© UNICEF/NYHQ2011-2138/Kat Palasi Philippines
Children displaced by Tropical Storm Washi look at UNICEF-provided colouring supplies, at a child-friendly space in a high school in the coastal city of Iligan, Northern Mindanao Region. The spaces offer safe places for children to play, learn, and regain a sense of normalcy after a disaster.

By Rudina Vojvoda

NEW YORK, USA, 1 March 2012 – More than one billion children live in urban areas according to UNICEF’s flagship report, ‘The State of the World’s Children 2012: Children in an Urban World’.

On the whole, children in urban areas typically have better educational opportunities than those in rural areas. But for many urban children from marginalized groups – including the children of migrants and children living in slums or on the streets – education remains inaccessible. Many fail to meet registration requirements to enrol in urban schools and others can’t afford education-related costs, such as uniforms, books and supplies.

© UNICEF/INDA2011-00070/Graham Crouch
Caption: Pausha Madharia (16 years old) holding a youth newspaper that aims to give voice to the youth of rural India. Based on the Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the rights of the child, children have the right to speak freely and to articulate their concerns. This bi-monthly newspaper titled Children Independence and sponsored by UNICEF encourages children to ask who, what, when and why from senior members of the community.

By Rudina Vojvoda

NEW YORK, USA, 21 November, 2011 – This year marks the 22nd anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Ratified by 193 states, the Convention has gained wide support worldwide and transformed the way children are treated around the globe. Yet, children’s right to education as a fundamental human right remains a challenge especially for those living in conflict areas.

UNICEF podcast moderator Femi Oke spoke with two experts, Professor Philip G. Alston and Professor David M. Smolin, about the achievements of the last 22 years as well as the challenges that lie ahead.

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© UNICEF/2009/Robbie Campbell

Young people today will face challenges that require them to be more creative, more adaptable and more resilient than ever before. Poverty, climate change, conflicts, natural disasters and the economic crisis call for more sustainable solutions. Education is the key to solving the problems of the global community. This series features six documentary films focusing on the personal stories of students in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cambodia, Egypt, Ghana, Nicaragua and the Sudan and contexts in which child-friendly school policies are being implemented.

© UNICEF/2008/Shankar
Co-author of ‘Girl Soldier: A Story of Hope for Northern Uganda’s Children’ Grace Akallo (left ); and spokesperson for War Child Holland Kon Kelei (front)recording the 'Recovery through education'; podcast at UN Radio studios.

NEW YORK, USA- Ishmael Beah, Grace Akallo and Kon Kelei know the consequences of war. All three have lived through and participated in conflict in their native countries of Sierra Leone, Uganda and Sudan.

© UNICEF/NYHQ2008-0200/Susan Markisz

KHARTOUM/JUBA, Sudan, 22 May 2008 – UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Hilde Johnson has been in Sudan this week, reviewing the progress which has been made for children’s rights since the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in 2005 that ended decades of civil war in most parts of the country.

Sudan Cattle Camps
©UNICEF Video

MARIAL BEK, Southern Sudan, 7 August 2007 – Progress has come quickly to Southern Sudan. Two years after a historic peace agreement ended Africa’s longest-running civil war, urban roads are congested with traffic and classrooms that once lacked students are now overflowing.