World Congress III

Child and Youth Participation

[-] Information Kit for children and adolescents participating in WCIII - This new publication contains important information for youth to prepare for WCIII - from information about the Children and Adolescents Preparatory Forum to be held on 24 and 25 November to how to make sure the trip is safe and
comfortable. English l Spanish

[-] Hey! Did you know the World Congress III is officially ANNOUNCED...!
The Government of Brazil announced in November 2007 it had agreed to host World Congress III Against the Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents. World Congress III was officially launched in Rio de Janeiro on Monday 19 May 2008.

[-] How can young people get involved in World Congress III preparations?
As in the past World Congresses, adolescents and youth will play an extremely important role in the World Congress III. A Commission has been set up comprising of representatives from UNICEF, ECPAT International, Save the Children and the Government of Brazil to prepare for the participation of children and adolescents at the World Congress III. Regional meetings for children and adolescents to prepare for their participation at the World Congress III prior to the World Congress will also be held. For more information Children and Young People’s Participation in regional meetings leading up to the World Congress III, see Regional & Thematic Meetings.

[-] How did Young People Participate in previous World Congresses?
17 young delegates were a part of World Congress I hosted by the government of Sweden in 1996. Although the number of young people invited was small, it was a powerful first step as for the first time, young people had taken part in a meeting of high importance with governments, UN (United Nations) agencies and the NGO’s (Non-Government Organizations). This set a new standard for others to follow in inviting children to play an integral part in discussing the issues and decisions that affect their lives.

[-] Resources on Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children
Within this link, you can find useful information about ending the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children, Youth Declarations and links to EICYAC, the Youth Advisory board of ECPAT International.

[-] Consultation Tool II
This on-line Consultation Tool II on the Thematic Areas of the World Congress III has a set of questions under each of the Thematic Issues. In order to make your contribution and share your ideas with us, you may either complete the full survey or select the Thematic Issue that you are most interested in or have the knowledge/experience on. Everything you say will be treated confidentially and we will not ask you your name. Thank you for your interest and your taking time to provide your inputs.

[-] Consultation Tool I
There are two main consultation tools for young people to have their say and have their opinion heard. Follow this link, to have your say on preparations in general and a number of thematic issues to be discussed during World Congress III.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Press Release
Young people call for an end to the sexual exploitation of children on World Youth Day

Bangkok, Thailand - Children and adolescents around the globe are working together with ECPAT International to put an end to the commercial sexual exploitation of children in the lead up to the World Congress III against Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents to be held 25-28 November, 2008 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Through representation in the Organizing Committee of the Congress and their participation in regional meetings in East Asia/Pacific, South Asia, Latin America and Africa to take place this month, children and adolescents between 12-18 years of age will help identify and find solutions to new dimensions of child trafficking, prostitution, pornography, and abuse in travel and tourism that are important in their region. These issues will be brought forward to the World Congress III.

Around 300 children and adolescents will participate in theWorld Congress III, with around 150 young participants coming from Brazil and around 150 young participants coming from other countries and regions of the world. The youth participants include those who are at-risk or are survivors of sexual exploitation that are now directly involved in stopping this problem, through their networks, shelters, schools and communities, as well as other children and adolescents actively involved in child rights work linked to initiatives for protection against sexual exploitation.

‘Now is the time to get involved to make sure governments and policymakers listen to the experiences of young people, and to promote the importance of working together with children and youth to find sustainable solutions for ending sexual exploitation,’ said Lotta Segerström, youth representative on the board of ECPAT International.

'Children are the backbone of our nation and it is the duty of everyone to protect them because if they are abused and exploited, we cannot dream of a prosperous nation,' said Suman Bhujel, a member of ECPAT’s Youth Partnership Project in South Asia (YPP).

All children and youth can get involved right now by sharing their views on how children’s right to live free of sexual exploitation can be achieved by going online and using the child-friendly consultation tool. All input and ideas received will contribute to thematic background papers on the different themes of the Congress that are being developed for participants to the World Congress III. For more information, see http://www.eicyac.org/Get_Involved/index.html.

TheWorld Congress III will bring together more than 3000 participants comprised of governments, civil society, international organizations, private sector, children and young people to map out the actions to be taken to combat the sexual exploitation of children. ECPAT International, a global network of organisations and individuals working together for the elimination of child prostitution, child pornography and the trafficking of children for sexual purposes, is a key organizing partner of the World Congress III. ECPAT International is the only World Congress organizer that has a youth representative on the Organizing Committee of the World Congress III.

For further information:

Caroline Liou, Information & Communications Officer, ECPAT International, email carolinel@ecpat.net, tel +66 84 729 7528 ext 128, Fax: + 66 (0) 2 215 8272, http://www.ecpat.net

Notes to editors:

• ECPAT International is a global network of organisations and individuals working together for the elimination of child prostitution, child pornography and the trafficking of children for sexual purposes. It seeks to encourage the world community to ensure that children everywhere enjoy their fundamental rights free and secure from all forms of commercial sexual exploitation. For more information, see www.ecpat.net

• For more information about the Regional Consultations and The World Congress III against Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents, see http://www.ecpat.net/WorldCongressIII

• One way that ECPAT works to build the awareness and capacity of children and young people to combat CSEC is through a youth network established together with the ECPAT International Child and Youth Advisory Committee (EICYAC). EICYAC is composed of regional youth representatives elected by the youth networks working with ECPAT groups around the world. In addition, ECPAT supports the Youth Partnership Project for Child Survivors of Commercial Sexual Exploitation in South Asia (YPP), which is working to empower and build the capacity of child survivors of commercial sexual exploitation and trafficking and at-risk youth to take the lead in the fight against CSEC. For more information, see www.eicyac.org and www.yppsa.org