The Global March Against Child Labour started with an 80,000 km march as groups of marchers including children, youth and adults set out from Manila, Sao Paulo and Cape Town and crossed a total of 107 countries across the world, collecting children’s thumbprints and holding multiple events to raise awareness along the way. This landmark event culminated in the drafting and subsequent adoption of the ILO Convention 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labour. The pace of ratification of the convention is unprecedented in ILO history with 154 countries having ratified the convention so far. The Global March through its partners has played a large role in this and continues to lobby other governments to ratify and subsequently implement the convention.

Today, the Global March is one of the world’s largest civil society initiatives for the elimination of child labour and this broad-based coalition involves children (many of them former and current child labourers), NGOs, trade unions, teachers unions, activists, governments, academics, journalists and celebrities. Its tireless work and unwavering commitment to the cause has earned Global March immense credibility and found it a prominent place in important transnational policy-decision groups, which has further strengthened its worldwide network of partners and entrenched its advocacy movement at the grassroots level.

By being a member of the Global March Against Child Labour, you can influence the policy decisions at various levels. You can also directly participate in the strategic workplan of the Global March by seeking election in the Global March organisation structure and participating in the General Assembly.