1924 - 2024
About us
The 1924 Geneva Declaration of the Rights of the Child required a fitting commemoration!
Thus, in late 2022, Philip D. Jaffé, Professor at the University of Geneva and Member of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, and Mane Kocharyan, a child rights specialist and a principal collaborator, approached the City of Geneva and extolled the significance of the centennial and the extraordinary contribution of Eglantyne Jebb, the author of the 1924 Geneva Declaration.
It did not take much convincing to garner the enthusiastic support of Christina Kitsos, then vice-president of Geneva’s Executive Council and current Mayor of the City of Geneva. Christina Kitsos, since long a champion of children’s rights, immediately saw the potential to enhance her executive and political action in favor of children’s well-being in the City of Geneva.
But, a turning point occurred when Philip D. Jaffé drafted a revised and updated 2024 Geneva Declaration on the Rights of the Child. Along with the City of Geneva, three leading civil society organizations
Save the Children, Enfants du Monde & Terre des Hommes Suisse decided to team up in lockstep on this project and to ensure its success.
City of Geneva
Eglantyne Jebb is a pioneer in her courage, tenacity and ability to rally many people to the cause of children. For the City of Geneva, it was obvious that a the centenary of the Declaration of Geneva should be celebrated along with the acknowledgment of this exceptional woman and her career.
In February 2024, Eglantyne Jebb’s remains were transferred to the Cimetière des Rois, the resting place of luminaries who have contributed to Geneva’s influence.
To bring the legacy of this largely invisible woman to the attention of as many people as possible, Christina Kitsos decided to name a pre-school after Eglantyne Jebb in the Eaux-Vives district . This new facility was inaugurated in August 2024. Dozens of children and their families will discover Eglantyne Jebb’s smile every morning when they arrive at the place.
A brochure briefly analyzing the life and text of the Declaration of Geneva has been published by the City of Geneva, the Committee on the Rights of the Child and Save the Children.
Thanks to a partnership with the Committee on the Rights of the Child, and in particular owing to the major contribution of Professor Philip D. Jaffé, the City of Geneva is proud to help renew Eglantyne Jebb’s commitment to the Declaration of the Rights of the Child 2024.
Save the Children International
Save the Children is the world’s first and leading independent children’s organisation. We’re proud to work with children, their communities, and partners worldwide, discovering new solutions to help ensure that the most vulnerable children survive, learn and are protected. Every year, we reach tens of millions of children in more than 110 countries through our life-changing work.
With more than 25,000 dedicated staff across more than 110 countries, we respond rapidly to humanitarian emergencies, deliver innovative development programmes, and ensure children’s voices are heard through our advocacy and campaigning to build a better future for and with children.
Michel Anglade, the director of Save the Children International’s office at the United Nations in Geneva, provided experienced guidance throughout the entire project and ensured a seamless link with the international children’s rights civil society organizations present in Geneva.
Enfants du monde
Enfants du Monde is a Swiss NGO based in Geneva, which has been committed for over 50 years to supporting children and their families in some of the most disadvantaged regions of Africa, Latin America, and Asia.
The NGO’s vision is to empower children to shape their own lives and build the future of their communities. It specializes in primary education and promoting maternal and child health, working alongside government partners and local associations to develop high-quality, sector-specific policies that better address local needs.
Through its efforts, nearly 800,000 children annually learn to read, write, and count in schools that are designed to reflect their daily realities in Burkina Faso, Guatemala, and Chad. Additionally, nearly 1 million pregnant women, babies, and children benefit from its health programs in Burkina Faso, Bangladesh, and Nepal each year.
Enfants du Monde played an outsized role by securing funding for the project from a leading Geneva based Foundation. Enfants du Monde’s team were also central to setting up the dedicated website and elaborating a communication’s strategy
Terre des hommes suisse
Terre des Hommes Suisse is an independent organisation on a human scale and has been committed for over 60 years to guaranteeing the fundamental rights of children.
Based in Geneva and active in 10 countries, it works closely with local actors to anchor its action in the realities on the ground. Its commitment aims to offer every child access to quality education, to protect them against all forms of violence, and to guarantee their active participation in the decisions that affect them. Terre des Hommes Suisse embodies the values of solidarity, equity and commitment, and helps young people to become agents of change and build a more just and sustainable world.
Terre des Hommes Suisse has independently run a parallel project in which children from three continents have rewritten their own versions of the 1924 Declaration of the Rights of the Child. Their productions were exhibited on the shores of Lake Geneva, a stone’s throw from the meeting room of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, located in the Palais Wilson.
"[We are] often told that our aims are impossible. (...)
It's impossible only if we make it so.
It's impossible only if we refuse to attempt it".
EGLANTYNE JEBB
2024 Geneva Declaration on the Rights of the Child
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