2004: World's Biggest Ever Lobby
In 2004, children spoke out directly to politicians in face-to-face meetings, parliamentary debates and letters as part of the “World’s Biggest Ever Lobby”. More than 2 million people took part and 14 heads of state and dozens of ministers joined in. In some countries, children were able to take over the national legislature or parliament for the day, engaging lawmakers in hard-hitting discussions about what government must do to ensure that no one misses out on quality education.
In 2004, children spoke out directly to politicians in face-to-face meetings, parliamentary debates and letters as part of the “World’s Biggest Ever Lobby”. More than 2 million people took part and 14 heads of state and dozens of ministers joined in. In some countries, children were able to take over the national legislature or parliament for the day, engaging lawmakers in hard-hitting discussions about what government must do to ensure that no one misses out on quality education.
Related activities took place in state capitals, village halls and even in individual schools as thousands of parliamentarians, including two-thirds of all MPs in the UK, went “Back to School for a Day”. Children in the South backed their demands with concrete evidence, presenting politicians with ‘Missing Out Maps’ – diagrams pinpointing who in their community can’t go to school and why.
Hundreds of thousands of people around the world sent letters, cards and email messages to their countries’ presidents or prime ministers, asking them to “do more to make sure every child can go to school and get a quality education”. Civil society groups used creative methods to get their message to politicians, including plays, operas, human chains, symbolic balloting, and art shows.
Download the Global Action Week 2004 Big Book in English | Download the Global Action Week 2004 Big Book in Español
