Child advocate joins Lumos at UN 2025 Annual Day on the Rights of the Child
18.03.2025
Vlad, Lumos Child Advocate, speaking at the United Nations in Geneva. Photography by Marie Bambi.
Vlad, 13-year-old Lumos Child Advocate joined us in Geneva last week as we attended the UN 2025 Annual Day on the Rights of the Child. The theme this year was Early Childhood Development, which is critical to Lumos’ work keeping families together.
Vlad, who has been volunteering within a Youth Friendly Health Centre for the past year, consulted children with disabilities under the age of 5. This was done in Early Childhood Intervention Centres and Inclusive Kindergartens, developed by local authorities in Moldova with the support of Lumos. By engaging them in play-based activities, he sought the children’s perspectives on the issues that are important to them.
Over two days, we met with delegates, representatives and changemakers including Volker Turk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Regina de Dominicis UNICEF Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia and Najat Maalla M’jid, Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children. Throughout our visit, we championed the importance of early childhood intervention and development services in keeping families together.
On day one, we co-hosted a side event on ‘Early Childhood Development and Human Rights’ with partners and delegates. During this dialogue, Vlad delivered his first speech of the week, speaking to his experience of meeting young children who have benefitted from early childhood intervention centres:
It is possible to intervene and support the development of a child, and through that, prevent his institutionalisation. Each child counts, action is relevant, each moment can make the difference. Let’s not wait for better times, for more resources, but act now, when children need more support, especially in the first year of life.
I think we can do this together. Do you think the same?
-Vlad
We also saw our youth advocates from Colombia, Sara and Julian, participate in another important side event, ‘Ensuring Accountability and Action: Sustaining Momentum on Violence Against Children’ via a pre-recorded video message. At the event, the Kenyan representative restated their commitment to implementing their conference pledges including on care reform.
Countries make commitments every day but accountability is another story. Kenya is committed to full implementation of the pledges made at the Ministerial Conference on VAC.
– H. E. Mr James Ndirangu Waweru, Ambassador, Deputy Permanent Representative, Republic of Kenya
On day two of the conference, Vlad sat before the UN Human Rights Council, with hundreds of states, international organisations and civil societies hearing him deliver his second incredible speech of the week. Vlad was selected from children all over the world to represent the experiences of young children: his speech, delivered from the heart, moved the audience to applause.
If we invest as many resources, efforts, people, knowledge, but also as much empathy and generosity in working with children, surely, many years from now, if these children are asked like you – what is the earliest childhood memory? – they would perhaps say: ‘when I was able to take my first step on my own’; ‘when we used to sing together with my classmates in kindergarten’, or ‘when I had the feeding tube removed’. It is for these moments and memories that we must work together and remember that we children are always ready to give the necessary support to cheer on our peers, but also to adults.
-Vlad
Later that day, Vlad found yet more energy to meet with UNICEF’s Deputy Director for Europe and Central Asia, Octavian Bivol, and regional ECD advisor, Ivelina Borisova, for an in-depth discussion about Moldova’s leadership on the development of high-quality early childhood intervention and development services for children with disabilities. Vlad’s active participation in this working meeting demonstrated the value child participation brings at all levels.
The support we received for this important cause was overwhelming, with those in attendance inspired by Vlad’s advocacy for other young people:
How children are parented or cared for in the first years of their lives can affect brain function for the rest of their lives.
-Najat Maalla M’jid, Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children
To survive and thrive, the youngest children need a nurturing environment
-Regina de Dominicis, UNICEF Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia
Vlad had the opportunity to meet with other Youth Participants from Europe and explore Geneva.
We are very proud to have been joined by Vlad and witness the involvement of our Lumos Colombia youth advocates. The success of this event only strengthens our commitment to child participation.
