(21 November 2017) A national celebration of World Children's Day (20 November) for Italy was held at Istituto degli Innocenti under the title Bambini, d(i)ritti verso il futuro, which means roughly "Children Stand Up for Their Rights." The event was attended by Italy's national Under-secretary of the Cabinet of Ministers, Maria Elena Boschi, together with Tuscan Region and Florence officials, senior management of the Istituto degli Innocenti, Sarah Cook, Director of UNICEF Innocenti and school children from several Florence schools.
Also to mark World Children's Day UNICEF organized a "Kids Take Over" campaign which resulted in similar events in more than 130 countries on 20 November. A highlight of the World Children's Day celebrations was the effort to place children in positions of authority as a means of amplifying children's opinions and contributions on key issues affecting them such as discrimination, inequality and bullying.
[See Kids Take Over in more than 100 countries in celebration of World Children's Day 2017]
Italian World Children's Day celebration attended by Florentine school children who have been studying the Convention on the Rights of the Child. UNICEF, which has its global research centre at the Ospedale degli Innocenti in Florence, organized the "Kids Take Over" event in more than 130 countries to amplify the voices of children on the issues of discrimination, equity and bullying.
Following the celebration a soft launch of the new UNICEF premises at Innocenti was organized. Minister Boschi was on hand to assist in the ribbon cutting ceremony. The new office space was made possible for UNICEF through the generous support of Istituto degli Innocenti and the Regional Government of Tuscany.