UNICEF

UNICEF
Created 1946



Origin:
U ( nited ) N ( ations ) I ( nternational ) C ( hildren's ) E ( mergency ) F ( und ) (an earlier official name)

–noun
United Nations Children's Fund: an agency, created by the United Nations General Assembly in 1946, concerned with improving the health and nutrition of children and mothers throughout the world; Nobel Peace Prize 1965 (www.dictionary.reference.com/unicef)


United Nations Children's Fund (or UNICEF; pronounced /ˈjuːnɨsɛf/[1]) was created by the United Nations General Assembly on December 11, 1946, to provide emergency food and healthcare to children in countries that had been devastated by World War II. In 1953, UNICEF became a permanent part of the United Nations System and its name was shortened from the original United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund but it has continued to be known by the popular acronym based on this old name. Headquartered in New York City, UNICEF provides long-term humanitarian and developmental assistance to children and mothers in developing countries.
UNICEF relies on contributions from governments and private donors and UNICEF's total income for 2006 was $2,781,000,000. Governments contribute two thirds of the organization's resources; private groups and some 6 million individuals contribute the rest through the National Committees. UNICEF's programs emphasize developing community-level services to promote the health and well-being of children. UNICEF was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1965 and the Prince of Asturias Award of Concord in 2006.


Quote from UNICEF website 'www.unicef.org'

UNICEF is the driving force that helps build a world where the rights of every child are realized. We have the global authority to influence decision-makers, and the variety of partners at grassroots level to turn the most innovative ideas into reality. That makes us unique among world organizations, and unique among those working with the young.

We believe that nurturing and caring for children are the cornerstones of human progress. UNICEF was created with this purpose in mind – to work with others to overcome the obstacles that poverty, violence, disease and discrimination place in a child’s path. We believe that we can, together, advance the cause of humanity.

We advocate for measures to give children the best start in life, because proper care at the youngest age forms the strongest foundation for a person’s future.

We promote girls’ education – ensuring that they complete primary education as a minimum – because it benefits all children, both girls and boys. Girls who are educated grow up to become better thinkers, better citizens, and better parents to their own children.

We act so that all children are immunized against common childhood diseases, and are well nourished, because it is wrong for a child to suffer or die from a preventable illness.

We work to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS among young people because it is right to keep them from harm and enable them to protect others. We help children and families affected by HIV/AIDS to live their lives with dignity.

We involve everyone in creating protective environments for children. We are present to relieve suffering during emergencies, and wherever children are threatened, because no child should be exposed to violence, abuse or exploitation.

UNICEF upholds the Convention on the Rights of the Child. We work to assure equality for those who are discriminated against, girls and women in particular. We work for the Millennium Development Goals and for the progress promised in the United Nations Charter. We strive for peace and security. We work to hold everyone accountable to the promises made for children.

We are part of the Global Movement for Children – a broad coalition dedicated to improving the life of every child. Through this movement, and events such as the United Nations Special Session on Children, we encourage young people to speak out and participate in the decisions that affect their lives.

We work in 190 countries through country programmes and National Committees. We are UNICEF, the United Nations Children’s Fund.



Organisation & Staff

The heart of UNICEF's work is in the field, with staff in over 190 countries and territories. More than 200 country offices carry out UNICEF's mission through a unique program of cooperation developed with host governments. Seven regional offices guide their work and provide technical assistance to country offices as needed.
Overall management and administration of the organization takes place at its headquarters in New York. UNICEF's Supply Division is based in Copenhagen and serves as the primary point of distribution for such essential items as lifesaving vaccines, antiretroviral medicines for children and mothers with HIV, nutritional supplements, emergency shelters, educational supplies, and more. Guiding and monitoring all of UNICEF's work is a 36-member Executive Board which establishes policies, approves programs and oversees administrative and financial plans. The Executive Board is made up of government representatives who are elected by the United Nations Economic and Social Council, usually for three-year terms.
Following the reaching of term limits by Executive Director of UNICEF Carol Bellamy, former United States Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman became executive director of the organization in May 2005 with an agenda to increase the organization's focus on the Millennium Development Goals. She was succeeded in May 2010 by Anthony Lake.
Unlike NGOs, UNICEF is an inter-governmental organization and this is accountable to governments. This gives it unique reach and access in every country in the world, but may also sometimes hamper its ability to speak out publicly on rights violations, or to openly criticise the policies and actions of governments.



UNICEF National Communities

There are National Committees in 36 industrialized countries worldwide, each established as an independent local non-governmental organization. The National Committees serve as the public face and dedicated voice of UNICEF, raising funds from the private sector, promoting children’s rights, and securing worldwide visibility for children threatened by poverty, disasters, armed conflict, abuse and exploitation.
UNICEF is funded exclusively by voluntary contributions, and the National Committees collectively raise around one-third of UNICEF's annual income. This comes through contributions from corporations, civil society organizations and more than 6 million individual donors worldwide. They also rally many different partners – including the media, national and local government officials, NGOs, specialists such as doctors and lawyers, corporations, schools, young people and the general public – on issues related to children’s rights.



