Today is the International Children’s Rights Day, a United Nations holiday that celebrates the creation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1989.  Unfortunately millions of children lack the most basic rights such as access to education,, food, water and lives free from war.  According to UNESCO, 77 million kids worldwide do not attend school. School is one of the best ways to improve all aspects of kids lives, including creating better economic opportunities, improved health outcomes and empowering girls.

In honor of this important holiday, I am highlighting the work of Jewish World Watch, an instrumental organization for the Social Action campaign for our film, Darfur Now.  While the organization is only three years old, it has quickly become a leader in humanitarian relief, advocacy and education for Darfur.  One of their critical programs–backpacks– extends well-beyond providing immediate humanitarian relief to millions of refugees. It helps to build long-term infrastructure and educational opportunities to thousands of Darfurian refugee children.  Their backpack program will provide school supplies to 14,000 children in  the Oure Cassoni refugee camp.  The contents of the backpacks provides more than just learning tools; these children will be given educational opportunties and safe-spaces in their otherwise chaotic, war-ridden lives.  As victims of war and violence, these children lack the most basic rights as children and human beings.  takepart today to support the backpack program which will give these Darfurian kids resources and hope for a better future.

(photo: vonbergen.net)

How many times have you watched the news and felt helpless as to what hardships are occurring our world? Well now CNN isn’t just presenting the news, its also presenting ways to
takepart with their ‘Impact Your World’ project. ‘Impact’ buttons on selected CNN.com stories link audiences to resource pages where they can help charitable organizations in categories including Refugees & Homelessness,Poverty,Health, Children, Animals, and Natural Disasters.

For example the heartbreaking story of Afghanistan’s children working the streets for basic survival (Watch the video by clicking here) links to the Aschiana Foundation where you can takepart improve the lives of the street children in Kabul and elsewhere in Afghanistan.

‘Impact Your World’ will also link viewers and readers to support individual causes (ie: a family trying to recover from fire damage).

I love that more and more newsy sources (ahem like this blog you’re reading right now connects concerned readers with Take Part links) are using the power of increased technology to increase awareness and make a difference. News is no longer passive.

Get more info on CNN’s ‘Impact Your World’ program at http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2007/impact/

What can I say - I’m always a sucker for cute informative PSAs like this one from Omaha Healthy Kids:

to learn more about the Omaha Healthy Kids Alliance!

Singer Ricky Martin recently visited a Cambodian shelter in Siem Reap where a teenage rape victim performed a song she wrote about her ordeal as a trafficking victim. Martin was representing his Ricky Martin Foundation when he visited the Cambodian shelter that houses 65 victims.

The Ricky Martin Foundation works as advocates of children’s rights focusing their our work in benefiting this most vulnerable population around the world by supporting structured, equal opportunity initiatives that will secure children the right to be children, and provide them a more promising life. Check out this AOL video where Martin discusses his activist work.

According to the United Nations, about 2.5 million people are involved in forced labor as a result of trafficking, with most victims between the ages of 18 and 24. The US State Department has called Cambodia a country that is a source, destination and transit country for men, women, and children trafficked for sexual exploitation and labor. and get involved with The Ricky Martin Foundation by visiting www.rickymartinfoundation.org

I love words. I love silly words. I love new words. And I LOVE dirty words. Call me a twelve year-old boy, but potty mouths make me laugh. However seems the Supreme Court is looking to crack down on cracking obscene jokes.

The justices agreed to give the Federal Communications Commission a chance to defend its decision to start punishing broadcasters for the isolated and fleeting on-air use of expletives, an abrupt change in the commission policy that a federal appeals court last year found procedurally improper.

It has been almost exactly 30 years since the Supreme Court ruled in the “seven dirty words” case that the First Amendment did not bar the government from regulating the broadcasting of speech that, while “indecent,” was not actually obscene. The broadcast at issue then was a 12-minute monologue by the comedian George Carlin, titled “Filthy Words,” that deliberately challenged federal regulators by highlighting “the words you couldn’t say” on the public airwaves. [New York Times]

I was going to embed that brilliant Carlin clip but alas it’s a bit too foul for Takepart.com so click here to view it. Warning it’s explicit… and awesome.

Read the rest of this entry »

If you love someone, you probably don’t want to give them a gift made under hateful conditions. Sadly, most common valentines day gifts– flowers, chocolate, and jewelry– are likely to involve child labor, child slavery, violence, human rights abuses and environmental degradation. But don’t worry. You don’t have to swear off of gift-giving. Nor do you have to give your valentine a handmade dream catcher, a hemp hacky sack or a recycled nalgene to say I love you guilt-free. Instead, say I love you– and children, and the earth, and workers– by buying fair trade chocolates, flowers, and jewelry. Buy something your valentine can really love you for. And come back next week for my valentine gifts with heart top 10 list.

1. If your valentine is sweet, buy them fair trade chocolates from Global Exchange.
2. If your valentine is full of life and color, buy them pesticide-free flowers or roses from Organic Styles
3. If your valentine has a heart of gold, buy recycled gold jewelry from Green Carat
4. If your valentine is expecting something more than just a valentine, buy them a conflict-free diamonds from Brilliant Earth
5. Now give yourself, and the world a gift and check out Oxfam’s Make Trade Fair Campaign, to see why Coldplay’s Chris Martin is a supporter and made them the music video above. And see how you can by joining Chris Martin and other activists in calling on world leaders to make trade fair!

As if video games don’t already glorify violence and degrade people’s minds! I mean there are video games encouraging players to beat up prostitutes and take their money; to kill cops; to set people on fire and then urinate on them. And now, thanks to RiverWired, there is a video game, which urges players to fight to restore coral reefs. The object in this perverse game, Battle For The Coral Reef, is to clear the ocean of waste and bring back coral life. Just what we need: Another video game teaching our children to take care

Ready to for coral? Jump in and play the game!

According to a new study by the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia Universityand the Children’s Health Fund, many kids along the Gulf Coast continue to face serious aftereffects of 2005 hurricanes. The damage ranges from school performance issues to mental health problems.

In addition to post-storm trauma, many children in New Orleans have extended families that are no longer nearby, making their support system weaker.

For more on how to help children affected by Hurricane Katrina visit http://www.savethechildren.org/emergencies/us-gulf-coast-hurricanes/

by Giulia Rozzi

According to the Times article things like the use of a pipe in the Alistair Cookie sketches and Cookie Monsters poor dietary doings are a bad influence on the kiddies. What about the countless numbers of kids being pushed in strollers by mommies puffing on Camel Lights? How about the school lunches filled with saturated fats, sugars, and artificial colors and flavors that many of America’s children ingest? I think there are more alarming threats facing kids today besides the habits of Muppets.

And of course someone had to note that Sesame Street isn’t so relatable to inner-city kids. I agree, probably because its a make-believe street! With talking puppets and animals and silly songs and sunshine! Oh and it’s TV. Isn’t TV all about magic and imagination?

As a product of Sesame Street’s old school episodes I turned out just fine. Sesame Street inspired me to create, explore and learn. It was a joyful place I could escape to for one hour every day. It was a special place filled with all sorts of colorful characters that taught me about accepting all people even if they are sugar-addicted monsters or grouchy trash diggers.

So instead of worrying about what’s happening on Sesame Street, why not worry about the hate, the violence and the injustice that’s going on the real streets?