World Day Observance in Panama

In Panama, religious leaders and members of different religious traditions who are part of the Global Network of Religions for Children in Panama came together as part of the World Day of Prayer and Action 2012 to call for “A Violence-Free Adolescence.” The celebrations had the support of the Archbishop Jose Domingo Ulloa of the Archdiocese of Panama, Aurora Carrasco of the Baha’i community, Bishop Pablo Morales, President of the Ecumenical Committee, Luis Ibrahim of the Islamic Cultural Centre of Colon, Indigenous Guna Congress leaders, Bishop Julio Murray, President of the Latin American Council of Churches and Rabbi Gustavo Kraselnik of the Kol Shearith Israel Congregation. Participating religious leaders and members of different religious traditions and communities of faith united around the message of the importance of a violence-free adolescence. Together, they signed a joint resolution directed at the media in Panama calling for stories that highlight the positive contributions of adolescents to Panamanian society and of their incalculable potential. See the joint resolution here. At the same time, opinion pieces on the theme written by religious leaders and adolescents were published in a series of daily newspapers, reaching a broad audience. These messages were also raised by the UNICEF Panama Representative and a spokesperson of the Catholic Church in a 30 minute radio programme on the most listened to radio station in the country. Further, adolescents had further opportunities to express their views on the topic in workshops organized by GNRC and UNICEF Panama in various high schools and youth groups and their reflexions were shared and commented on through UNICEF social media tools (also see: www.facebook.com/unicef.pa and Twitter feed, which have more than 3,000 and 10,000 followers respectively).