Photo: Courtesy of United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)

One day before the International Children's Day, the Light Every Moment of Childhood campaign jointly organized by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the China National Children's Center, with support from the China Center for Child Welfare and Adoption, was launched in Beijing on Wednesday.

As part of the campaign, an innovative art exhibition was unveiled at the China National Children's Center. It will be open to the public until the end of June, which marks the Month for Protection of Minors in China and UNICEF's Global Parenting Month.

At the launch event, Yuan Lixin, director of the China National Children's Center, said that since its founding in 1982, the center has been working closely with UNICEF and has achieved significant results in the areas of science-based parenting, advocacy for child rights, and early childhood development.

Ni Chunxia, director of the China Center for Children's Welfare and Adoption (CCCWA) said that the center has always believed that the family is central to children's well-being.

The CCCWA has carried out in-depth research on family building and extensive international cooperation, and has made full use of its official WeChat account and other platforms to actively promote scientific parenting, she said.

The themed event is important for promoting the Law on the Protection of Minors and the Law on the Promotion of Family Education, consolidating family responsibilities, promoting services for the care of children, and strengthening cooperation among various institutions, she noted.

The event also featured testimonies from a father and a para-social worker who spoke passionately about their experiences.

Guo Yuhua, a father of four children from Suichuan county, Jiangxi Province, spoke through a video message. His family used to resort to discipline methods such as spanking because they believed that this was an effective way to teach acceptable behavior to children. "After attending the positive parenting sessions, I realized that spanking our children isn't a good approach. You need to reason with them."

"Every child has the right to grow up in a safe environment, free from violence, abuse, and neglect. UNICEF and partners call on everyone, including businesses and other stakeholders to support positive parenting programs and ensure universal access for all families," UNICEF Representative to China Amakobe Sande said at the event.

At the event, a teaser video of the renowned actor, father and UNICEF Ambassador Chen Kun was screened. The full documentary of his experience of meeting children and caregivers during a visit to a UNICEF-supported child protection program in South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region will be published on June 18, Father's Day.

Global Times