Her speech
Cathérine Bergeyck said:
Princess Mathilde hands out the doctor honoris causa title to Carol Bellamy from Unicef, at the university of Antwerp.
Mr Rector,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen
The awarding of honorary doctorates by a University is always a highlight of the academic calendar. It is, at the same time, a particularly valuable way of honouring individuals or organisations of exceptional scientific and societal merit. Much to the University of Antwerp’s credit, it has once again reserved an important place for social work.
I congratulate all honorary doctors on their wonderful work.
I am particularly delighted to be able to address you at the present ceremony, for among those being honoured today is UNICEF. And I feel closely connected with the mission of that organisation.
By honouring Ms Carol Bellamy, outgoing Executive Director of UNICEF, the University of Antwerp has offered us an opportunity to pay personal tribute to her for her unwavering commitment over the past decade to the wellbeing of children all over the world. Ms Bellamy, may I join in the congratulations extended to you on this memorable day.
Ladies and Gentlemen
A highly developed society and a world where human dignity and development are central should always give priority to its children and safeguard respect for their rights as described in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. The mission of UNICEF is to help foster every child’s right to survival, development, protection and participation - anywhere in the world and irrespective of the circumstances. In this manner, UNICEF contributes actively to creating a better world for children. In this manner, UNICEF contributes directly to improving the wellbeing of all. And this is why its mission is so noble and important.
Ms Bellamy has led UNICEF for ten years, fighting unrelentingly and unwaveringly for children and their rights. Her plea is an inspiration to many people. I, in turn, support her call for greater attention to the plight of children and I also pay tribute to the commitment of the many thousands of children’s rights defenders, in our own country and around the world.
The misery in which many children are living today disturbs me deeply. Worldwide, over 1 billion children still have no access to the most elementary provisions.
During my recent missions to Niger, Mali and India, I was harshly confronted with the extreme poverty that unfortunately still affects the lives of so many young ones. And yet I also felt, particularly among youngsters, a strong hope of a better future.
However, it also makes me very sad to see that at home, here in the so-called rich North, many children are still living in hidden poverty.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It pleases me that I, together with UNICEF, have been able to strive to make our world a little more child-friendly. Over the past five years, I have participated enthusiastically in numerous activities of UNICEF Belgium, particularly in the fields of schooling and education. The sincerity, understanding and commitment with which children and youngsters stand up for their interests touches me every time. This became all the more apparent during the Children’s Summit in New York three years ago. The strongest and most touching messages were delivered by the youngsters themselves.
Although children occupy a vulnerable position in our society, they are also active participants. We must learn to listen to them more, and more closely. For children have meaningful things to say. I, for one, have learnt a great deal from my repeated contacts with them. During my meeting with the Children’s parliament in Niger, I was able to experience personally just how important the societal participation of children is. It is not a Western notion, but a fundamental need of children and youngsters everywhere.
Children constitute an important positive force in society. And for this reason, too, they deserve our full support.
If we are truly concerned with creating a World Fit for Children, as the plan of action of the Children’s Summit proposes, if we truly love our children, then we must give them our full attention tomorrow –even more so than today. We must focus our efforts primarily on children in difficulty, both in our own society and in the developing world. I refer particularly to the millions of children who have been hit so cruelly by HIV-AIDS. The disease is killing over a thousand children every day, and it has left millions alone and orphaned.
Belgium plays a leading role in combating AIDS. Pioneering research into the disease is carried out at, among other places, this university and the Institute of Tropical Medicine , by people such as Peter Piot, head of UNAIDS, and also an honorary doctor of this university. I would, for that matter, like to take this opportunity to congratulate Mr Piot, who is in our midst today, on his pioneering work in the global fight against AIDS.
The issues of AIDS and its impact on children is an urgent challenge for the immediate future. We must not remain blind to its catastrophic consequences. It is for this reason that I have wholeheartedly accepted an invitation from UNICEF and UNAIDS to become a Special Representative of the Global Campaign for Orphans and Children Made Vulnerable by HIV/AIDS.
Just a few weeks ago, UNICEF Belgium was one of the first to launch a campaign centring on this issue. I for one am convinced that it will be successful.
Finally, I would like to congratulate the University of Antwerp for awarding this honorary doctorate. It is a strong signal to society that it must continue to combat these problems and that, we together, must step up our efforts in the interest of our children, our society and our world.
Ms Bellamy, I wish you every bit of happiness and, in the name of UNICEF Belgium, I thank you deeply for your efforts and commitment.
And may UNICEF, and its new director Ann Veneman in particular, achieve the greatest possible success in the unrelenting struggle for the dignity and development of children around the world.
Let us combine forces to offer vulnerable children, especially in developing countries, a brighter and promising future.
I thank you for your attention.
I'd really like to know where you fin all these beautiful pictures from Mathilde (where it's written Face to face). I don't succed to find them . Thank you so much!
