MEXICO / SOWC LAUNCH

Urbanization leaves hundreds of millions of children in cities and towns excluded from vital services. UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake launched the State of the World's Children report on Tuesday in Mexico City, one of the world's largest cities, which is home to 6.6 million children in the greater metropolitan area. UNICEF

• Categories: News & Features / News Stories / Unifeed
• Video Length: 00:02:25
• Production Date: 29 February 2012
• Asset Language: Original
• Corporate Name: UNITED NATIONS CHILDREN'S FUND - UNICEF
• Subject Topical: HEALTH; EDUCATION; SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT; DISCRIMINATION; HUMAN RIGHTS
• MAMS Id: U120229f

Description

STORY: MEXICO / SOWC LAUNCH
TRT: 2:31
SOURCE: UNICEF
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH/SPANISH/NATS

DATELINE: 28 FEBRUARY 2012, MEXICO CITY, MEXICO

Shotlist

1. Wide shot, slums behind metal guard rail
2. Close up, boy sitting on sidewalk, playing with pencils and notebook
3. Graphic: UNICEF report
4. Medium shot, crowded room with UNICEF flag in background
5. Wide shot, freeway
6. Med shot, graffiti on wall
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Anthony Lake, UNICEF Executive Director:
"When most of us think of a poor child, we tend to picture a rural child. We don't imagine as readily a girl living in the shadow of a city school that she will never attend. Nor a boy growing up only a short walk from a health clinic he will never enter. Nor a family deprived of services enjoyed by those living only streets away."
8. Med shot, woman hanging laundry on line
9. Wide shot, man walking in alley near shacks
10. Med shot, small girl standing by water tank
11. Close up, boy leaning against wall
12. Med shot, man walks into building with metal siding
13. Close up, boy's hand on notebook in classroom
14. Med shot, man and woman standing in front of class
15. Med shot, students sitting in class
16. SOUNDBITE (English) Anthony Lake, UNICEF Executive Director:
"In a visit to Iztapalapa, I met some of those children. I enjoyed speaking with them, and I kept thinking, as I talked with them, that if they got the education they deserve and none of them are now in school, think of the contributions they, and so many other children in a similar situation will contribute to the future of Mexico and to nations around the world."
17. Close up, small boy sitting on ground playing with paper
18. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Felipe Calderón, President of Mexico:
"We in Mexico want to join the efforts of UNICEF to protect girls, boys, and adolescents. We want to invest more in them. We know that investing in them, means a better future for humanity."
19. Med shot, cement wall with green paint: man walks by holding hand of young girl
20. Med shot, boy crouches near water tap

Storyline

Urbanization leaves hundreds of millions of children in cities and towns excluded from vital services.

That's the message delivered in UNICEF's flagship report, The State of the World's Children 2012: Children in an Urban World.

UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake launched the report in Mexico City Tuesday, which is home to 6.6 million children in the greater metropolitan area.

He said "when most of us think of a poor child, we tend to picture a rural child. We don't imagine as readily a girl living in the shadow of a city school that she will never attend. Nor a boy growing up only a short walk from a health clinic he will never enter. Nor a family deprived of services enjoyed by those living only streets away."

The reality, Lake said, is that more and more children in slums and shantytowns are among the most disadvantaged and vulnerable in the world.

In Mexico, a big challenge is the lack of opportunity for indigenous children. Lake saw this firsthand when he visited a community center for indigenous children. Basic classes are taught twice a week, and when Lake asked how many children were currently enrolled in school, the answer was "zero."

“In a visit to Iztapalapa, I met some of those children," Lake said. "I enjoyed speaking with them, and I kept thinking, as I talked with them, that if they got the education they deserve and none of them are now in school, think of the contributions they and so many other children in a similar situation will contribute to the future of Mexico and to nations around the world."

Mexico’s president Felipe Calderón pledged his support to UNICEF in improving the lives of all of his country's children.

"We in Mexico want to join the efforts of UNICEF to protect girls, boys, and adolescents," said President Calderón. "We want to invest more in them. We know that investing in them, means a better future for humanity."

Over the next few years, the majority of children will grow up in towns and cities... placing even greater importance on children in the urban world.