Starting from April 2010, The Hong Kong Committee on Children's Rights will meet our friends in a new fashion. We hope in this way, we could reach a wider community. If you have any comments on our first e-Newsletter, please do not hesitate to drop us a few lines to our email: hkccr@childrenrights.org.hk.

Child Councilors 2009/2010 expressed their views on three child-related issues and actively interacted with government officials, Legislative Councilors, professionals and academics at the 7th Children's Council Meeting conducted at the Legislative Council Building on 20 March 2010. Three motions concerning the problem of children left unattended, newly arrived Mainland children's learning environment, and children's mental health were moved and discussed. The Children's Council project was co-organized by Hong Kong Committee on Children's Rights, Against Child Abuse, and Hong Kong Committee for UNICEF, with the sponsorship from Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau, and active support from Kids' Dream. Earlier on 31 October 2009, a Kick-off Ceremony and Bus Parade was held in front of the Legislative Council Building to commemorate the 20th Anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. President of the Legislative Council, Hon Jasper Tsang Yok Sing, officiated at the Ceremony with the participation of Mr Arthur Ho Kin Wah, Deputy Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau. They were joined by a score of legislators, representatives from NGOs and over 50 Child Councilors from the current and previous Children's Council projects. The ceremony was followed by a bus parade from Central to Causeway Bay, Shamshuipo and Tin Shui Wai to disseminate our messages and souvenirs to the general public.

Parents, teachers and social workers joined together to explore how adults can learn children's rights and help children exercise their rights at the Adults First! Parents/Teachers Talk on Children's Rights at Hong Kong Cultural Centre on 30 January 2010. The talk was also to commemorate the rebirth of A Child's Eye View of the UNCRC – the first child friendly version of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in Hong Kong and the newly launched Adults First! – A guide for adults to help children understand and exercise their rights. Guest speakers were invited to explore and familiarize with the 4 basic areas of children's rights with the participants, namely Right to Survival, Protection, Development and Participation. Guest speakers included: Dr Chow Chun Bong, Chairman of The Hong Kong Committee on Children's Rights, Mrs Priscilla Lui, Director of Against Child Abuse, Ms Kathy Wong, Director of Playright Children's Play Association, and Jerry Tam, member of Kids' Dream (i.e. Hong Kong's first child-led organization focused on promoting children's rights with children's efforts). The program was sponsored by the Children's Rights Education Funding Scheme of the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau. (If you wish to get a copy of A Child's Eye View of the UNCRC and/or the Adults First! guide, please visit our website: www.childrenrights.org.hk.)

Hong Kong Committee on Children's Rights and Kids' Dream had a learning exchange with children's groups (AKKP, AYM, CYO, YMETCO) and non-governmental organizations (SC, SOTO) based in the Philippines in Manila on 5-8 February 2010. The learning exchange aimed to explore the methods and strategies used by children's groups in child rights awareness raising activities, as well as the challenges they encountered. Another objective of the exchange was to share our Hong Kong experiences in preparing shadow report under the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Hong Kong team members found the trip was very rewarding. “I can feel their enthusiasm that they know what they're fighting for and their bravery to do so,” Ying Ying, Kids' Dream member. “Although others praise Kids' Dream in various aspects, I still find that there are lots of rooms for improvement from our side, in particular on how to directly engage children in the community,” Victor, Kids' Dream member. The Manila learning exchange was sponsored by Save the Children Sweden, Southeast Asia and the Pacific regional office.

Guest speakers representing the welfare, medical, legal, and media sectors were invited to present their views and interacted with the attended participants at the Cross-sectoral Seminar In the Best Interests of the Child – What Hong Kong has learnt in 20 years? at Duke of Windsor Social Service Building on 8 December 2009, followed the 13th Annual General Meeting of Hong Kong Committee on Children's Rights. The seminar aimed to explore the interpretation of the key and the most controversial principle of the Convention on the Rights of the Child by various child-related professional bodies through their perspectives and experiences in Hong Kong. Guest speakers included: Mrs Priscilla Lui, Director of Against Child Abuse, Dr Chan Chok Wan, President of International Pediatric Association, Ms Linda Heathfield, Chairman of the Hong Kong Family Law Association, and Prof. Simpson Poon, Vice President of Internet Professional Association.

More than 3,000 school children participated in our Dress Different for Universal Children's Day in November 2009 to commemorate the 20th Anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child on 20 November. Children dressed casual, put on stickers, said prayer for children around the world at special assembly, conducted photo session, school broadcast, and circulated child rights messages in school to commemorate this date belonging to children. The event also raised more than $35,000 for HKCCR to support our child rights activities in 2010. We will like to give a big THANK YOU to Buddhist Wing Yan School, China Holiness College, K.W.W.C. Li Ping Memorial School, S.K.H. Leung Kwai Yee Secondary School, St. Louis School (Primary Section), St. Teresa's School, and True Light Middle School of Hong Kong.

The Raffle Ticket Sale 2009 conducted last summer has raised more than $93,000 for Hong Kong Committee on Children's Rights. Fund raised in the event will go to the projects, activities and our advocacy in Hong Kong. We will like to give our heartiest thanks to the following parties for the kind support and generous sponsorship in this event. They included: Star Cruises, Jurlique Hong Kong Ltd., The Body Shop, Dickson Communications Ltd., Hong Kong Disneyland, Ruby Tuesday, Gateway Hotel, Madame Tussauds Hong Kong, The Peninsula Hotel, Mega Hospitality International, DotAsia Organization Ltd., and a private donor. We would also like to thank Win Concept Consulting Co. for sponsoring the design and printing of the raffle tickets.