WDACL will be recognized both in Geneva and in concerned countries worldwide on and around the 12th of June. The ILO launched the WDACL and the "12 to 12 Partnership Initiative" to bring attention to the problem and to give impetus to the global movement to eradicate it. The initiative - partnerships for sustainable and global impact - aims to harness the commitment and motivation of the ILO's partners as well as of young people through a range of joint activities in the build-up toward the WDACL on 12 June 2005 and beyond.

Young people can be important catalysts for change! They are part of the international public whose understanding of poverty and exploitation is crucial for changing social attitudes and drawing attention to the social aspects of globalisation. Through the youth mobilization component of WDACL, young people are learning about the problem of child labour in mining and quarrying as well as gaining a forum for action.

They can make an important and creative contribution to raising awareness and mobilizing energies to combat child labour. Young people can also be a driving force for action in diverse social and cultural settings. Through IPEC’s popular SCREAM programme, children, adolescents and young adults in both developing and industrialized countries have already started to prepare for the WDACL and will continue throughout the year. SCREAM uses arts and the media (theatre, dance, drama, posters) as a way to promote action, both in formal and non-formal education settings, and which at the same time, develops communication skills and ability to interact. Art is also a way to build local, regional and global networks.

Mobilization will build on the “12 to 12 Partnership Initiative” which is a coalition of UN agencies, workers’ organizations, NGOs, educational and community groups, many of whom have signed a Memorandum of Understanding, some of which are listed below.

Partners

A number of organizations have expressed their support for the 12 to 12 initiative, including:

• the International Confederation of the Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) and the World Confederation of Labour (WCL)
• UNESCO, a key organization in terms of inter-agency co-operation
• Education International (EI), the Global Union Federation (GUF) for teachers and educators
• Union Network International (UNI), the GUF for skills and service workers
• World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM) which brings together the scout organizations from around the world
• PeaceWaves, which educates educators and students on issues of peace and development within an international network
• Suzuki Talent Center - Italy, and the Children's Suzuki Orchestra
• the International School Theatre Association (ISTA), which operates theatre-related activities for teachers and students from international schools worldwide
• the Global Metro-City-Glocal Forum/We Are the Future, which advocates city-centric coalition-building all around the globe
• University of Rome "Tor Vergata", with Masters in Development Economics & International Cooperation
• Association Montessori Internationale (AMI/Educateur sans Frontières) and many other school associations and community groups.
• SCREAM - Manchester: a student organisation at the University of Manchester raising awareness about child labour issues in the UK
• European Institute of Design, with the Department of Graphics IED Visual Arts - Rome
• Ippocampo Theatre Association, which promotes the culture of the expressive languages related to the arts of the stage - theatre, dance, music, and visual arts - in different socio-cultural contexts.

Activities

• a call to action – young people and adults, partners for social change. The activities geared towards the WDACL 2005 implemented worldwide will produce banners, theatre performances, public debates, thesis, interviews, articles, photo exhibits and press releases.
• an internet site -– the “12 to 12 community portal” – will soon allow youths to share experiences and information about community mobilization against child labour in formal and informal educational settings. Its advocacy-coalition-building strategy aims at creating a community-based worldwide network and at fostering joint plans of action not only within the UN system, but also with the social partners and civil society, i.e. NGOs, the media, academic institutions and the artistic community.
• a school module, complete with stories and activities, will help to sensitise school children to the plight of their peers who labour in mines and stone quarries. The school outreach project is being handled by Education International (EI) which is disseminating materials to teachers worldwide
• school “twinning”, facilitated by IPEC, will enable adolescents in remote mining areas and university students to establish contact with their peers in schools and other academic institutions in Spain, Italy, UK, Switzerland and Australia.

Teacher's, educators and activists

The World Day Against Child Labour will measure its impact and success in terms of the level of support it receives from a wide range of partners and individuals. This particularly includes teachers and educators in all areas of interaction with children. We need your help and support and this year we would ask you to spend a short moment in your working day with your groups to work with them on the issue of child labour. To assist you in this, we have produced an information and activities brochure designed to form the basis for a short lesson to introduce children to the issues involved in child labour, particularly mining and quarrying. Through discussion and activities, they can explore ways in which they themselves can play their part in the global campaign to eliminate child labour. The activities can be as short or as long as you can allow and further resources can be found in SCREAM and the ILO-IPEC Teachers' Kit as indicated in the brochure and on this web page under "Youth mobilisation". Your contribution is invaluable to us and we call on you to download the brochure, use it and promote it!