This exhibition is dedicated to all the children of the world.
The drawings in this collection are the messages from hundreds of children around the world who were asked to express their understanding and feelings about child labour. Many of these children have been victims of child labour.
According to the latest estimates of the International Labour Organization, there are over 200 million child labourers in the world. Over 100 million children work in situations considered highly hazardous. They are trapped in bonded labour and prostitution, they work in agriculture, mining, manufacturing of chemicals and explosives, drug trafficking and are drawn into conflict, forced to use guns, sacrificed and abused in situations intolerable to the human heart and in violation of their basic human rights.
These strong and touching messages of despair and hope are a vivid reminder of the inequalities and injustices that exist in our globalized world and the need for urgent action to end child labour.
“I think that children are the worst victims of poverty and injustice, and too often they remain silent. They have found a voice through the work of your organization.” - Muhammad Yunus (2006 Nobel Peace Price), message to GenevaWorld - 27 August 2008
An initiative of GenevaWorld Association, in partnership with the International Labour Organization