Sharing Web Resources- Week 6

As I have been using the UNICEF Canada website as a resource throughout this course I decided to use it once again to explore new areas, links and resources that I have not yet researched. While exploring the website in detail, I found a media center tab that I had not yet looked into. It led to a list of UNICEF Canada publications that include Annual Reports and Year in Review, Emergency Reports, Global Child Survival and Health, UNICEF Works publications, For Every Child articles, as well as another detailed list of International Resources and Publications. What a great resource! The articles and publications are listed in a way that would make researching a specific topic very convenient. It would also be a very helpful resource if you wanted to gather data about a surrounding topic for several consecutive years because all of the material is listed chronologically. 

My favorite part of the website including outside youtube links is definitely the video gallery. I needed a box of Kleenex while watching the short campaign videos, however, I felt so proud to be part of the early childhood field too. It was amazing to see the difference some of the movements, initiatives, fundraisers and campaigns are doing for children all over the globe. 
My favorite video from these links is entitled “2011- A Year in Review” in which the short 2:55 video takes the viewer through all of the year’s turmoil and triumphs all while holding onto hope “fairness and justice for everybody”. The video is definitely worth a watch here is the link: 
http://www.unicef.ca/en/video

I also watched a news feed from UNICEF’s continuing efforts in Syria. Due to the violence, inaccessible essential services and the disruption of communities and homes 1.5 million people are left living in Syria under dangerous and horrific conditions and have been receiving humanitarian assistance from UNICEF. Many families and individuals have fled the country and are living in refugee camps in neighbouring countries. Here is the link for the efforts that are currently taking place in Syria: 
http://www.unicef.ca/en/video03

I do receive the newsletter from UNICEF Australia and this month’s highlighted topics are “Get Active for Children” a charity run for UNICEF. “Doing More for Australian Kids” which focuses on cyber-bullying, racial discrimination and suicide. “The Story of Polio Eradication in Stunning Images” which is a series of photos and captions from the movement towards the abolition of the disease in southeast Asia and the ongoing work that is still happening in Afghanistan. And finally the last article outlined in the newsletter is entitled “Becoming a Young Ambassador” getting adolescents involved in current issues that plague countries and children from around the globe. I believe that each and every one of these articles is tied to this week’s discussions about equity and excellence because every child across the globe should be allowed these basic human rights. 

This week Delila Vasquez spoke about equity in the media segment. She explained that “I work with homeless families, they had to think about, “do I spend my day looking for food or do I spend my day looking for a job?” as if these are choices. We live in a world that doesn't necessarily make sense and we seem to be comfortable with it. We accept it as if it is normal for us to have these conditions and we shouldn't accept them” (Laureate Education Inc., 2013). The children and families that Vasquez is referencing above are missing out on their basic human rights. Food, shelter, clean drinking water, personal hygiene and medical supplies are all things that every individual on the planet should have access to, these things are not luxuries or privileges. As Vasquez stated we shouldn't accept these things as normal and be comfortable with them. We shouldn't accept that millions of children are homeless, or millions of children are starving, or millions of children are living in countries filled with war, disease and violence. These are all things that we need to be speaking out against while advocating for the rights of every child at each and every corner of the globe. 

References: 

Laureate Education, Inc.  (2013). Excellence and Equity of Care and Education for Children and Families—Part 2. Conversation with Delila Vasquez Director of Program Services, Los Angeles Universal Preschool. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_4732592_1%26url%3D

UNICEF Canada, 2014. Retrieved from http://www.unicef.ca