Right Year for Children

The Children's Rights Alliance for England has teamed up with the Office of Children's Commissioner and many other children's and young people's charities to celebrate 20 years of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in the UK.

In December 1991, the UK Government made a legal agreement with the United Nations uphold and implement the Convention on the Rights of the Child in the United Kingdom. You can find out more about the Convention here.

We are planning a year of action, beginning November 2011, to celebrate the anniversary and seek greater rights protection for children and young people in England. We hope you will join us!

To find out how you may become a partner or supporter of The Right Year for Children, contact Denise Malcolm at the Office of the Children’s Commissioner.

Children's rights logo competition
The planning for The Right Year for Children starts with a nation-wide competition for children and young people to create a universal logo to mark the 20th anniversary this year of the UK Government ratifying the UNCRC on 16 December. The competition winner will:

• Have his or her design made into a professional logo by a design agency;
• Receive a £100 gift voucher;
• Get to stay overnight in London with his or her family or carers*; and
• Spend time with Maggie Atkinson, the Children's Commissioner for England.  

* Based on a family of four or a group of four children and young people and two adults.

Organisations working with children and young people, including the Government and local councils, will be encouraged to use the logo as part of their work and commitment to promote and protect children’s rights. The closing date for the competition is: Sunday 23 October 2011 at 8pm.

Competition rules

1.  The competition is open to any child or young person who:

a.   Is aged 17 or under by the date the competition closes –23 October 2011 at 8pm – unless they have a disability or have been in care in which case they can be under 21 years AND

b.   Lives in England.

2.  Children and young people can work alone or part of a group of up to four people meeting the above criteria.

3.  The logo design: 

a. Must communicate the importance of children's rights AND

b. Must celebrate the Convention on the Rights of the Child AND

c. Can be designed by hand or by computer AND

d. Must be original work AND

e. Should be drawn or printed on plain paper (no bigger than A4 paper).

4.  If a child or young person has an impairment that means he or she needs assistance to get their design ideas down on paper or computer, it is permissible for an adult to provide this assistance but they will need to let us know if this assistance has been provided. This will not affect how we judge the entry.

5.  Entries can only be accepted by email. Entries must include the name, age, address, telephone number and email contact of the logo designer/s. They should be sent to: rightslogo@crae.org.uk

6.  The closing date is: Sunday 23 October 2011 at 8pm. Emails received after this date / time will not be opened.

7.  The logo designs will be considered by a team of judges (adults and young people). 

8.   The winner/s will be notified on 7 November 2011. If a group designs the winning entry, members of that group will be expected to share the prizes.