Background
The International Labor Organization-International Program for the Elimination of Child Labor (ILO-IPEC), as part of its efforts to improve the lives of the 216 million children engaged in child labor around the world, established World Day Against Child Labor (WDACL) which is observed annually on June 12. This year, WDACL focuses on the theme “Education is the Right Response to Child Labor,” specifically:
- Education for all children at least to the minimum age of employment
- Education policies that address child labor by provision of properly resourced quality education and skills training
- Education to promote awareness on the need to tackle child labor
CARE's Programming
Guided by our commitment to ending hazardous and exploitive child labor around the world, CARE makes a concerted effort to launch signature events commemorating WDACL each year. Past events included the launch of CARE's Organizational Policy on Working Children and Hazardous Child Labor in 2006 and CARE's first publication on child labor, Caution-Children at Work, with key findings and recommendation in 2007. This year, CARE USA along with the ILO-IPEC announces a new memorandum of understanding between the two institutions to combat hazardous and exploitative child labor around the world. Bolstering this new relationship and WDACL, CARE announces the launch the Patsy Collins Trust Fund Initiative Advocacy Grants Program (PCTFI-AGP) focused on increasing the educational attainment of girls marginalized by hazardous and exploitative child labor. The PCTFI-AGP builds upon solid project-based experience in girls' education and child labor in order to advocate for change based on the evidence at hand.
CARE and our partners have joined forces with the global leadership of the ILO-IPEC making a powerful noise in observance on WDACL 2008 with events being staged in Indonesia, Tanzania, North West Balkans & Serbia, Mali, Ivory Coast, Togo, Ghana, Mali, Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador and the United States emphasizing the critical role education plays in eliminating child labor. Click here to learn more about these events.
Too many girls live along the margins of society, quietly toiling away in isolation. CARE stands in solidarity with them. The launch of the PCTFI-AGP will help empower girls to attain an education and unlock their full potential. No longer will their voices go unheard.
