Video Message from the Children & Youth | Mainichi Shimbun Op-ed on SSD (20 Dec Campaign Update)

Thank you for joining the call for Japan to endorse the Safe Schools Declaration.
Over a thousand people newly added their names to the Campaign in the past 3 weeks, and we now have 17,010 people signed onto this petition via Change-org (16,833 people) and child-friendly website “Compass for Tomorrow” (176 people).

◆ RELEASED: Children and youth addressed education in emergencies in video message

During the 5th International Conference on the Safe Schools Declaration last month in Nairobi, Kenya, children and youth around the world contributed their voices to address what it means to continue learning under the influence of armed conflict. They called upon the world leaders to take more action to protect education in emergencies, and youth members from the SSD Japan Campaign have also contributed for the video compilation.

The video message was released at the Nairobi Conference, attended by 400 participants representing governments, military forces, international agencies and more.

We have newly added Japanese subtitles to the 4-minute video message. Please help us disseminate the voices of children and youth, online and in-person.

Video Message from Children and Youth Around the World
   English Original   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8cgit4CGcY&t=305s
   ***View 06:43:20-06:47:03 from Nairobi Conference Day 1
   Japanese Subtitles   https://youtu.be/5FFtCdq8-PE
   Social Media Posts   Facebook     X/Twitter     Instagram

◆ OP-ED: Mainichi Shimbun Column on the Safe Schools Declaration

One of Japan’s major newspapers Mainichi Shimbun published this week in their 18th of December morning post our op-ed on protecting schools and universities in armed conflict. The column is available online as well.

[Op-ed] Calling for Japan’s Endorsement of the Safe Schools Declaration | Yumiko Horie -- Director of Policy, Advocacy and Campaigns, Save the Children Japan
   https://mainichi.jp/articles/20251218/ddm/004/070/002000c

As mentioned in the column, there were 2,445 reported attacked on schools, students and teachers in 2024 alone, almost a three-fold increased from the previous year.

We are calling for petition signatures until the end of December, and will submit your signatures to Japan’s policymakers in January 2026.
Thank you very much for your support in keeping the initiative move ahead!

SSD Japan Campaign
(Organiser: Save the Children Japan)