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What: Please join the International Center on Child Labor and Education, high school students from across the U.S. and their teachers for a two-hour conference with child laborers from Colombia, Ghana and India during the Global Campaign for Education's Action Week for Global Education. The conference will focus on U.S. students sharing what they hope their leaders will do. It will also be a moment of truth to hear the inspiring stories of child laborers and their vision of the future world.
When: Thursday, April 26, 12:00-2:00 p.m.
Where: Russell Senate Office Building, Room 385, Capitol Hill
Congressional Cosponsors:
- Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA)
- Congressman Jim McDermott (D-WA)
- Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA)
- Congressman Joe Wilson (R-SC)
- Congressman Joe Baca (D-CA)
- Congresswoman Nita Lowey (D-NY)
Please RSVP to Beth at 202-974-8124 or blindley@iccle.org
Objective: The United States needs to fill in the financial and moral deficit that is denying the children of the world the Right to Education.
Program:
12:00 – 12:05 p.m. Welcome address by Gene Sperling, Chair - U.S. Global Campaign for Education
12:05 – 12:10 p.m. Introduction of the conference by youth leader
12:10 – 12:15 p.m. Introduction of the child laborers by Kailash Satyarthi, President - Global Campaign for Education
12:15 – 12:35 p.m Remarks by child laborers turned child rights activists:
12:35 – 12:55 p.m. Presentations by U.S. student leaders
12:55 – 1:55 p.m. Address to the youth from their Leaders
- Congressman Jim McDermott (D-WA), 1:00–1:10 p.m.
- Ruth Kagia, Head of the Education Unit, The World Bank
- Shireen Khan, IPEC, ILO, Geneva
- Kailash Satyarthi, President - Global Campaign for Education
1:55 – 2:00 p.m. Concluding remarks by Gene Sperling, Chair - U.S. Global Campaign for Education
Press Conference addressed by leaders, child laborers, and two U.S. student leaders. Expected Media: BBC World Service, Al-Jazeera Washington Bureau, Reuters, Associated Press. For media inquiries, please Sudhanshu Joshi, 202-258-8873, sjoshi@iccle.org
Why: It is important to recognize that donor governments are leaning away from the funding the International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labor (IPEC) and, instead, are investing in Education for All with the view that all children can go to school provided the hardest to reach children out of school are included in national education plans and strategies. Child laborers are the largest segment of hardest to reach children out of school.
Total funding for the IPEC program draws close to 50-55 million USD. The United States provides about 70 percent of this budget, and the remaining 30 percent is provided by 19 other donor governments. On the other hand, the current total commitments to Education for All are close to 4 billion USD. Yet the United States remains at the bottom of all the rich industrialized countries in terms of its financing of the education compact.
Over the last five years, the Global March against Child Labor has fought for policy consensus that child labor is the biggest barrier to achieving Education for All. This is showing results in terms of commitments made by the external donors, particularly from the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Denmark and United Kingdom. The cause of child labor is better served if we are also able to situate the issue of child labor within the education sector financing, which is attracting overwhelming support from donor governments.
Many causes are served if we are able to provide quality education for all. Upping United States leadership and commitment to sustained aid flows for education, will better serve the purpose of fighting child labor, building lasting peace and security, protecting human rights, expanding democracy, empowering people and, above all, investing in a right vision of the world.
Expected Outcomes:
- Youth Declaration for members of Congress
- A road map for enhancing U.S. leadership in meeting the requirements of long-term sustained and predictable funding for a global education initiative to promote lasting peace, security, democracy, and human rights
Invitees:
- U.S. Representatives and Senators of U.S. student participants
- Congressional Prayer Caucus
- Congressional Human Rights Caucus
- Congressional Progressive Caucus
- Congressional Caucus on India and Indian-Americans
- Congressional Hispanic Caucus
- Head ILO-IPEC, Geneva
- Members organizations of the Child Labor Coalition
- Member organizations of the U.S. Chapter of the Global Campaign for Education
- The general public
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