- ATD Fourth World

Our commemoration began with our community here in New York.

At the Street Library in Ocean Hill, Brooklyn, children and young people participated in the International Tapori Campaign through the Dazibao project. The children were introduced to the story of Mackenson, a boy from Haiti, and its messages of the importance of including all children by storyteller Tammy Hall. The following week the group got the chance to put the story’s concepts into practice as they were guided in creating collaborative Dazibaos, forms of expression, with the help of professional artist Bayunga Nsimba Kialeuka, who has years of experience in creating large-scale collective art projects. The process breathed the ideas of inclusion that Mackenson teaches us as each child present painted and shared the time - and paintbrushes - with each other.

On the morning of October 17th we began early with another special Street Library.

Bayunga joined the kids again to help them work out their thoughts about the Mackenson story. After their brainstorming session the kids guided him in creating a single collective large mural piece from the ideas they called out to him. To close the event James Lovell and the Afrigarifuna Youth Ensemble from the Biko Transformation Center shared their drumming and spoke to the Street Library kids about the importance of drumming in the Garifuna culture. The children took some time to beat the drums for themselves and then some left to present their work at the commemoration events taking place at the Fourth World House.

At the Fourth World House a local commemoration was held in the afternoon.

We had a special moment to honor our friend and longtime member Ms. Doris Lewis who recently passed away. We also heard from Denzel Matthew, a youth visiting us from Dominica to take part in events at the United Nations, about his experiences growing up in poverty and his involvement with ChildFund International. Long term Fourth World Movement member Zena Grimes also shared her experiences with us about parents’ efforts in ensuring the best for their children. The highlight of the evening came when the street library children presented their Dazibaos and spoke about what they meant to them. In our final act of commemoration for the night, we released balloons with messages for Doris Lewis into the night air before we all settled down to share in some hearty home-cooked food.

The last event of the commemoration of the International Day took us to the more formal surroundings of the United Nations.

There we heard Denzel Matthew and Zena Grimes share their stories with international policymakers along with messages from youth delegates who had been selected by their countries to represent youth interests at the UN. Several government representatives, as well as the Deputy Director of Policy and Practice at UNICEF and the Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, also shared statements with us. Co-Masters of Ceremonies Elise Roberts and Samantha Danzler, members of the Fourth World Movement in New York, masterfully wove all the different components of the event together.

After the commemoration a theatrical piece by the Treehouse Shakers Theater Company opened an interactive panel held in UNICEF.

 Fourth World Movement contributed to the panel through preparing with Ariane Eigler from the Bronx Defenders. Ariane, a former intern with the Fourth World Movement, did an excellent job bringing the experience of poverty in the United States to the debate, speaking specifically of how the pressures of poverty disproportionately undermine families’ ability to stay together. She emphasized how the reality of poverty and the definition of neglect often translate into state intervention in the family for which many families are ill prepared.  The Ambassadors of Peru and Dominica spoke alongside young people from their respective countries who gave testimony about their own experiences. Liz Gibbons from UNICEF added a key element regarding the experience of children in poverty by summarizing some key challenges related to the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The diverse group of panel participants inspired thought provoking interaction with the audience who responded with challenging questions.

It has been an event-filled time that has allowed us to reflect on the important questions behind the Fourth World Movement’s work.

How do we communicate the importance of working in solidarity with children, youth and families with an experience of poverty? How can we ensure that their knowledge and efforts are valued and understood? How is this reflected in our efforts to bring these voices to public events and to the United Nations? The success of this year’s events, and the gratitude for organizing them expressed by participants and observers alike, is a clear sign that we are at the heart of something essential to this task of overcoming poverty and exclusion together.