Robust discussions among a rich network of religious and secular participants at the G20 Interfaith Forum in Tokyo earlier this month returned again and again to a common theme: act for children. The Osaka Summit of the leaders of the powerful G20 countries on June 28th and 29th 2019 are well-positioned to take up this charge and place the well-being of children at the heart of decision-making.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe stressed in a message to the G20 that Japan, host of this year’s G20, “is determined to lead global economic growth by promoting free trade and innovation, achieving both economic growth and reduction of disparities, and contributing to the development agenda and other global issues with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at its core,” to “to realize and promote a free and open, inclusive and sustainable, ‘human-centered future society.’”
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Editor's Note: This op-ed was published as part of the follow-up to the 2019 G20 Interfaith Forum, held in Tokyo June 7 through 9. Read the rest of the article on the Thompson Reuters Foundation website.
Graça Machel is a Mozambican politician, humanitarian, and international advocate for women and children. Machel was the first education minister of Mozambique, and is co-founder and deputy chair of The Elders, the Foundation for Community Development, and the Graça Machel Trust. Machel is the widow of both South African President Nelson Mandela and Mozambican President Samora Machel.
