Activities related to children and youth are an integral part of the Bahá'í International Community's program of social and economic development. Bahá'í communities worldwide currently operate more than 1,300 social and economic development projects addressing a wide range of problems associated with underdevelopment and environmental degradation around the world. Of these projects, more than 700 are schools and about 200 are literacy programs. Most of these projects are the result of grass-roots initiative. Local Bahá'í communities identify their own needs, set their own priorities, and determine what they consider to be appropriate measures. In developing countries, where a majority of these projects are located, projects tend to focus on basic education, primary health care, or environmental issues, all of which tend to benefit children directly.

The Bahá'í International Community has also undertaken activities on the international level toward the attainment of the goals of the World Summit for Children. The following are some of the United Nations activities in which the Bahá'í International Community has participated:

1. The Bahá'í International Community is supporting the implementation the Convention on the Rights of the Child. After having actively participated in the elaboration of the Convention, the Bahá'í International Community signed joint statements on its implementation at both the 47th and 49th sessions of the Commission on Human Rights. In addition, national Bahá'í communities have been active in urging their governments to ratify the Convention.
   
   
2. The Bahá'í International Community strongly supports "Facts for Life," the international health education project co-sponsored by UNICEF, WHO and UNESCO. It cosponsored publication of the "Facts for Life" booklet and distributed several thousand copies to its national affiliates world-wide.
   
   
3. As a contribution to the Earth Summit in 1992, the Bahá'í International Community produced, with UNICEF support, the book Tomorrow Belongs to the Children. This book contains artwork and essays in which children from more than twenty-five countries express their hopes and concerns for the future. It was presented to all Heads of State and UN agencies and has had world-wide circulation. 7,500 copies have been presented to UNICEF for sale to support UNICEF's on-going efforts to improve the lives of the world's children.
   
   
4. At the 1992 International Conference on Nutrition, the Bahá'í International Community joined forces with UNICEF and several other NGOs to ensure that reference to the nutritional goals of the World Summit were included in the World Declaration and Plan of Action produced by that conference. These efforts were successful.
   
   
5. The Bahá'í International Community signed a joint statement on refugee women and children presented to the 35th session of the Commission and has also made statements on the girl child to the Executive Board of UNICEF in 1991 and to the Commission on the Status of Women in 1992.
   
   
6. The Bahá'í International Community was a founding member and has been an active participant in the Education For All Network (EFA). This Network encourages cooperation among governments, NGOs, and intergovernmental agencies in order to attain to goal of universal basic education.
   
   

BIC Document #93-1022