Child leaders gather for Luzon’s Children’s Congress

BATANGAS — More than 50 child leaders from 10 provinces and cities across Luzon gathered again for World Vision’s Children’s Congress after two years of being restricted to travel due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“As child leaders in your local communities, you have a huge role in sparking hope for betterment and change for you and your fellow generation’s future,” World Vision Program Manager Roberto Dazo advises to the participants of the event.

“You have been trained, you have been oriented and you have engaged in meaningful activities that you should do in your respective communities,” Dazo adds. “Despite the limitations brought by the pandemic, you still rose up to the challenge and aced these with flying colors.”

All child leaders participated in various activities lined up during the two-day event, such as sessions on mental health resilience, a briefer on the newly enacted Anti-Online Sexual Abuse or Exploitation of Children (OSAEC) Act and on policy writing.

The event also saw the child leaders plant Narra trees and other agricultural products, as well as a cultural night — where the participants donned their best Philippine attire to showcase the country’s diverse culture — along with the election of new officers for the Luzon Children’s Federation, which serves as the two-day event’s culmination.

During the activity, participants from Sorsogon, one of World Vision’s community in Luzon, were presented with a certificate of recognition as they placed third in a jingle-making contest hosted by the Council for the Welfare of Children.

Luzon’s Children’s Congress coincides with the celebration the National Children’s Month observed every November. Under Republic Act No. 10661, National Children’s Month is held every November to commemorate the adoption of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) — the first universally binding treaty that promotes the welfare and the rights of a child — in November 1989. The Philippines serves as one of the signatories of the CRC.