Action for Children an occasion for proselytizing?

The World Day of Prayer and Action for Children offers a unique partnership opportunity for all who care for children – religious leaders and their communities, civil society, including faith-based organizations, governments and inter-governmental organizations to improve life for all children.

The World Day of Prayer and Action for Children is not:

• a movement to promote any religion, nor does it promote any ideology or organization;
• an occasion for secular organization to be co-opted nor for religious organizations to proselytize;
• about imposing any belief or faith, nor does it call on religious traditions to compromise their key beliefs or teachings;
• about supporting beliefs, concepts or practices that are overly polarizing or controversial, but it is about creating global movement for action to prevent violence against children.

What is the focus of the World Day this year?

We are urging all of our participants to consider education, community mobilization and advocacy initiatives to Stop Violence against Children, our new three year theme for the period 2011-2013.

We recommend three areas to prevent violence against children;

• Positive parenting or non-violent child rearing
• Birth registration drives for child protection
• Prevention of early marriage to empower girls and families.

Now is a good time to plan for World Day 2011. We are less than two months away from 20 November when Universal Children’s Day and World Day of Prayer and Action for Children festivals go hand in hand. To help with designing special events, interfaith services and “take action” activities sign up for our newsletter at our website: www.dayofprayerandaction.org.

How can individuals and groups participate?

Suggested activities and themes for the World Day 2011 are education, community mobilization and advocacy initiatives to Stop Violence against Children. For more ideas, including a copy of our Event Planning Guide, please visit the Event Resources Center.

What is being planned for World Day 2011?

Thanks to our Council members, bold and faithful actions of 2010 are paving the way for World Day 2011 to be celebrated this November. 

World Day Council members Religions for Peace, Save the Children, and UNICEF are mobilizing their regional offices and affiliates to celebrate the World Day by organizing activities to create a more protective environment for children.

In Kenya, Uganda, and Somalia the Global Network of Religions for Children (GNRC) will mark the World Day with activities focusing on issues of child soldiers, small arms and light weapons

Workshops to launch new “Parenting with a Purpose” programs are underway in India with the Rammakrishna Mission. The International Network of Engaged Buddhists and affiliates are organizing events for young people at leading Buddhists Universities in Thailand.

In over 100 cities in Brazil, Pastoral da Crianca’s trained volunteers will create opportunities for children from affluent and poverty stricken areas to join in toys and games together. In Jordan, the Global Network of Religions for Children (GNRC) Coordinator together with the Little Fishers will host, for the second year their “Bag of Love” program for children in orphanages.

More details will be forthcoming and posted on our event map.

What is meant by “religious” or “faith-based” communities?

“Religious communities” refers to both men and women religious actors and structures within religious traditions and organizations at all levels – from local to global. These include grassroots and local communities, leaders, scholars, practitioners, youth groups, women of faith networks, faith-based organizations and denominational, ecumenical and intra-religious umbrella organizations and networks.

What is the value of working with religious communities?

The well-being of children and the protection they require are at the heart of all our religious values and teachings. Throughout history, religions have inspired people to protect and care for the weak, the oppressed and the vulnerable, with children being foremost among them.

Religious leaders are by nature expert communicators, opinion leaders and social mobilizers, accustomed to translating their sacred texts into understandable messages. With their extraordinary moral authority, religious communities are able to change mind-sets and set priorities for their followers. They can tap existing communication networks to advance child welfare and provide large, enduring infrastructures for service delivery.

Across the developing world, religious communities are in the vanguard of promoting actions to ensure that children survive and thrive to adulthood. In clinics and schools; meeting places; youth groups; clubs; and of course temples, churches, mosques, and synagogues, religious communities provide health care for poor families, schooling for vulnerable children, love and support to children and young people affected by AIDS, and skills programs for adolescents. Many of these interventions take place in close collaboration with civil society, governments, and UN agencies such as UNICEF.

The role of religious communities tends to be especially important at the family and community levels, which international organizations and governments are generally less able to reach effectively. They are thus ideal partners to reach the poorest and most marginalized communities.

 Are religious communities and child protection organizations at odds philosophically?

Child rights organizations, including UNICEF, are guided by the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), adopted in 1989 as the most comprehensive legal instrument for the protection of children. There is often a misperception that the language of the CRC is contrary to religious beliefs. Yet the CRC’s holistic view of children as social actors, as members of families and communities with rights and responsibilities, as well as the principles of justice, humanity and dignity that the CRC articulates, correspond with deeply held values embedded in major religious traditions.

Key components of the Convention on the Rights of the Child that connect with the principles of religious traditions:

• A fundamental belief in the dignity of the child;
• The high priority given to children and the idea of rights and duties of all members of society towards them;
• A holistic notion of the child and a comprehensive understanding of his or her material, emotional and spiritual needs; and,
• The importance given to family as the best place for the upbringing of the child.

How can religious communities stop violence against children?

Religious leaders can:

• incorporate messages about the role of positive parenting and non-violent discipline in their weekly sermons;
• organize a World Day religious service centered around messages to promote non-violent social change;
• spear head education and advocacy efforts at the community level to promote non-violent child rearing and protect children through birth registration;
• use their networks to sponsor a wide-ranging campaign to educate families about options other than early child marriage;
• direct their followers to tools like the ABCs for Action and Advocacy.

RESOURCES:

 1) Tips on partnering with religious communities:

• Understand each other: It is essential for children’s rights organizations and religious communities to have the adequate knowledge, skills, and attitudes to effectively engage with each other in constructive ways – to understand each other’s roles, working methods, way of speaking and structures to help identify effective entry points for co-operation. Unless a concerted effort is made to understand each other’s language and values, they risk being unable to see the areas in which they are in agreement and may lead to erroneous conclusions about their ability to work together on behalf of children.
• Forge relationships with all religious communities: It is important that child rights organizations do not favor one religious group over another. They must work to forge inclusive and, where relevant, multi-religious partnerships based on how best to promote the rights of children.
• Be sensitive to the spiritual mission of religious communities, rather than seeing them exclusively as service providers and facilitators.
• Appropriately credit and co-brand joint activities between child rights organizations, NGOs and religious communities.
• See also: The World Day of Prayer and Action for Children’s Resources for Religious leaders

2) Tips on advocacy and messaging:

• Use religious community resources: Ask your partnering religious leader(s) to promote the planned World Day event to the participants at their weekly worship.
• Media: Identify good spokespeople from your participating organizations for media interviews. Promote your planned activities in the local media, including religious community newsletters, publications and broadcasts. Get your event listed in community calendars.
• Social media: Promote your activities through social media such as Facebook and Twitter. If social media are widely used in your community, consider posting regular Tweet/Facebook updates as your staff prepares for the event, including messages from religious leaders’ sermons, statements, etc. that are relevant to your event or issues. Post photographs relevant to the issues of your WORLD DAY event prior to the observance, and of the event once it is over. Get as many people “talking” via social media about your event and issues as possible.  
• Video/photos: Post photographs and video footage of your event/issue on Flickr and YouTube.  See also: The World Day of Prayer and Action’s Ten Tips for New Photographers in the Field.