Promoting Interfaith and Intercultural Collaboration
Arigatou International is “All for Children” and works with people from diverse religious and cultural backgrounds to build a better world for children.
Believing that every girl and boy is a precious treasure of humanity, Arigatou International draws on universal principles of common good found in religious and spiritual traditions and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Arigatou employs interfaith and intercultural approaches to promote children’s rights and well-being, seeking to bring about positive change at all levels—from the grassroots to the global.
All four of Arigatou International’s global initiatives emphasize and benefit from the creative spark generated by interfaith and intercultural work.
Our Global Initiatives
GNRC
The Global Network of Religions for Children (GNRC) is a global-scale interfaith network of organizations and individuals specifically dedicated to securing the rights and well-being of children everywhere.
Ethics Education
Ethics Education for Children promotes values and ethics for children and young people within the framework of the child’s right to education as stated in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Prayer and Action
Prayer and Action for Children is a movement connecting people of religion and goodwill who are committed to work together toward a world fit for children where all children are free from violence.
End Child Poverty
End Child Poverty is a multi-faith, child centered, global initiative that mobilizes faith-inspired resources to eradicate poverty affecting children.
Arigatou international launched the International Consortium on Nurturing Values and Spiritual Development in Early Childhood for the Prevention of Violence in 2018.
It now includes 17 civil society and faith-based organizations, multilateral organizations, and academic institutions, as well as individual experts and religious leaders.
Consortium on Nurturing Values and Spirituality in Early Childhood for the Prevention of Violence
The magnitude of violence in the early years prompted Arigatou International to establish the Consortium on Nurturing Values and Spirituality in Early Childhood for the Prevention of Violence in 2018. The Consortium membership includes 17 civil society and faith-based organizations, multilateral organizations, and academic institutions, as well as individual experts and religious leaders. The aims are to foster collaboration, share good practices, and develop evidence-based and innovative approaches for integrating values-based education and spirituality in early childhood for the prevention of violence and the holistic development of children
Campaigns
Faith in Action for Children: Responding to the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Children and Youth
In April 2020, Arigatou International launched this campaign to emphasize the outsize impact the pandemic was expected to have on children. Arigatou highlighted the voices of children speaking about how the pandemic was affecting them, and held a set of webinars featuring religious leaders. We also developed a set of posters, pamphlets, flyers and videos to equip parents and caregivers, as well as religious leaders and communities, to help children navigate the challenges of lockdowns and other pandemic impacts.
Global Week of Faith in Action for Children
The Global Week of Faith in Action for Children, organized by Arigatou International in November 2020, brought together children and young people from diverse religious and cultural backgrounds, religious leaders, representatives from civil society and faith-inspired organizations, multilateral agencies and governments to catalyze joint-actions and compelling responses to address the underlying issues that impact children’s well-being and enhance their participation in matters that concern them, with particular focus on the impacts during and post COVID-19.
World Day of Prayer and Action for Children: Bringing People Together to Protect Children’s Rights and Dignity
Initiated in 2008 by Arigatou International, the World Day of Prayer and Action for Children is celebrated every year on Universal Children’s Day, November 20, which is also the anniversary of the adoption of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. World Day connects religious communities and secular organizations in a common endeavor to protect children’s dignity. World Day 2019 was celebrated in 42 countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Middle East.
Together We Can End Child Poverty Worldwide
This campaign is held on and around the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty (IDEP), which is a global awareness event celebrated every year on October 17. It is an opportunity for reflection, advocacy, and action to end child poverty and all other forms of poverty.