A World Day of Prayer and Action for Children seeks to bring together people of religion and goodwill to safeguard the integrity, rights and dignity of children, and promote their survival, development, protection and wellbeing. It involves a partnership among the world’s religions, faith-based groups, secular organizations and people of goodwill committed to building a world fit for children.

To achieve that noble objective, it is proposed to observe A World Day of Prayer and Action for Children every year coinciding with Universal Children’s Day on the 20th of November, which is also the anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

On that day, all over the world, in every community, and in all places of worship, prayer services will be accompanied by one or two common but specific and measurable actions for the survival, development and protection of children.

Such specific actions could include, for example, immunizing children against infectious diseases; promoting sanitation; combating HIV/AIDS; educating parents on the importance of breast feeding; promoting birth registration; campaigns against certain harmful traditional practices; raising awareness of child rights; addressing climate change; action to promote girls’ education, peace education, ethics education, etc.

While prayer and action for children are certainly needed every day, a designated A World Day of Prayer and Action for Children will offer an opportunity for people of goodwill from all religious and secular backgrounds, from governments, relevant NGOs and international organizations such as UNICEF, to recommit themselves in a highly visible way to take well coordinated action to help achieve internationally agreed goals for children such as the Millennium Development Goals.

A World Day of Prayer and Action for Children is, therefore, a day of solidarity among religious and secular organizations united by their common aspiration and shared vision of a world in which all our children will grow up to their full human potential, with their rights to safety, security, integrity and dignity honoured in all societies.