© UNICEF South Sudan 2011/Ingram
Children take part in rehearsals for Saturday's celebrations in Juba marking South Sudan's independence.

By Simon Ingram

JUBA, South Sudan, 8 July, 2011 – The celebrations on the streets of Juba have already begun. School children waving flags and carrying banners have joined tribal warriors and soldiers in rehearsals for Saturday’s big celebrations. As South Sudan gets ready for becoming the world’s newest nation, the pride and excitement is visible on every face.

© UNICEF/NYHQ2007-0862/Georgina Cranston
Children attending a class at the Muniki Center Basic School in the Muniki Payam, a north-western sub-district of Juba, capital of South Sudan.

By Rudina Vojvoda

NEW YORK, USA, 6 July 2011 – At the end of this week, Southern Sudan will become an independent nation. Citizens of the newest country in the world, the people of Southern Sudan face immense challenges and immediate threats.

They also stand before a unique opportunity to build a country that is free of war, respectful of human rights and prosperous. Education will play a pivotal role in the future stability and economic development of Southern Sudan.

© UNICEF-NYHQ/2009/KavanaghYouth journalist Tereza Kitale, 17, in attendance at the radio workshop sponsored by UNICEF Radio, Southern Sudan Radio and UNICEF's Education in Emergencies and Post-Crisis Transition Programme.

In the run-up to the 20th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child – a landmark international agreement on the basic human rights of all children – UNICEF is featuring a series of stories about progress made and challenges that remain. Here is one of those stories.

JUBA, Southern Sudan, 21 August 2009 – When Tereza Kitale looks up at the sky over the town of Juba, Southern Sudan, she sees her future.