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| ACTIVITY REPORT
Name of Activity: Town Hall Meeting
The Town Hall Meeting was one of the highlights of this year's World Day Against Child Labor celebration. The activity aimed at gathering together child laborers in a dialogue with key government leaders to air the children's concerns and hear the leaders' commitment for the victims of child labor. The focus of the town hall meeting was Child Trafficking, the movement of children from place to place - within and across national borders and through force, coercion, threat or deception - and into situations involving their economic and sexual exploitation. The celebration was held just in time for the anniversary celebration of Philippine Independence. |
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The Organizers The Town Hall meeting was organized by the Visayan Forum Foundation, being the Secretariat of the Global March Against Child Labor, the National Program Against Child Labor (NPACL), headed by the Bureau of Women and Young Workers of the Department of Labor and Employment, and the International Labor Organization-International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labor (ILO-IPEC). The Participants Some 154 child laborers, their adult companions, and heads of their host organizations participated in the Town Hall meeting. They came from various sectors of working children (children in mining and quarrying, domestic work, pyrotechnics, scavenging, and victims of trafficking). The participating organizations were: Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT), Actuator for Socioeconomic Progress, Asia Acts Against Child Trafficking (AsiaACTS), Bocaue Jaycees, Christian Action for Relief and Empowerment (CARE); Children of Paracale, Camarines Norte; Community Organizers-Multiversity, Community Organization of the Philippines Enterprise Foundation (COPE); Department of Education, Department of Labor and Employment-Bureau of Women and Young Workers (DOLE-BWYW), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP), End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes (ECPAT), Educational Research and Development Assistance (ERDA), Federation of Free Workers (FFW), International Labour Organization-International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (ILO-IPEC), Museo Pambata, Open Heart Foundation, Occupational Safety and Health Center (OSHC-DOLE), Philippine Information Agency (PIA), Trade Union Congress of the Philippines, United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), Vincentian Missionaries, Visayan Forum Foundation, and World Vision Development Foundation. Aside from the child laborers and their adult companions, some 82 guests attended the town hall meeting. They include government officials from the DOLE, DepEd, DSWD and Congress. There were also officials from the employers group (ECOP) and trade union (TUCP). Other guests also include representatives from NGOs: MPMFI, Manahan Foundation, Victory Foundation, and PROSOL; workers groups: ITGLWF and PNUC; and academe: Miriam College. The names of the officials who came were: Mr. Aurelio Valerio, Vice President-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP); Ms Lucila Tarriela, Chairperson, Committee on Child-Friendly Workplace, Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP); Mr. Werner Konrad Blenk, Director, ILO-Subregional Office-Manila; Hon. Jeffrey Cortazar; Assistant Secretary; Department of Labor and Employment; Ms Perla Intia, Head, Human Resource Division, Department of Education; Hon. Lourdes G. Balanon, Undersecretary for Policy, Programs and Standards, Department of Social Welfare and Development; Hon. Jose Apolinario Lozada, Jr, Representative, 5th District of Negros Occidental. Members of the media also came. They were from IBC-13, ABC-5, RPN-9, NBN-4 and GMA-7, Global Cable, GCTV (for TV); People's Journal, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Reuters, IPS (for print); DWIZ, DZMM, DZRB (for radio). The Activities Medical Mission While the children were being assembled at 9:00 a.m., a medical team from the Occupational Safety and Health Center (OSHC) and Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) provided medical check-up and consultation for the children. The team also handed out free vitamins to the children. Parlor Games As children were queuing for medical check up, the organizers have also prepared games for the enjoyment of the children while waiting for the guests to arrive for the formal program. Children not only enjoyed the prizes of the games but more so of its participatory concept where all children were given the chance to join the games and receive tokens. Photo-Exhibit At 10:00 a.m., participants and guests proceeded to the Karapatan Hall for the opening of the photo-exhibit featuring the faces of child labor in the Philippines and the various interventions to combat it. A total of ten (10) partner agencies participated in the photo-exhibit where they showcased pictures of child laborers covered by their respective programs, and the various tools and products of these working children. The guests of honor mentioned above were the ones who cut the ceremonial ribbon, marking its formal opening. Dialogue with Leaders A formal program followed inside the Karapatan Hall at 10:10 a.m. Highlights of the program were the opening prayer, led by Hazel Shasta Logan, a child advocate, followed by the singing of the Philippine National Anthem, led by Michelle Carinan; the short messages from the organizers: Ms Alison Wescott, Chief Technical Adviser, ILO-IPEC; Ms Irma Valiente, Officer-in-Charge of the Bureau of Women and Young Workers; and Roland Pacis on behalf of Ma. Cecilia Flores-Oebanda, President, Visayan Forum Foundation, Inc. and Coordinator, Global March Against Child Labor Guest officials from the government, as well as representatives of workers, employers and international agencies gave their brief messages. It was followed by a dialogue with the children. Children asked questions from the guests and each guest readily replied to their questions. Some of the questions asked ranged from programs for child laborers, alternatives for families and laws to protect victims. The DOLE and ILO officials shared about the Philippine Time Bound Program, while other guests shared their various programs for the children. Ms Kara David, a well-known TV reporter-journalist, moderated the whole program and dialogue. Various children's group also presented drama skits depicting child labor. They were from Museo Pambata, Paracale children and members of Child Laborers and Advocates for Social Participation (CLASP) who rendered a skit on child trafficking. A child celebrity, Christian Galindo, provide intermission numbers for the children. |
