VOLUME 9 | ISSUE 8

NOBEL RECOGNITION FOR CHILDREN’S RIGHTSELEMENTARY RESOURCES

BACKGROUND INFORMATION !• Kailash Satyarthi was born in 1954, in the

town of Vidisha, India. He studied to be an electrical engineer in university and taught at a polytechnical college before becoming a child rights activist. (The Telegraph) !

• In 1980, Satyarthi founded Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA), a child labour organization. The name means “the mission to save childhood.” The organization began with Satyarthi and other individuals conducting raids on carpet factories and other industries where children were being forced to work.  (BBA) !

• In 1996, a carpet business that was using child labour managed to have Satyarthi arrested on charges of kidnapping for taking away their child workers. He was eventually released following international pressure (As A Changemaker) One of the earliest activities of the newly-founded Free The Children in 1995 was a petition to the Canadian and Indian governments to free Satyarthi from prison.

• In 1993, Satyarthi BBA began organizing protest marches against child labour. The largest of these was the first Global March Against Child Labour in 1998. The whole march covered 80,000 kilometres across 103 countries. (BBA) !

• Satyarthi’s work led to the creation of anti-child labour laws in India in 1986, and United Nations International Labour Organization’s Convention 182, calling for the elimination of the worst forms of child labour. (BBA) !

• Malala Yousafzai is a 17-year-old girl from the Swat region of Pakistan. In 2009, she wrote a blog for the British TV news outlet BBC about the conflict in her region between the Taliban and the government, and living under Taliban rule. She became an activist for girls’ education, and was nominated for the International Children’s Peace Prize. In October 2012, a Taliban terrorist tried to murder her, boarding her school bus and shooting her in the head. (The Malala Fund) !

• Malala is the youngest person ever to receive the Nobel Prize. (Nobal Prize)

The following activities are designed to stimulate a current events discussion. Generative in nature, these questions can be a launching point for additional assignments or research projects.

Teachers are encouraged to adapt these activities to meet the contextual needs of their classroom.

In some cases, reading the article with students may be appropriate, coupled with reviewing the information sheet to further explore the concepts and contexts being discussed. From here, teachers can select from the questions provided below. The activity is structured to introduce students to the issues, then allow them to explore and apply their learnings. Students are encouraged to further reflect on the issues.

gNOTE TO EDUCATORS g

KEY TERMSBonded labour—When a person is forced to work for little or no wages in order to pay off a debt owed by them or their family.

Trailblazer—A person who is a pioneer or innovator.

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Craig Kielburger and his peers show off the signatures they collected for a petition.

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THEMES AND COURSE CONNECTIONS • Themes: Activism, Child Rights, Inspirational Figures, Global Issues

• Course Connections: Language, Social Studies, History, Geography ! MATERIALS • Student journals or note paper

• Writing utensils

• Computers with internet capabilities ! SPECIFIC EXPECTATIONS AND LEARNING GOALS Students will: • Develop and express responses to issues and problems.

• Reassess their responses to issues on the basis of new information.

• Participate in active group work and class discussions.

• Communicate effectively in writing, orally or visually.

• Demonstrate the ability to think critically.

• Develop, express and defend a position on an issue. ! MAP IT Have students locate the different locations mentioned in the article to gain an understanding of the expanse and involvement of this issue.

• Varanasi, India

• Delhi, India

• Pakistan

• Kenya! DISCUSS 1. Who is Kailash Satyarthi? Catalogue Kailash’s accomplishments.

Why was he arrested and imprisoned? 2. Who is Malala Yousafzai? Catalogue Malala’s accomplishments.

What is the Taliban? Why is she a target of the Taliban’s? 3. What is the Nobel Peace Prize? What is the significance of the

Peace Prize laureates? Do you know of any past Peace laureates? (E.g., The European Union 2012, Barack Obama 2007, Lester B. Pearson 1957.)

4. The first Nobel Peace Prize was awarded in 1901 and every year since then a committee has chosen the recipient(s) based on the guidelines from Alfred Nobel’s will. The prize is to be awarded to the person "who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses." What does this mean? How has Kailash and Malala fulfilled this standard?

5. When the Prize is awarded, the Nobel Peace Laureate receives a medal, personal diploma and a sum of money, currently 8 million Swedish kronor (roughly more than $1.3 million CDN). While there are no specific responsibilities, the laureate becomes a global public figure. What are the risks associated to this type of fame? Some Nobel experts believe the Prize would be “too much of a burden” for someone as young as Malala while others believe her experiences prove otherwise. As the youngest person awarded the Prize, Malala learned she received the honour while in class and insisted the press wait until her classes were finished before she addressed them. Do you agree or disagree that the

Prize might prove to be too much of a burden? Explain your answer.

6. In a time when issues of climate change and conflict in the Middle East are daily front page news features, the honouring or joint recipients Kailash and Malala for the Peace Prize signifies that “children are more than passive recipients of aid; they can speak up for their own rights.” Explain what this means. Why is this significant? Do you agree with the choice of Kailash and Malala? Why or why not? The article also says that “peace cannot be achieved without recognizing the rights of children.” Do you agree? Why or why not? !

DIVE DEEPER As the article outlines, a lot has changed since Craig went to local library looking for information about child labour. From the advancements that have been made in the fight to end child labour to the way we search for information about these developments, the world has come a long way.

Ask your class to investigate where the front lines are today on the issue of child labour. Working individually or in small groups of two to three students, instruct students to become investigative reporters to gain an understanding of the existence and use of child labour today and spread the word so that others will learn too.

Using various methods of research, students should answer the who, what, when, where and why of child labour in a 150-400 word newspaper article. Alternatively, students may write a blog post, radio commercial or news bulletin of a similar length. With many issues of child labour still taking place around the world, there should be a diverse collection of articles.

Once students have completed their articles, have them share them with their peers by holding a news day and exchanging articles. Or publish a class paper, ask the school paper to feature an article or two in each of the upcoming editions or submit them to community newspapers.

Kailash and Malala have set the example, encourage students to join the effort of upholding the rights of children and ending child labour. ! ADDITIONAL RESOURCES !Photo Credit: Free The Children Archives Today’s front pages: www.newseum.oorg/todaysfrontpages/ Nobel Peace Prize website: www.nobelpeaceprize.org Nobel Prize website: www.nobelprize.org The United Nations website: www.un.org

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