19 November, Rome: “PROTECT THE CHILDREN – PROTECT THE FUTURE”

The European Parliament Office in Italy and the National Congress of Ukrainian Associations in Italy (CNAUI)

invite you to take part in the International Interactive Forum:

“PROTECT THE CHILDREN – PROTECT THE FUTURE”

on the occasion of World Children’s Day

Format: in person (in Rome) and online

The link to join will be sent once your participation has been confirmed.

This important initiative is part of the campaign “Where There Is Listening, Peace Is Born” (“Dove c’è ascolto, nasce la pace”), launched by the Department of Strategic Communications of the National Congress of Ukrainian Associations in Italy (Congresso Nazionale delle associazioni ucraine in Italia APS),

supported by the Vice-President of the European Parliament, Pina Picierno,

and is devoted to the need to act concretely and effectively to free the children whose lives have been shattered by war and occupation, and to uphold their fundamental rights.

The Forum will be a platform for international dialogue on the most pressing humanitarian issues of our time, including:

• ✓the fate of deported Ukrainian children, forcibly taken to Russia;
• ✓the suffering of the children of civilian prisoners;
• ✓the needs of refugee minors who have found shelter in Italy because of the war in Ukraine.

Together we aim to build an in-depth, constructive and interdisciplinary dialogue between the European institutions, the diplomatic corps, child protection bodies and international humanitarian organisations.

Forum speakers

• Pina Picierno, Vice-President of the European Parliament • Dr Carlo Corazza, Director of the European Parliament Office in Italy • Dmytro Lubinets, Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights – video message • Larysa Levchun, President of the National Congress of Ukrainian Associations in Italy APS • Oleksandra Romantsova, human rights defender, Executive Director of the Center for Civil Liberties (2022 Nobel Peace Prize laureate) • Vasyl Kostytskyi, Doctor of Law, Professor, Honoured Lawyer of Ukraine, Academician of the National Academy of Legal Sciences of Ukraine • Dr Mario Fontana, President of the “Sostieni Ucraina” association

PROGRAMME

• ✓10:00 – 10:45 – Official opening of the exhibition “Peace Through the Eyes of Ukrainian Artists in Italy”
• ✓10:45 – 11:00 – Opening of the exhibition “I Draw, I Love, I Believe”: drawings by children from Ukraine whose family members are held captive, a testament to their inner strength and their longing for peace.
• ✓11:00 – 14:00 – Interactive Forum “PROTECT THE CHILDREN – PROTECT THE FUTURE”

Event coordinator: Ms Nataliia Malykh

To register, click