DUSHANBE, November 21, 2014, Asia-Plus -- UNICEF said in a new report launched on the 25th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child that urgent action is needed to prevent many children from missing out on the benefits of innovation. Connectivity and collaboration can fuel new global networks to leverage innovation to reach every child, according to the children’s agency.

The State of the World’s Children Report – Reimagine the Future: Innovation for Every Child calls on governments, development professionals, businesses, activists and communities to work together to drive new ideas for tackling some of the most pressing problems facing children – and to find new ways of scaling up the best and most promising local innovations.

The report is a crowd-sourced compilation of cutting-edge innovations and an interactive platform that maps innovations in countries all over the world. It invites innovators to put their own ideas ‘on the map’.

“The report demonstrates that there is an innovation revolution for children already happening, often in unexpected places and bringing important advances and benefits to many,” said Ms. Lucia Elmi, UNICEF Representative in Tajikistan.  “Our shared goal must be to deliver the fruits of that revolution to every child by changing the way in which we approach innovation, connect innovators, and take local solutions to scale”.

Today, UNICEF Tajikistan launched the report as part of the celebration of the 25th Anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. This event also saw the launch of two other innovations that inspire optimism for the future of children in Tajikistan and throughout the world.

According to the UNICEF CO in Tajikistan, an innovation specific to Tajikistan was presented by the Ministry of Health and Social Protection, in the form of a “Mother and Child Health” booklet.

“From now onwards, this booklet will be presented to every single pregnant woman. It provides mothers, fathers and all members of their families with information about the critical 1,000 first days of the child’s life from conception, including a record of the child’s most important health data,” said Ms. Lola Bobohojiyeva, First Deputy Minister of Health and Social Protection of Tajikistan.

The highlight of the celebration was the performance of the famous John Lennon song “Imagine” by an inclusive children’s choir.  The performance encouraged participants to contribute to a global version of the song, consisting of a ‘million voices’ from around the world singing ‘Imagine’ together through the use of a mobile application.  The initiate presents an exciting opportunity for everyone to re-imagine the future and express hopes and dreams for children in an artistic manner, while re-committing to the rights laid out in the Convention.

UNICEF promotes the rights and wellbeing of every child, in everything we do.  Together with our partners, we work in 190 countries and territories to translate that commitment into practical action, focusing special effort on reaching the most vulnerable and excluded children, to the benefit of all children, everywhere. 

UNICEF Innovation is an interdisciplinary team of individuals around the world tasked with identifying, prototyping, and scaling technologies and practices that strengthen UNICEF’s work to improve children’s lives around the world.

The Imagine Project is designed to engage the general public to bring children’s rights to life in 190 countries.  This exciting initiative will involve potentially millions of people around the world, including UNICEF Goodwill Ambassadors and high profile figures.