Every Child Is Sacred (ECIS) Honouring and Celebration Day in the City of Ottawa marks the anniversary of the November 20, 1989 adoption of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, by 192 nations; and Canada’s Child Day, adopted under the Child Day Act. [Bill C-371. 1993.09.08. 34th Parliament, Canada. (1988.12.12 - 1993.09.08). 3rd Session].

Our Theme

Every child is sacred and it takes a village to raise a child

Our Vision

A child-friendly community; child-friendly city and child-friendly nation.

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Our Guiding Principles

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child

The Convention (UNCRC) summarizes the ideals of all civilizations and cultures, secular and religious, that honour the child’s entitlement,

• to perceive self as sacred
• to spaces (private and public) in which the child feels protected, nurtured, heard, supported, connected; and
• to experience peace, affirmation of their dignity, equality and power to achieve personal potential, promise and purpose.

Our Mission

To raise the visibility of national Child Day by promoting a culture of appreciation, honouring, celebrating and partnering with “villagers” and “villages” who share the ECIS-HC vision.

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Our Organizing Story

Mothers and Children. At ECIS-HC November 2005

Every Child is Sacred Honouring and Celebration has its roots in the teachings of the Nativity Story and equivalent wisdom stories, sayings, visual imagery, vocabulary in other cultures, secular and religious, e.g. the Lakota word for “child”, wakanyeja, translates into English as “sacred being”, “standing sacred”.

Our Patron:

The Honourable Landon Pearson, retired Senator, Parliament of Canada; Director, Landon Pearson Resource Centre for the Study of childhood and children’s rights, Carleton University, Ottawa; former advisor on Children’s Rights to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and personal Representative of the Prime Minister of Canada to the 20043 United Nations Special Session on children.

COVENANT: SACRED CHILD – SACRED SPACES
Artist: Marilee Rhody

Our Invitation

We invite honouring and celebration of persons, institutions and organization - local, national or global that honour the child.

Contact Us: Every Child is Sacred Honouring and Celebration
Tel: 613-241-0743
email: edutrack@trytel.com

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Who We Honour and Celebrate

We celebrate adult "villagers", who exemplify the many to whom honour is due because they stand in friendship and solidarity with a child; and create, champion and uphold child-friendly communities, locally or globally. These child-friendly “villagers” are of diverse ancestries, cultural heritages, faith communities and walks of life. They may or may not be of the child’s birth family or birth chance, e.g. social or economic status; ethnic, cultural, racial or religious heritage; or of the child’s "nation", yet, these child-friendly adults “follow the child’s star”, go the distance for a child, by

1. unconditionally nurturing, protecting; affirming the child;
2. offering the best of their spiritual and material bounty for the child, directly or through child-serving agencies;
3. championing child-friendly, processes, structures and partnerships (as defined by UNICEF), that help a child perceive self as sacred and as agents of change, who can and will, in turn, promote the rights of all peoples;
4. promoting linkage between the words “child” and “sacred” in popular thought, to help the child internalize the idea of self as sacred and influence adult interactions with the child;
5. practicing “Golden Rule” interactions with and on behalf of the child;
6. communicating to resolve conflicts and for reconciliation, for the sake of children, with guidance from wisdom keepers;
7. refusing that any form of adult violence against a child is justifiable; promoting that all adult violence against a child is preventable; and all adults can and must stop violence against children (Article 19 UNCRC);
8. advocating for child victims of adult conflicts (inter-personal, ethnic etc) and commemorate child victims of adult wars on Remembrance Day, November 11;
9. making covenant to the child, in public statements of commitment to help the child achieve personal potential, promise and purpose.
   

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Villagers Honoured and Celebrated on past Every Child is Sacred Honouring and Celebration Days

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