Kingdom to host 2nd laureates and leaders for children summit

AMMAN — The second Laureates and Leaders for Children Summit 2018 will take place in Jordan on March 26-27 at the King Hussein Bin Talal Convention Centre at the Dead Sea, organisers said.

Inspired and founded by Nobel Peace Laureate Kailash Satyarthi, Laureates and Leaders for Children is a “growing movement bringing together Nobel laureates, global leaders and youth from around the world to inspire, collaborate and act to protect the most vulnerable children. 

Launched in 2016 by Nobel Peace Laureate Kailash Satyarthi, the summit is meant to lay the foundation for a more sustainable and forward-thinking leadership to safeguard the future of the world’s children, particularly in the face of global challenges and chronic social challenges impacting communities worldwide.

 “Today, conflict, violence, climate change and poverty are forcing millions of children on the move,” HRH Prince Ali commented, as quoted in a statement e-mailed to The Jordan Times.

“Millions are losing their homes and families, being trafficked and enslaved, missing out on formal education and being subjected to routine physical and emotional abuse. This summit is a sincere and concerted effort to bring people together to openly discuss these challenges and formulate long-term and realistic strategies to address them,” he added. 

The first summit was hosted by Indian President Pranab Mukherjee, when 21 Nobel laureates and world leaders joined 400 distinguished thinkers and influencers from academia, business, entertainment, government and civil society to work together to prioritise the world’s children in their spheres of influence.

“The idea of a united, safe and inclusive future has never been more urgently needed than today. As leaders, we must create a legacy of compassion to create a child-friendly world”, said Satyarthi. 

“Today, our children are not safe, therefore for me humanity is not safe. ... The very idea behind Laureates and Leaders for Children and the summits is to build a sense of urgency, collective responsibility and a strong moral voice to galvanise political will,” he added.

After the first summit in India, according to the statement, OECD’s Secretary General Angel Gurria committed to incorporating the well-being of children into its measures and indicators of inclusive growth and, at the G-20 summit 2017, called on the world’s governments to support Laureates and Leaders for Children, reiterating the need for urgent action to end slavery and ensure all children are educated.