PRESS RELEASE
Children of Armenia Fund (COAF) – Yerevan Office
53-55 Pavstos Buzand Street, 0010
Yerevan, Republic of Armenia
Contact: Inessa Grigoryan
Tel: (+374 10) 522076; 562068
Fax: (+374 10) 522076
E-mail: igrigoryan@coafkids.org
Web:
Children of Armenia Fund – New York Office
162 Fifth Avenue, Suite 900,
New York, NY 10010, USA
Contact: Samantha Wagar
Tel: 212 – 994 – 8234
Fax: 212 – 994 – 8299
E-mail: swagar@coafkids.org
Web:
June 10, 2009, Lernagog, Armavir District, Republic of Armenia
Child Protection Day Celebration through
"Planet of Peace" Performance
Following International Child Protection Day celebrated worldwide on
June 1, the community of Lernagog recently hosted a "Planet of Peace"
performance in the premises of a newly renovated village school with the
aim of contributing to the protection of children’s rights and raising
children’s and their parents’ awareness and consciousness on child
protection issues. Lernagog is one of the numerous communities included
in Comprehensive Rural Development Program, initiated and implemented by
the Children of Armenia Fund (COAF) in Baghramyan Region of Armavir
District of Armenia since early 2006.
The event was organized by the members of the local "YES" youth club
established by Heifer Project International in close cooperation with
COAF and experts from Development Principles NGO. COAF Psycho-Social
Project team additionally supported Lernagog club members in developing
and elaborating the materials for the event. Through civic education
activities, the local youth acquires knowledge and builds capacity on
human rights and the rights and responsibilities of citizens, civil
society formation and the children’s role and participation in these
processes. Apart from civic education, the club has also other
directions including healthy lifestyle, agribusiness, ecology, logics
and journalism/public relations.
The participants and organizers of the event touched upon the problems
occurring in the process of realizing children’s rights, as well as
concrete cases of child rights violations, after watching "The Rights of
Children in Armenia" documentary prepared through the support from the
United Nations Children’s Fund and witnessing the wallpapers created by
the children themselves. The documentary was followed by "The Little
Prince" performance, based on the famous novel by Antoine de Saint
Exupéry, which was played by the members of all the youth clubs. The
performance ended with a big round of applause from the audience and
numerous congratulations on the wonderful play.
Participating in the celebration of the Child Protection Day were also
members of Civic Education "YES" Clubs from the neighboring communities
of Karakert, Dalarik, Miasnikian and Hushakert. Their enrollment in the
event highlighted once again the importance of communication among
youngsters from cluster villages, as well as the necessity of their
unity towards protecting their own rights and freedoms. The "Planet of
Peace" festive event concluded with the video coverage of the results of
the Annual Forum on youth clubs and their activities, prepared by Heifer
Project International and Development Principles NGO.
To the delight of all the guests, the event did have its continuation in
the front yard of Lernagog School. Using the colorful chalks, the
children of all ages painted with diligence the school yard, presenting
such symbols of peace and kindness as the sun, flowers, doves and kids,
surrounded by their Moms and Dads, family members and friends.
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