Recognizing ChildSpeak Accomplishments

• Creation of the W.O.Mitchell Memorial Library at Hartley #1 primary school (Chegutu, Zimbabwe) by children in Calgary – named after one of Canada’s best loved prairie authors.
• In 2001, the ChildSpeak coordinator, Sandra Ryan, received a United Nations Volunteer award.
• ChildSpeak Zimbabwe was highlighted as an outstanding feature of Bow Valley College’s development project when it received a CIDA 2002 Award of Excellence.
• During the Kananaskis G8 Summit, all attendees, including UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, were given a one-page summary of ChildSpeak as part of their conference briefing notes.
• In 2002, Calgary children presented a workshop about ChildSpeak at the Association of Canadian Community Colleges forum in Vancouver
• In June 2004, the Hillhurst Elementary School children received the UNICEF Global Citizenship award for that month from a representative of UNICEF.
• In 2005, the children at Hillhurst Elementary School in Calgary made a two-year commitment to assist Hanganeni Primary School (Namibia) with the establishment of a library. Books are being donated, and the children have raised over $1000 for their Hanganeni counterparts to buy culturally appropriate reading materials.
• In July 2005, the volunteer ChildSpeak coordinator, Sandra Ryan, travelled to Namibia to address ChildSpeak related themes with the primary school teachers in the Swakopmund region. Attendance at Sandra’s sessions mushroomed from an expected 15-20 teachers from 3 schools to well over 100 teachers from 11 schools.
• In October 2005, Sandra delivered a ChildSpeak workshop to 30 primary school teachers from across Ghana.

During ChildSpeak Zimbabwe, which involved 3 Zimbabwe schools – rural and urban –and 2 Calgary schools, the children jointly produced an illustrated collection of their responses to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child – a colourful book entitled The Way the World Could Be. The book was sold across Canada and earned hundreds of dollars for UNICEF. The insights expressed by the children left deep impressions and reinforced the message that small voices make big impacts.