Hey you, join me in the celebration of the Day of the African Child. Since 1991 every June 16th events are organized to promote children’s rights by the African Union. The day also seeks to create awareness of the need to improve education for African children.
The significance of the date stems back to the events of June 16th, 1976 a day that saw a massacre of students in South Africa in their march protesting against education injustice. The thousands of students who lost their lives that day gave birth to a revolution against apartheid.
This year’s celebration is on the theme of “Eliminating Harmful Practices Affecting Children: Progress on Policy and Practice Since 2013”. The UNICEF and the United Nations African Mothers Association (UNAMA) are hosting an online event aimed at, “taking stock of what has been done with regards to the adoption of policies and practices, and at reflecting on what more needs to be done to effectively eliminate harmful practices affecting children in Africa.”
