World Day Observance in Timor-Leste

In Timor-Leste, World Day of Prayer and Action for Children activities focused on birth registration with events taking place over three days in the Maliana District. On 18 November, 30 students participated in a group discussion on birth registration and over 300 children attended a mass, listening to a special prayer written for the occasion. On 19 November, a workshop for over 50 students took place wherein representatives from government agencies discussed their roles and achievements on birth registration. On the same day, midwives, village chiefs and social welfare focal points participated in a group discussion and shared their suggestions on how to better inform parents on the importance of birth registration.  Finally, on 20th November, the Vice Ministers of Education and Justice were briefed on how the district hospital was facilitating birth registration in the hospital.  This was followed by a visit to a nearby school where both Vice Ministers encouraged the students have their parents register them if they still did not have their birth registered. Later in the afternoon, around 500 children from three districts watched a theatre production and several dance performances highlighting the importance of birth registration. The events culminated in a march of the children around Maliana town. All events were aired on national television and covered by the local newspapers. A TV spot raising awareness on birth registration will be aired on national television in the coming weeks. UNICEF coordinated the events with the Commission on the Rights of the Child along with the Diocese of Maliana.