This October, it was announced that Angelina Jolie had partnered with Geraldine Van Bueren to publish a book on the children’s rights as set out in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Angelina Jolie is known for her awareness of humanitarian issues and for her advocacy for the protection of people; her counterpart, Geraldine Van Bueren, is a children’s rights lawyer who has represented Amnesty International for years.
Know Your Rights (And Claim Them) – targeted at kids and teenagers – is focused on educating and empowering youth on their basic rights, encouraging them to fight against societal issues that cease to stop, such as freedom of expression, gender and racial equality, health and a maintainable environment. With this book, these Jolie and Van Bueren hope to tackle the vulnerability and powerlessness that comes with a lack of knowledge, providing young people with a guide on how to stand up and claim their rights.
The book features stories from youth around the world, like Dujuan – an Arrernte and Garrwa Aboriginal boy from Australia:
“For us kids in Australia we had the stolen generations and Aboriginal kids are still being taken away from their parents by the government. This history of fighting (resistance) lives in us. In our blood it runs. We need to learn about our rights, at home and at school, and share everywhere what happened and is happening to kids like us. We need to know our rights to be able to fight for a better future.”
University students who are on the path to activism and passionate about child protection, I recommend you read this book. This book encourages us to understand the importance of raising awareness and advocating for the difficulties children around the world face, and of using our knowledge to help them.
Creating change in the lives of at-risk children starts when we use our voice to share our values, educate ourselves, and share our knowledge with the people around us. Angelina Jolie and Geraldine Van Bueren are doing just that with this new project.
Keep an eye on your local bookstore: Know Your Rights (And Claim Them) will be released in September 2021.