This year, the Wear My Shoes Campaign aimed to mobilize children and adults to respond to the climate crisis and its impact on health, education, poverty, violence, justice, and migration affecting children. The global campaign examined the contributions of faith leaders and their communities, civil society, and non-profit organizations to advance the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and protect children from the devastating impact of climate change. It also became an opportunity to support ongoing multi-faith and multi-stakeholder efforts to keep children at the center of environmental decision-making processes affecting the enjoyment of their rights.
Our Open Call process started on July 27, and we closed the application process on October 7. After receiving 52 applications, we measured our reach and impact. We are happy to report that the campaign has completed its third edition and received 140 applications in the past three years. The applications came from 59 countries and covered 17 regions worldwide.
REGIONS REACH SO FAR: West Africa (14), East Africa (12), South Africa (7), Central Africa (12), South Asia (17), West Asia (2), South Central Asia (1), Southeast Asia (1), Southwestern Pacific (1), Eastern Mediterranean Region (2), Eastern Europe (2), Southeast Europe (2), Northern Europe (1), Middle East (2), South America (14), North America (3), Caribbean (1)
The Awards were possible thanks to the full support of our partners and sponsors who served on the Pre-Selection Committee or as Judges each year. Our Arigatou International – Prayer and Action team would like to take this opportunity to thank and applaud all our members for their time and dedication to making the Awards meaningful.
COMMITTEE – MEMBERS
Jimmy Obuya – Religions For Peace
Anantanand Rambachan – Arigatou International
Eileen Russo – Volunteer For Arigaou International
Maria Crespo – United Religions Initiative
Mercedes Roman – GNRC Volunteer For LAC
Opor Srisuwan – International Network Of Engaged Buddhists (INEB)
Luz Granada – Bethany Christian Servicessilvia Mazzarelli – Arigatou International Volunteer
Ryan Koch – The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints
Rabbi Diana Gerson – New York Board Of Rabbis
Isabela Cunha – Unicef
Masue Suzuki – United Nations SRSG-VAC Office
Bani Dugal – Baha’i International Community
Valentina Mirabolano – Keeping Children Safe
Andrea Kaufmann – World Vision International
Vijay Gopal – Shanti Ashram
Kul Gautam – Arigatou International Ny – Tokyo
Dana Humaid – The Interfaith Alliance For Safer Communities (Sponsor)
Faraz Hashmi – The Interfaith Alliance For Safer Communities
Eleonora Mura – Arigatou International, Tokyo Hq
Rebeca Rios-Kohn – Arigatou International, Ny Office
Every year, Arigatou International – Prayer and Action, The Interfaith Alliance For Safer Communities, and UNICEF certify the winning applications before the official announcement. This year, we created a new rotating position and invited two World Day of Prayer and Action Committee Members to assist with the certification process of the Awards. We were honored to welcome Ms. Andrea Kaufmann from World Vision International and Prof. Anantanand Rambachan into this new role. Their assistance in reviewing the final round of applications helped us ensure absolute partiality, transparency, and fairness to the Awards. Again, we thank these two members for their time and dedication. With all their support, on Monday, November 6, 2023, we identified this year’s five winners!
COLOMBIA – CAMEROON – ROMANIA – INDIA – SEYCHELLES
To learn more about the awards and get our alerts on the “Open Call,” please visit our website: https://prayerandactionforchildren.org/ and follow us on:
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