Business representatives recently attended an event aimed at supporting children’s rights held by UNICEF in Ho Chi Minh City.
The ZEROtalks event, which took place on December 9 at a hotel in District 1, promoted a set of 10 principles, also known as the Children’s Rights and Business Principles, to guide companies on the full range of actions they can take in the workplace, marketplace and community to respect and support children’s rights.
The principles instruct businesses in how to respect and support children’s rights through integration within core business strategies and operations, with the hope of generating a positive impact on children, as well benefits for business.
“While Vietnam has made impressive economic progress in recent years, we must ensure that progress is translated into gains for all children. This is a challenge that signals both new opportunities and responsibilities for society as a whole to support children’s rights more effectively,” Jesper Moller, a UNICEF deputy representative to Vietnam, was quoted as saying on Wednesday in a press release.
“With the business community as a new partner for the long term, we will all work together to reinforce the idea that children are everyone’s business,” Moller added.
The event welcomed many business representatives including Nguyen Thi Bich Thuy, deputy chairwoman of the Ho Chi Minh City Labor Union; Vo Tan Thanh, Deputy Secretary-General of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry; and Phil Johns, executive director of the Australian Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam.
Developed by UNICEF, the UN Global Compact, and Save the Children, the Children’s Rights and Business Principles were first launched on March 12, 2012 in London, the United Kingdom and have been popularized in around 30 other countries.
ZEROtalks is a series of talks and seminars organized by, or in collaboration with, UNICEF Vietnam that will bring together key business leaders to discuss and explore ways in which the public and private sector can work together to ensure that no child is left behind.
It is also a part of UNICEF’s Believe in Zero campaign which kicked off in October last year and is aimed at reducing the number of preventable child deaths – including traffic accidents, drowning, and malnutrition – to zero.
UNICEF activities focus on saving children and improving their lives. Besides working with the Vietnamese government and NGOs, the Believe in Zero campaign is the first event in which UNICEF has collaborated with Vietnamese businesses and the private sector.
ZEROtalks was previously held in Hanoi on November 27, also attracting numerous business representatives to join hands in protecting children’s rights.
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Đăng ký: VietNam News