The International Day for Street Children was celebrated in 129 countries for the third year running on April 12, 2013. The International Day for Street Children serves as a platform for street children around the world – and their champions – to speak out so that their rights are not ignored. This year’s theme was Home Street Home, highlighting that for many children the street is their home, the place where they forge an identity for themselves and often sleep.
2013 also saw the launch of a campaign for UN recognition of the International Day for Street Children. The Day was launched by the Consortium for Street Children in 2011. However, it is vital that the Day is not owned by any one organisation; with UN recognition comes greater global exposure of the issue, continuity and increased pressure on governments to act. So far, over 3000 people from 106 countries have signed the online petition calling on the UN to recognise the Day. With even more public support we will be one step closer to making this a reality. To sign the petition and find out how else you can get involved, please visit the following link: http://www.streetchildrenday.org