Fifty years ago, in 1959, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child, designating the day it did so, November 20, Universal Children’s Day. Twenty years later, on the anniversary of that day, the United Nations proclaimed 1979 the International Year of the Child. Ten years after that, in 1989, the General Assembly drafted the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The aim each time was to highlight problems still afflicting children worldwide and preventing them from developing into healthy and productive human beings.

Despite these proclamations, the plight of children continues to this day. For this reason, TransAfrica Forum has chosen to dedicate its Arthur R. Ashe, Jr. Foreign Policy Library 2009 Calendar to the effort to improve the lot of children. Themes covered in the calendar include: poverty, education, child labor, child trafficking, access to clean water, child soldiers, child mortality, street children, sexual exploitation and forced marriages, access to food, children’s rights, and HIV/AIDS. We hope the images and accompanying facts will stimulate fruitful discussion and positive action all year long.

For more information or to order your calendar at $15.00 each email info@transafricaforum.org or call 202.223.1960 ext. 137 or send your payment payable to TransAfrica Forum to TransAfrica Forum Arthur R. Ashe, Jr. Foreign Policy Library, 1629 K Street, NW, Suite 1100, Washington, DC 20006 and clearly denote 2009 Calendar.