This National Commission which was established in March 1998, is the successor to the National Commission for Survival, Protection and Development of Children which was appointed in 1993 under the chairmanship of Mrs. Janet Jagan to prepare a Guyana National Plan of Action to the year 2000.  The NCRC which now serves under the Chairmanship of Hon. Minister Indra Chandarpal, has two main areas of responsibility:
 

	Promoting the Convention on the Rights of the Child;
	Monitoring services to children, as set out in the National Plan of Action and the World Summit Goals for Children (19..).

   During 1999 the Commission embarked on a number of activities aimed at raising the nation’s awareness of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.  These included:
 

	A television awareness campaign
	A festival of Children’s Art and Poetry
	Children’s Parliament
	A National Consultation Forum on the Convention on the Rights of the Child
	A Parade of the Decades held on 31st December 1999, in recognition of the approaching Millennium.

As part of the promotional activities, a very impressive Millennium Monument has been erected in the National Park, Georgetown, and has been dedicated to the Children of Guyana.
 

LOOKING AHEAD

During 2000, the NCRC will focus attention on monitoring the range of services available to children throughout the country.
 

Further information on the work of the Commissions may be obtained from: