More than 4,000 children from 17 districts of Assam on Friday put forward their issues and recommendations for political parties to include in their manifestos ahead of the 2021 Assembly polls.
Advising the parties to invest in an Assam that will be better for children, they presented a 10-point children’s manifesto.
The demands include protection from violence in all forms, access to nutritious food and to quality and affordable healthcare and education, sustainable development and an end to discrimination based on class, caste, gender, religion or any other ground.
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“Through this manifesto we present our recommendations to political parties who are preparing manifestos for the coming elections,” said 16-year-old Kuldeep Narayan Bora from Majuli.
The manifesto was an initiative of a Delhi-based NGO in association with the UNICEF, which had launched the ‘Reimagine’ campaign for building a better post-pandemic world.
The organisers said the manifesto would be presented to Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, Assembly Speaker Hitendra Nath Goswami and other leaders of the ruling and opposition political parties in the State.
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As part of the process, 40 organisations from across Assam were sensitised through a series of online workshops between June and September to issues such as child rights, climate change and sustainable development goals.
CM’s Twitter
Vandana Urang, an 18-year-old girl from Namroop Tea Estate in eastern Assam’s Dibrugarh district, took over Mr. Sonowal’s official Twitter account for two hours from 9 a.m. on Friday. This was timed with World Children’s Day.
Ms. Urang shared her opinion on #Reimagining education in post-pandemic Assam during the two hours of tweeting from the Chief Minister’s account.