What is Children's Week?

"2023 Theme: Children have the right to relax, play and take part in activities they enjoy"

Children's Week is an annual event celebrated in Australia held around the fourth Wednesday in October. In 1996 it was decided to adopt a permanent theme: "A Caring World Shares" as a reflection of Children's Week aims while at the same time acknowledging the designated year on national posters and other printed materials.

A diverse range of events and activities are organised at National, State and Local levels. These focus the attention of the wider community on children, their needs and achievements.

Children's Week celebrates the right of children to enjoy childhood. It is also a time for children to demonstrate their talents, skills and abilities. 

Thousands of children and their families around the country are involved in activities and events during "The Week" through the participation of schools, playgroups, childcare, kindergartens, cultural groups, libraries, departments and community groups.

The mission of the Children's Week Council of Australia is to encourage, support, guide co-ordinate and monitor the widest possible participation of all States and Territories in Children's Week, ensuring that programs and activities are open to all children regardless of race, colour, sex, ability, religion, nationality or social origin. 

You might like to focus on language and literacy, health, sport and recreation, the arts or sciences, as well as children’s cultural, social and emotional needs.

When is Children's Week?

Saturday, 21 October 2023 – Sunday, 29 November 2023 in NSW

Children's Week Activities:

• Host a picnic and outdoor activity experience with the children and their families to promote the theme "Children have the right to relax, play and take part in activities they enjoy"
• Open discussions about how special and unique everybody is. Explore qualities, traits and skills. 
• Allowing the children to discover themselves in free time, participating freely

National Ride2Work Day is Australia’s largest celebration of commuter riding. Held annually 16th October, the day celebrates the benefits of riding to work and school which brings together the communities that support it.

The main objective of the day is to normalise the idea of riding to work and school. It encourages people who have never ridden to work before to give it a go, and it allows regular riders to stay motivated and encourage their work mates and peers to get involved.

Benefits of riding to work:

1. Improve you health - A regular ride to work can help reduce the risks associated with physical inactivity – including cardiovascular disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, some cancers, obesity and depression.
2. Save time - A 5km to 10km ride to work will only take 15 to 30 minutes on average. Peak-hour city trips up to 10km are generally faster by bike than any other form of transport, door to door.
3. Save money - People who ride to work not only save time and get fit, but save from $6,000 – $15,000 which is usually spent on fuel, car repairs, public transport tickets and parking.
4. Care for the enviroment - Cycling is a zero emission transport. Riding 10km each way to work instead of driving saves 1.3 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions annually.
5. Increase porductivity - Businesses that encourage staff to cycle to work benefit from increased productivity as a result of improved fitness and mental health.
6. Make communting safer - More cyclists on the roads leads to a safer commute for everyone. It also helps increases the need for better bike facilities in general.

For further information, click on the following link https://www.bicyclenetwork.com.au/rides-and-events/ride2work/ride2work-day/ and register your workplace.

What is World Food Day? 

World Food Day is annually held on October 16 to commemorate the founding of the United Nations' (UN) Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The annual event aims to raise awareness for global hunger, and calls attention to other food-related issues such as supply chain and production issues, and the quality of conditions for livestock.

Background

Established by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the Unired Nations in 1945, the annual event was not officially enshrined as a world holiday until 1979. After being brought to the Food and Agricultural Organisation conference and voted in, over 150 countries began celebrating this event each year. 

The FAO aims to raise levels of nutrition across the globe, improve agricultural productivity at all levels, enhance the lives of rural populations and contribute to the growth of the world economy. It also provides assistance to countries changing their agricultural policy, to aid regions out of famine situations, to help implement appropriate technology and facilitate a neutral environment to discuss issues around food production.

"Water is life, Water is Food. Leave No One Behind"
This years theme will encourage people to consider the vital importance of clean, sanitary water and the thousands of people who do not have access to safe drinking water.

When is World Food Day? 

Monday, 16 October 

Activities:

• Start a conversation about water safety and how to be water smart at school and at home
• Create a Recycling water bucket for the service to collect rain water to water the gardens, or fruit and veggie patches.
• Read the book "Water is Life, water is food" to explore the the importance of water for food and for our nature. The book also explores global challenges such as a growing population, global warming and an increase in the production of goods and services threatening our water supply. 
• Encourage the children to get involved in planting their own props in a vegetable and herb garden
• Start a conversation about food poverty and global hunger

What is International Day of the Girl?

International Day of the Girl Child day is to attract attention to support more opportunity for girls and increases awareness of gender inequality faced by girls worldwide based upon their gender. This inequality includes areas such as access to education, nutrition, legal rights, medical care, and protection from discrimination, violence against women and forced child marriage. The celebration of the day also "reflects the successful emergence of girls and young women as a distinct cohort in development policy, programming, campaigning and research.

The Day of Girls helps raise awareness not only of the issues that girls face, but also of what is likely to happen when those problems are solved. For example, educating girls helps reduce the rate of child marriage, disease and helps strengthen the economy by helping girls have access to higher paying jobs.

When is International Day of the Girl?

Wednesday, 11 October

Activities and how to get involved

• Learn about the amazing women in Australia and around the world
• Raise awareness in the community
• Start a conversation about gender equality 

What is World Cerebral Palsy?

World Cerebral Palsy Day is a movement of people with cerebral palsy and their families, and the organisations that support them, in more than 75 countries. Our vision is to ensure that children and adults with cerebral palsy (CP) have the same rights, access and opportunities as anyone else in our society.

When is World Cerebral Palsy?

Friday, 6 October

Activities:

• Inviting the children to come dresses in green
• Decorating your centre green
• On Tuesday, 6 October at 1pm (in your time zone) get active for 30 minutes of physical activity.
• • Creating an outdoor ostacle - Run, cycle, RaceRun certain distance or for a period of time
  • Inviting and teaching the childrent to play a game of boccia
  • Play a game of cricket, soccer, t-ball or baseball
  • Get outside and do some gardening

Click the following link to download useful resources, posters and banners: https://worldcpday.org/resources/