The International Children's Peace Prize is awarded annually to a child who has made a significant contribution to advocating children's rights and improving the situation of vulnerable children such as orphans, child labourers and children with

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of '' Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the im ...

AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

. It holds a reputation as one of the leading youth prizes internationally. The prize is an initiative of Marc Dullaert, founder of the

KidsRights Foundation The KidsRights Foundation is an international children's aid and advocacy organisation based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The foundation was founded in 2003, by Marc Dullaert and Inge Ikink. KidsRights raises funds for independent local aid pr ...

, an international children's aid and advocacy organisation based in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

the Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. The winner receives a 100,000 euro donation to benefit a charitable project for children, as well as a

statuette A figurine (a diminutive form of the word ''figure'') or statuette is a small, three-dimensional sculpture that represents a human, deity or animal, or, in practice, a pair or small group of them. Figurines have been made in many media, with cla ...

, the Nkosi, named in honour of

Nkosi Johnson Nkosi Johnson (born Xolani Nkosi; – ) was a South African child with HIV and AIDS who greatly influenced public perceptions of the pandemic and its effects before his death at the age of 12. He was ranked fifth amongst SABC3's Great ...

. The statuette is of a child pushing a ball, "show nghow a child sets the world in motion."

History

The first Children's Peace Prize was launched in November 2005 during the World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, an annual meeting of

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize (Swedish language, Swedish and ) is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the Will and testament, will of Sweden, Swedish industrialist, inventor, and armaments manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobe ...

winners and international organisations such as

UNICEF UNICEF ( ), originally the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, officially United Nations Children's Fund since 1953, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Development a ...

and

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...

. "We welcome the launch of Children’s Peace Prize during our summit," the summit's closing statement said.

Mikhail Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet and Russian politician who served as the last leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to dissolution of the Soviet Union, the country's dissolution in 1991. He served a ...

presented the 2005 prize, which was posthumously awarded to

, a

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

n boy who brought international attention to children with HIV/AIDS and founded the

Nkosi's Haven Nkosi's Haven is an Non-governmental organization, NGO in the Johannesburg, South Africa area that offers residential, holistic care and support for mothers and their children whose lives have been impacted by HIV/AIDS. Nkosi's Haven also provide ...

home for HIV-positive mothers and children. The 2006 award was handed out by Nobel Peace Prize laureate

Frederik Willem de Klerk Frederik Willem de Klerk ( , ; 18 March 1936 – 11 November 2021) was a South African politician who served as the seventh and final state president of South Africa from 1989 to 1994 and as deputy president alongside Thabo Mbeki under Preside ...

in a ceremony at the

Binnenhof The Binnenhof (; ) is a complex of buildings in the city centre of The Hague, Netherlands, next to the Hofvijver (Court Pond). It houses the meeting place of both houses of the States General of the Netherlands, as well as the Ministry of Gener ...

, the seat of the Dutch parliament in

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

. The 2007 was presented at the Binnenhof by

Bob Geldof Robert Frederick Zenon Geldof (; born 5 October 1951) is an Irish singer-songwriter and political activist. He rose to prominence in the late 1970s as the lead singer of the Irish rock band the Boomtown Rats, who achieved popularity as part ...

and Nobel Peace Prize laureate

Betty Williams Elizabeth Williams ( Smyth; 22 May 1943 – 17 March 2020) was a peace activist from Northern Ireland. She was a co-recipient with Mairead Corrigan of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1976 for her work as a cofounder of Community of Peace People, a ...

. The 2008 prize was presented by

Desmond Tutu Desmond Mpilo Tutu (7 October 193126 December 2021) was a South African Anglican bishop and theologian, known for his work as an anti-apartheid and human rights activist. He was Bishop of Johannesburg from 1985 to 1986 and then Archbishop ...

. In 2018 a finalist was

Leilua Lino Leilua Lino is a Samoan human rights activist, who works to raise awareness of gender-based violence and violence against children in Samoa, through her own personal experience. She was a finalist in 2018 for the International Children's Peace Pri ...

, a human rights activist from Samoa.

Recipients

Similar awards

The

World's Children's Prize for the Rights of the Child The World’s Children’s Prize for the Rights of the Child was founded in 2000 and is run by the World's Children's Prize Foundation (WCPF), based in Mariefred, Sweden. The WCPF is a non-profit organisation, independent of all political and r ...

is awarded yearly by Swedish organisation Children's World. An International Children's Peace Prize was also handed out by the San Francisco-based Children as the Peacemakers Foundation. The

Global Peace Index The Global Peace Index (GPI) is a report produced by the Australia-based NGO Institute for Economics & Peace (IEP) which measures the relative position of nations' and regions' peacefulness. The GPI ranks 163 independent states and territories ...

of the

Institute for Economics & Peace The Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) is a global think tank headquartered in Sydney, Australia with branches in New York City, Mexico City and Oxford. IEP studies the relationship between peace, business, and prosperity, and seeks to pro ...

(IEP) issued a World Children Peace Prize; winners included Licypriya Kangujam.

Sources

The Children's Peace Prize

KidsRights Foundation

World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates closing statement

(Dutch)
Children as the Peacemakers Foundation

References

External links

Winners International Children's Peace Prize
{{Awardees of the International Children's Peace Prize Peace awards Children's rights organizations Human rights awards Awards honoring children or youth Awards established in 2005