Edelman to headline Children’s Session

If you’re planning to attend the 90th Annual Kiwanis International Convention in Honolulu, Hawaii, July 2-6, be forewarned: The Children’s Session will inspire you. It will make you feel good about the work you do as a Kiwanian, and it will motivate your desire to do more to serve the children of the world.

Under the theme “One Can Make a Difference,” the Children’s Session will feature as a special guest and keynote speaker, Marian Wright Edelman, founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Children’s Defense Fund (CDF). Edelman, who will speak about the welfare of children, long has been a powerful advocate for children. She has been awarded the Albert Schweitzer Humanitarian Prize and United States Presidential Medal of Freedom, among other prestigious honors. The CDF is well respected as the United States’ strongest voice for children and families and is a member of the Kiwanis International Priority One Advisory Council.

Further emphasizing the session theme, children whose lives have been touched by Kiwanians also will be featured as special guests.

“We wanted the Children’s Session to get to the heart of what Kiwanis is and what Kiwanians do,” says Elizabeth Warren, Kiwanis International Service Programs manager. “Our hope is to illustrate Kiwanis’ impact on the world and for everyone to see firsthand how Kiwanis truly changes the world, one child, and one community at a time.”

In addition, UNICEF representatives will address the session, delivering a message about the state of the world’s children, specifically highlighting the topics of poverty, HIV/AIDS, and conflict, and applauding Kiwanis’ disaster relief efforts in response to the Indian Ocean tsunami.

New this year, the Children’s Session will be staged as a convention General Session open to all conventioners. The special session will take place from 9-11 a.m., Tuesday, July 5. Tuesday afternoon forums, from 1-3 p.m., will pick up the Children’s Session theme through topics such as pediatric trauma, vaccination and immunizations, literacy, and playgrounds’ positive impact against obesity. Breakout sessions follow the forums, allowing conventioners to explore the topics in greater detail.