National Child Day is celebrated in Canada on November 20th to acknowledge the importance of children’s rights and our country’s commitment to upholding them. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) sets out the rights of children with 54 articles that provide us with a solid road map of what is needed to support children and youth to be safe, healthy, and included.
These rights can be sorted under three pillars:
- Protection – Right to be safe
- Provision – Right to be healthy
- Participation – Right to be yourself and to be heard
This year, we want to come together to celebrate identity in children and youth and the things that make them unique. A child’s sense of identity begins to form in early childhood and becomes more defined in adolescence, and children and youth need opportunities to learn who they are. Every child has unique strengths and abilities that make them special, and they deserve to be celebrated.
The Alberta National Child Day coalition collaborates on education resources and events across the province. Visit our events page to see what’s happening in your community this year! Check out our resource page for booklists, activity toolkits, posters and more!
Special thanks to the Alberta National Child Day Coalition members:
