Globeday in Farsta 2009

The World Home is the theme for the GobeDay and the first step to a World Championship in Cooperation at the Children’s Meeting Place at the EU-Commission in Brussels. Guests of Honors are: Anders Wijkman from the EU parliament, Children’s Ombudsman of Sweden Lena Nyberg, Mayor of Strängnäs Thord Tjernström and Toni Ivens from Eurochild and leader of Children in Wales together with Prof. Birgitta Qvarsell and Prof. Karin Helander Stockholm University and Ms. Ingrid Engdahl President of Swedish OMEP. Children from Children’s Garden gave great energy by drumming their African drums. Young participants from many schools in Sweden brought models, ideas and tools to created the first World Home together – the first step to the World Home to be created at the Children’s Meeting Place at EU-Commission in Brussels 2012. At the closing of the two days program the children asked questions to the Guests.

Some questions and answers from the seminar plenum.

How can politicians from EU make the situation better for children in Africa?

Anders Wijkman (AW): We who are very fortunate must  share and the way we share is very important. We also have to cooperate, work together with African governments. With leaders who have corruption, there we can help a little. But you young people have a very important task here in democracy projects…

Lena Nyberg (LN): I agree but I also want to add: We can help you to have more power. You should know about your rights that strengthens yourself. And bring back to other children that you have rights.

Thord Tjernström (TT): In Strängnäs municipality we have twinning with Simanjiro in Tanzania. That is also one way. And we have a Children’s Meeting Place in Strängnäs too.

11 year old John Maina Maende from Children’s Garden told the story of the three Monsters:

Listen, listen everyone!  I have something to tell you from Children’s Garden. We have one danger and three monsters. This danger is for Children’s Garden, but we have to come together to escape this danger.

The 1^st monster is corruption. Corruption is a very dangerous monster This monster takes money, given from the world to the children, and put in his pockets, and they grow big and bigger and bigger.

The 2^nd monster is pollution. There is a river in our home which is polluted and we cannot use it. All the rivers and lakes are being polluted by this monster.

The 3^rd monster is called climate change. This has affected the whole planet, me, you and all of us. We are going to suffer, because of this monster.

This needs me and you to come together find a solution of how we can fight this monster? Thank you!

What do you do to prevent the monsters to grow stronger?

AW: It is a very good question and it is a scandal with the corruption. We have to work together. Pollution and climate change are in a way the same monster; a symptom of wrong use of resources. We are ready to talk about it but we need to change our habits. Young people get angry and you should be angry because we do so little. There is still time to do something.

LN: Maybe some people don’t want to see the monsters. Maybe we can help them to see the monsters…..

TT: Get angry, really angry. You have the right to be angry