Tikumu’s letter

Press, 2 October 1979, Page 16

Tikumu’s letter

Dear Readers, Tomorrow is Universal Children’s Day. In 1954 the United Nations General Assembly established October 3 as a special day to honour children, and to encourage friendship and understanding among children throughout the world. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) promotes this annual day with its special meaning for children.

The emblem pictured here was designed in Australia to be used only on Universal Children’s Day. The logo showing two children of different races holding hands, symbolises the ideal for the future — friendship and understanding among children everywhere. Altogether, 127 countries celebrate Universal Children’s Day each year, according to their own customs and traditions. In some countries it is a public holiday, a fun day with a deeper meaning. Others hold a Universal Children’s Week, and some even longer. The Post Office of Pakistan issues a special pictorial stamp each year to mark the day.

fi For young readers

In New Zealand the theme of the International Year of the Child (1.Y.C.) for the month of October

is “Child in the World,’’ and we will be able to learn a lot about the way children in other parts of the world are living.

The latest issue of “Impact,’’ the newsletter of the I.Y.C. committee, contains stories written by children in Third World countries, with accompany i n g photographs. Most schools and public libraries receive copies of this newsletter

There was a time when New Zealand was more isolated than it is today. Air travel and the newsmedia have brought us closer to the world beyond the coastlines of our three small islands.

We have more opportunities to learn about people of other lands firsthand. New Zealand has a growing tourist industry which brings many visitors to our shores. New settiers from Europe and

Asia add variety and interest to our way of life. The Maoris have their own customs and beliefs. We can learn from them all. Events in other parts of the world have had farreaching effects. The political upheaval in Iran has created problems for many countries. The result lor us (and others) has been a drastic increase in the price of oil, and earless days. The need to respect the beliefs of other races of people is shown in the discussions that have taken place with the government of Iran to reach an understanding on an acceptable method of killing iambs for export to their country. These are practical reasons for understanding people whose customs are different from our own. They also show dependence on others for our national prosperity. But the strongest reason for understanding and friendship among all the peoples of the world is the cause of world peace, and stems from our own beliefs in the Christian ethic of caring for our neighbours as we care for ourselves. Tikuntu