15 Yr Old Cameroonian Wins 2019 International Child Peace Prize

20th November: Divina Malloum, a 15 year old Cameroonian girl has won the 2019 International Child Peace Prize for her project in raising awareness on the violation of children’s rights to education by violent perpetrators in Cameroon’s regions affected by crisis. The award ceremony took place on Universal Children’s Day, Wednesday, the 20th November 2019 in The Hague, the Netherlands.

The International Children’s Peace Prize is awarded annually to a child who fights courageously for children’s rights. On her part, Divina Maloum built a grass-roots, youth-led movement of around 100 permanent members in 10 regions of Cameroon, called Children for Peace. Together, they teach over 5000 children a year that: they have a choice; that they can say no to violence and build a lasting peace.

This year’s price was shared between Divina Maloum (14) from Cameroon and Greta Thunberg (16) from Sweden. Divina received the International Children’s Peace Prize for her peaceful fight against extremist violence and radicalization. Greta received the prize for her international student climate activism. Both girls were recognised for combating problems millions of children face worldwide.

It should be noted that Davina and Greta were selected by the KidsRights’ Expert Committee as winners out of an impressive 137 applicants from 56 countries.

DIVINA TESTIFIES UNSPEAKABLE HORRORS

During the award ceremony Divina stated that Africa is suffering an escalation of violence and insecurity perpetrated by terrorist groups like Boko Haram and many others. She also pointed to other unspeakable horrors inflicted upon children, where thousands are forced to flee their homes in inhumane conditions etc.

The International Children’s Peace Prize is an initiative of the International children’s rights organization KidsRights. The motivation behind the prize is to provide a platform for children to express their ideas and personal involvement in children’s rights. Each year the International Children’s Peace Prize is presented by a Nobel Peace Laureate. The International Children’s Peace Prize 2019 was handed out by Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Kailash Satyarthi from India.

THE PRIZE

The winner receives the statuette ‘Nkosi’, which shows how a child sets the world in motion. This statuette designed by Inge Ikink and is named after our very first winner, Nkosi Johnson. The winner also receives a study and care grant and a worldwide platform to promote his or her ideals and causes to the benefit of children’s rights. Furthermore, a project fund of €100,000 is invested by KidsRights in projects that are closely connected to the winners’ area of work in the country of the winner.

The prize also offers the winners a global platform to promote their ideals and further their work. With the newfound attention, these young heroes’ messages reach an international audience of millions. This global attention will generate a higher level of cooperation and structural improvement for the realisation of children’s rights.

The ceremony was attended by prominent guests from all over the world and a large number of foreign ambassadors representing more than 160 countries, including the Cameroonian Embassy in The Hague. The Netherlands was represented by Her Royal Highness Princess Laurentien, and Speaker of the House of Representatives Mrs. Arib.