On International Day Of The Girl, Kids Can Press Announces New Citizenkid Book With The Honourable Rona AMbrose

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October 11, 2017

​​​On International Day of the Girl, Kids Can Press Announces

New CitizenKid Book with the Honourable Rona Ambrose

Book to detail the inspiration behind the UN resolution recognizing girls’ rights around the world

A portion of proceeds from Canadian book sales will support Plan International Canada

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Toronto, October 11, 2017 — Kids Can Press proudly announces a new children’s picture book project with Hon. Rona Ambrose that will be published as part of our CitizenKid global issues collection in 2020.

The book, about girls’ rights and the creation of the UN’s International Day of the Girl Child, will help all young children understand and appreciate the importance of gender equality and the obstacles that currently prevent it. Based on interviews with real children, the book will share positive and uplifting stories from around the world that highlight many of the critical issues that girls face, and the ways that they are overcoming obstacles to achieve their fundamental rights. Working with Ms. Ambrose is acclaimed CitizenKid author Jessica Dee Humphreys. An illustrator has yet to be named.

A portion of the proceeds from Canadian sales of the book will support Plan International Canada’s Because I am a Girl Fund, in recognition of their instrumental efforts in advocating for the day to become a reality.  Proceeds from international sales of the book will benefit local Plan International chapters.

At the United Nations in 2011, Hon. Rona Ambrose met with a group of girls — brought together by Plan International Canada and Plan International — who asked her to champion the creation of a day focused on girls’ rights. She was moved by their courage and soon after spearheaded the effort to obtain unanimous support in Parliament for Canada to lead the campaign for international adoption of the Day of the Girl. She was able to convince the international community to support the resolution, and the first International Day of the Girl was celebrated on October 11, 2012.

“I will never forget the day I met a group of courageous girls at the UN who asked me simply, `Will you help us fight for a day just for OUR voices, GIRLS’ voices?,’” said Ms. Ambrose. “At that moment, it was clear to me that if we could teach girls their rights at a young age, they would be much more likely to exercise them. International Day of the Girl is about empowering young girls to learn their rights, and as Ghandi said, ‘be the change that you wish to see in the world.’ The girls I met at the UN embodied that spirit and inspired a global movement that is changing the lives of girls every day. I am excited that we will be able to tell the story of the International Day of the Girl, and the girls’ voices that inspired it.”

“We are extremely honoured to be publishing the story of the genesis of International Day of the Girl,” said Lisa Lyons Johnston, president of Kids Can Press. “Few people realize that it was the hard work and dedication of Rona Ambrose while leading Canada’s UN delegation that resulted in the creation of a day to acknowledge the challenges girls face around the world. It’s important that this story and the stories of the girls who inspired Ms. Ambrose and stories from other girls around the world are set down as public record, and it’s equally important that we encourage young women to follow their lead.”

“International Day of the Girl is a global celebration of the inherent power of girls, but it holds special significance here in Canada, where we created the momentum that led to the UN’s official declaration of recognition. Plan International Canada collaborated closely with passionate advocates like Rona Ambrose to make International Day of the Girl a reality, and we’re pleased to work with her on the journey towards realizing girls’ rights and equality for all children around the world. Rona is a tireless advocate for girls’ rights, and we are so pleased to continue to partner with her to advance gender equality,” said Caroline Riseboro, President and CEO of Plan International Canada.

The Hon. Rona Ambrose
The Honourable Rona Ambrose is a dynamic national leader, a champion for the rights of women and girls, the former Leader of Canada’s Official Opposition in the House of Commons, and the former leader of the Conservative Party of Canada. Rona served in several senior cabinet portfolios over a decade in the Canadian Government, but describes her lifelong passion as an advocate for women and girls in Canada and around the world as central to her life. She led the global movement to create the “International Day of the Girl” at the United Nations.  She has spent her life passionately fighting for disadvantaged women and girls, and championed the law ensuring that aboriginal women in Canada were finally granted the same matrimonial rights as non-aboriginal women.  Rona also successfully fought for the creation of a Canadian refugee program to bring Yazidi women and girls who have been sexually enslaved by ISIS to safety in Canada.  Most recently, she introduced a bill in Canada’s Parliament to make sexual assault law training mandatory for all new judges in Canada, which was unanimously supported by all MP’s.

In addition to serving as an independent corporate director, Rona is a Global Fellow at the Wilson Center’s Canada Institute in Washington DC, focusing on key Canada-US bilateral trade and competitiveness issues. She also serves on the advisory board of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute, and was recently named to the Government of Canada’s Advisory Council on the North American Free Trade Agreement. Rona has received many meaningful awards for her advocacy and public policy over the last decade.

Jessica Dee Humphreys has worked with several girls’ rights organizations, including Save the Children and the United Nations Development Fund for Women. She is the co-author of a number of bestselling books, including Roméo Dallaire’s They Fight Like Soldiers, They Die Like Children and Waiting for First Light. Jessica is also the co-author of the award-winning CitizenKid graphic novel Child Soldier: When Boys and Girls Are Used in War, with Michel Chikwanine.

About CitizenKid
CitizenKid is a collection of books published by Kids Can Press that inform children about the world and inspire them to be better global citizens. The collection, with 1.4 million books sold worldwide, aims to make complex global issues accessible for children ages 8 to 12, and covers topics such as water conservation, biodiversity, food security, microlending, citizenship, global awareness and more. Each book provides information and resources to inspire children to make a difference, both locally and globally.

About Kids Can Press
Kids Can Press, part of the Corus Entertainment family, is the largest Canadian-owned children’s publisher and the 2017 recipient of the distinguished BOP – Bologna Prize for the Best Children’s Publishers of the Year. Our catalog includes an award-winning list of over 700 picture books, nonfiction and fiction titles for children and young adults. For over 40 years, Kids Can Press has proudly published high-quality children’s books and continues this tradition with its digital publications, custom publishing partnerships and brand marketing initiatives. Browse Kids Can Press books at kidscanpress.com.

About Plan International Canada and the Because I am a Girl initiative
Founded in 1937, Plan International is one of the world’s oldest and largest international development agencies, working in partnership with millions of people around the world to end global poverty. Not-for-profit, independent and inclusive of all faiths and cultures, Plan International strives for a just world that advances children’s rights and equality for girls. Because I am a Girl is Plan International’s global movement to transform power relations so that girls everywhere can learn, lead, decide and thrive. Visit plancanada.ca and becauseiamagirl.ca for more information.

For more information please contact:

Michaela Cornell, Communications Strategist
Kids Can Press
mcornell@kidscan.com
(416)679-6766​