Writing for Rights: Emanuela, 17, Albania
Dear Convention,
My name is Emanuela, and I am 17 years old. I live in Albania, and the fact that I met you changed my whole life. That is why today I want to give you a birthday wish.
You changed my life, dear Convention. You changed the life of every child who knows you.
This is not an ordinary birthday wish that everyone has for you, like to have a happy life. This is a simple wish, with the words of a child that, the moment I met you, saw the world with different eyes.
Before I tell you my wish for you, I want to tell you the story of how I met you.
Until I was 11 years old, I never heard about the Convention or child rights, so I became very curious and started digging further on my knowledge about you. I became part of a children’s group, and we decided that our goal was to make you known to all the children in our community and to try hard that whatever was written in your pages was applicable for every child.
And that is when my life started to change. For six years now our group has organised awareness-raising activities, campaigns and camps, and in all activities we talk about you. You changed my life, dear Convention. You changed the life of every child who knows you.
Because of you, I started to be more confident, I became more responsible, I started thinking about other children around me, I started to communicate freely and collaborate with others. You opened a new wonderful world before me and I engaged in your magical world. And now I am very proud that I am one of the agents of change in my community. I am a child who fights for her rights fearlessly. I am proud that I am a young girl in my country undertaking activities in the name of child rights.
But only the efforts that children do are not enough for child rights respected. There are still many gaps, dear Convention, that are not allowing children in my country to enjoy their rights. And I know that this makes you sad.
That is why my wish for your 25th birthday is this:
I wish for all children to know you and that this may be the most unforgettable experience of their life, as it was for me. I wish that every article written in your pages to be respected fully, in order for your goal to be fulfilled in Albania.
Lastly, I wish that you start seeing amazing progress in each and every country that knows you exist, that you may see every right respected, and that you witness smiles and joy in the face of every child. In these 25 years you have changed us and our country. That is why I want you to feel how important you are and how valuable you are to us. Today, you should enjoy the wishes of millions of children throughout the world!
THANK YOU that you became the reason for a better life and the reason that we have a voice today!
Happy Birthday Convention!
Emanuela, 17-years-old, Albania