Within the scope of the activities of the Organisation of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) during Dubai Expo 2020, SESRIC organized a Seminar on “The Situation of Street Working and Street Living Children in OIC Member Countries” on 20 November 2021 between 17:00 and 19:00 at the Terra Pavilion in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The Seminar provided a platform to discuss and highlight multidimensional challenges faced by street working and street living children and elaborate on various socio-economic policy measures and programmes to enhance the welfare of this vulnerable group in OIC member countries.

In the opening session, H.E. Mr. Fadi FARASIN, Assistant Director General of SESRIC, addressed the Seminar and delivered the message of H.E. Mr. Nebil DABUR, Director General of SESRIC. Mr. FARASIN expressed his thanks and appreciation to the he United Arab Emirates, the host of Expo 2020 and the General Secretariat of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) for facilitating the organization of the Seminar during one of the biggest international events under these challenging times of the COVID-19 pandemic. Mr. FARASIN stressed that children in general and street children, in particular, are vulnerable to a number of risks and the growing number of street children in the major cities of the world and OIC countries requires urgent and effective policies to ensure that children are off the streets, and are in a safe, healthy and protected environment. He also briefed the participants about the activities of SESRIC in the domain of children. The General Secretariat of the OIC also sent a statement to the Seminar. In the statement, the General Secretariat extended profound thanks to SESRIC for organizing this important Seminar during Expo Dubai 2020 while highlighting the initiatives of the OIC in improving the well-being of street children.

Moderated by Mr. Mazhar HUSSAIN, Director of Economic and Social Research Department at SESRIC, the Seminar featured a panel discussion with the participation of panellists from SESRIC, Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), and International Labour Organisation (ILO). During the panel discussion, Dr. Cem TINTIN, Senior Researcher at SESRIC, made a presentation on the SESRIC’s report titled “Situational Analysis of Street Living Children and Street Working Children in OIC Countries”. In his presentation, Dr. TINTIN provided some insights on the status of street living and street working children and the major risks faced by them in OIC member countries. Mrs. Ramata ALMAMY, Director of Human and Social Sciences at ICESCO, presented the global phenomenon of street children with a special reference to Africa. She also highlighted the programs and initiatives of the ICESCO to help and support the street children. Afterwards, Mr. Nejat KOCABAY, Senior Programme Officer at ILO Office for Turkey, made a presentation on the state of street working children in Turkey and highlighted various national and international initiatives and programmes of ILO to protect the rights of those children.

The Seminar concluded with a Question and Answer session that enabled the audience to interact with the panellists.

YouTube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hJvF6zCNXA

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