[hre-asiapacific] Asian Activist won World's Children Price for the Rights of the Child

Asian Activist won World's Children Price for the Rights of the Child
Duang Prateep Foundation Monthly News for May 2004

Contact details
Address: Lock 6, Art Narong Road, Klong Toey, Bangkok 10110, Thailand.
Telephone: (66 2) 671 4045, 249 4880, 249 3553.
Fax: (66 2) 249 5254
Email: <dpffound@ksc.th.com>

News from the Duang Prateep Foundation

Prateep honoured by the World's children

Last month Duang Prateep Foundation Secretary General Prateep Ungsongtham
Hata was chosen by children from around the world as the winner of the Global
Friends' Award and the World's Children's Prize.

The two awards are administered by the World's Children's Prize for the
Rights of the Child, an organisation set up by a coalition of Swedish
child rights organisations. Many months ago the adult organisers nominated
Prateep as one of three finalists along with child rights activists from
India and the USA. The actual awards are decided by children aged under
eighteen.

The Global Friend's Award is decided by a worldwide vote of children. This
year more than 2.5 million children from 52 countries took part in the
vote, with over 1.3 million children choosing Prateep as recipient of the
award.

The recipient of the World's Children's Prize for the Rights of the Child
is chosen from the three finalists by a jury of thirteen children from
around the world. The jury are representatives of many of the problems
which affect children around the world. They included a former child
soldier, a former sex slave, a child worker, a child Aids victim, a
representative of an indigenous minority, representatives of children
living in zones of conflict, a child affected by environmental problems,
and children campaigning for child rights. The thirteen members of the
jury gave ten votes to Prateep to make her the winner of their prize. The
child jury did not know the result of the global vote when making their
decision.

The awards were presented by Queen Silvia of Sweden on behalf of the
world's children at a ceremony at Gripsholm Castle at Mariefred near
Stockholm in Sweden on April the sixteenth. Queen Silvia is an honorary
adult friend of World's Children's Prize for the Rights of the Child.
Other honorary adult friends include Nelson Mandela and Xanana Gusmao of
East Timor.

Prateep has announced that the 1.6 million baht prize money she won will
not be going to the Duang Prateep Foundation. Prateep will launch a new
foundation to work on child right's issues in Asia.

On arriving in Bangkok Prateep said "This is the most exciting time in my
life, because on this occasion we know that children from all over the
world have participated in the global vote and learnt about children's
rights. I will use the awards to strengthen children's rights in Thailand
and neighbouring countries. The awards have given me more confidence and
energy to work harder for children's rights."



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