Promotion & Fundraising


In the United States, Canada and some other countries, UNICEF is known for its "Trick-Or-Treat for UNICEF" program in which children collect money for UNICEF from the houses they trick-or-treat on Halloween night, sometimes instead of candy. UNICEF is present in 190 countries and territories around the world. UNICEF designated 1979 as the "Year of the Child", and many celebrities including David Gordon, David Essex, Alun Davies and Cat Stevens gave a performance at a benefit concert celebrating the Year of the Child Concert in December 1979. Many people in developed countries first hear about UNICEF's work through the activities of 36 National Committees for UNICEF. These non-governmental organizations (NGO) are primarily responsible for fundraising, selling UNICEF greeting cards and products, creating private and public partnerships, advocating for children’s rights, and providing other invaluable support. The U.S. Fund for UNICEF is the oldest of the National Committees, founded in 1947.[2] New Zealand appointed, in 2005, 18-year-old Hayley Westenra, a talented, world famous opera / pop singer as their Ambassador to UNICEF, in an effort to enlist the youth of the world in supporting UNICEF. Westenra has made several trips to visit underprivileged children in third world countries on behalf of UNICEF, in an effort to publicize their plight, and has engaged in fund-raising activities in support of the UNICEF mission, as well.
In 2009, the British retailer Tesco used “Change for Good” as advertising, which is trade marked by Unicef for charity usage but is not trademarked for commercial or retail use. This prompted the agency to say, "it is the first time in Unicef’s history that a commercial entity has purposely set out to capitalise on one of our campaigns and subsequently damage an income stream which several of our programmes for children are dependent on”. They went on to call on the public “who have children’s welfare at heart, to consider carefully who they support when making consumer choices”



Sponsorship

Recently, UNICEF has begun partnerships with world-class athletes and teams to promote the organization's work and to raise funds.


On 7 September 2006, an agreement between UNICEF and the Spanish association football club FC Barcelona was reached whereby the club would donate 1.5 million euros per year to the organization for five years. As part of the agreement, FC Barcelona will wear the UNICEF logo on the front of their shirts, which will be the first time a football club sponsored an organization rather than the other way around. It is also the first time in FC Barcelona's history that they have had another organization's name across the front of their shirts.
In January 2007, UNICEF struck a partnership with Canada's national tent pegging team. The team was officially re-flagged as "UNICEF Team Canada", its riders wear UNICEF's logo in competition, and team members promote and raise funds for UNICEF's campaign against childhood HIV-AIDS. When the team became the 2008 tent pegging world champions, UNICEF's flag was raised alongside the Canadian flag at the games, the first time in the history of international Grand Prix equestrian competition that a non-state flag has flown over the medal podium.[6]
The Swedish club Hammarby IF followed the Spanish and Canadian lead on 14 April 2007,[7] also raising funds for UNICEF and displaying the UNICEF name on their sportswear. The Danish soccer club Brondby IF will do likewise from the summer of 2008.
Race driver Jacques Villeneuve has occasionally placed the UNICEF logo on the #27 Bill Davis Racing pickup truck in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.
UNICEF recently announced a landmark partnership with Scotland's Rangers F.C. UNICEF will partner the Rangers Charity Foundation and have pledged to raise £300,000 by 2011


Trick-or-Treat UNICEF box

Since 1950 when a group of children in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, donated $17 they received on Halloween to help post-World War II victims, the Trick-or-Treat UNICEF box has become a tradition in North America during the haunting season. These small orange boxes are handed to children at schools and at various locations (such as Hallmark Gold Crown Stores) prior to 31 October. To date, the box has collected approximately $91 million (CAD) in Canada and over $132 million (USD) in the USA.


Art in All of Us


UNICEF sponsors the Art in All of Us initiative founded and organized by Anthony Asael (Belgium) and Stephanie Rabemiafara (Madagascar). The mission of Art in All of Us is to promote creative cultural exchange throughout the UN listed countries, using universal language of Art. The AiA World Art Book Program of Art in All of Us will present in one book each and every of the 192 UN-listed countries through a single portrait of a resident, a drawing and a poem done by a local child.
Corporate Partnership
To raise money to support its Education and Literacy Programmes, UNICEF works together with companies all over the world – encompassing international as well as small- and medium-sized businesses. Since 2005, the organization is being supported by Montblanc, working closely together to help the world’s children getting better access to education





Music for UNICEF Concert

The Music for UNICEF Concert: A Gift of Song was a benefit concert of popular music held in the United Nations General Assembly in New York City on January 9, 1979. It was intended to raise money for UNICEF world hunger programs and to mark the beginning of the International Year of the Child. The concert was videotaped and broadcast the following day on NBC in the U.S. and around the world. The moderator was David Frost, with Gilda Radner and Henry Winkler also introducing some of the performers. Henry Fonda made a short appearance. Each performer signed a large parchment declaring support for UNICEF's goals.
The concert was the idea of impresario Robert Stigwood, the Bee Gees, and David Frost, who originally conceived it as an annual event. Not all of the performances were truly live, with ABBA lip-synching their new song "Chiquitita" and the Bee Gees lip-synching their song Too Much Heaven. It raised less than one million dollars at the time for UNICEF, although this figure did not include longer-term royalties from the songs and repeat performances.

The Music for UNICEF Concert featured some of the biggest names in pop music at the time, and the performers donated their performance royalties and those from one song each to UNICEF. (The Bee Gees' song "Too Much Heaven", for example, had earned more than seven million dollars for UNICEF as of 2003). However, some artists released the royalties for only a limited time. Most of the songs performed were not specifically about the issue of child poverty.
Elton John was scheduled to perform but did not appear.
A recording of the concert was released on an LP on Polydor Records several weeks later, with the performances in a different running order.
ABBA — "Chiquitita"
Bee Gees — "Too Much Heaven"
Andy Gibb— "I Go For You"
Andy Gibb and Olivia Newton-John — "Rest Your Love On Me"
Olivia Newton-John — "The Key"
John Denver — "Rhymes & Reasons"
Earth, Wind & Fire — "September"
Rita Coolidge and Kris Kristofferson — "Fallen Angels"
Rod Stewart — "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?"
Donna Summer — "Mimi's Song"