Day of the African Child
June 16 · Level 9 · #337 of 2238
The Day of the African Child calls attention to children’s rights across Africa, including education, healthcare and protection. It also remembers the schoolchildren killed during the suppression of the 1976 Soweto protests.
How it is celebrated: children join public discussions, educational events and campaigns about the barriers they face. Advocacy groups use the day to press for better services and for children to have a say in decisions affecting their lives.
A major trigger for the Soweto protests was the compulsory use of Afrikaans as a language of instruction. The students were challenging apartheid through the classroom.