Mr. Kailash Satyarthi gave a singularly inspiring talk at a special Asha Princeton meeting on September 3, 2003. Following a short film clip, Mr. Satyarthi talked candidly and took questions from the audience. He painted moving pictures of the plight of child laborers, especially children under bonded labor. Mr. Satyarthi explained his uncompromising stand against child labor, sketched the growth of the Global March Against Child Labor, and touched on issues related to Education for All.

Some photos from the meeting are available: [ 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 ]

Below is the original announcement of the talk.

Announcement

Asha Princeton is hosting a talk by Mr. Kailash Satyarthi, a renouned activist against child labor.

Date:    Wednesday, 3rd September 2003
Time:    7:00pm
Place:    Rm. #C207, E-Quad, Princeton University

Mr. Satyarthi's work has made a big difference not only in India, but also in several African and Latin American countries. In particular he successfully initiated the Rugmark Foundation to monitor, certify and affix labels on carpets guaranteeing that they have not been made by bonded children and are eligible for export. Here is a (slightly old) profile of Mr. Satyarthi's work.

A simple web search for "Kailash Satyarthi" will reveal a plethora of information about Mr. Satyarthi including speeches at places such as IMF and World Bank, and felicitation by former US President Bill Clinton. Below is a brief biographical note of Mr. Satyarthi.

Kailash Satyarthi- A Brief Biographical Note

• Founder-Chairperson, Global March Against Child Labour, the single largest civil society movement of more than 2000 international and national NGOs and trade unions in about 140 countries.
• Chairperson, Global Campaign for Education (GCE), the worldwide network of teachers organisations and NGOs, on the issue of Education for All.
• Founder-Chairperson, Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA) / South Asian Coalition on Child Servitude (SACCS), initiated in 1980 as a mass movement and coalition for total elimination of child labour.
• Chair of International Center on Child Labor and Education (ICCLE) in Washington, D.C. ICCLE is one of the foremost policy institution to bring authentic and abiding southern grassroots perspective in the US policy domain.
• Led and inspired the liberation of over 60,000 bonded child labourers from hazardous occupations.
• Architect of the first internationally recognised child labour free social labelling system Rugmark.
• Set up three rehabilitation-cum-educational centres for freed bonded children which resulted in making leaders and liberators from among the victims of child servitude.
• Led and organised several social movements on the issue of child labour and education including the 80,000 km Global March Against Child Labour which covered over 100 countries; 15,000 km Shiksha Yatra (Education March), 5,000 km India March Against Child Labour, across the length and breadth of the country.
• Member of a High Level Group by UNESCO on Education for All comprising of select Presidents, Prime Ministers and UN Agency Heads.
• One of the rare civil society leaders who addressed the United Nations General Assembly, International Labour Conference, UN Human Rights Commission, UNESCO, etc.
• Invitee to several Parliamentary Hearings and Committees in USA, Germany and UK
• Addressed some of the biggest worldwide congregations of Workers and Teachers Congresses, Christian Assembly, Students Conferences, etc. as a keynote speaker on the issue of child labour and education
• In the Board and Committee of several International Organizations, the prominent ones being the Center for Victims of Torture (USA), International Labor Rights Fund (USA), etc. Executive Board Member of International Cocoa Foundation with the Headquarters in Geneva representing the global civil society.
• His life and work has been widely covered in hundreds of programmes on all the prominent television and radio channels including BBC, CNN, ABC, NHK, Japan Broadcasting Corporation, Canadian T.V., ARD, Austrian News, etc. and profoundly featured in several magazines like The Time, Life, Reader’s Digest, Far Eastern Economist, Washington Post, New York Times, Times London, Los Angeles Times, Guardian, Independent, The Times of India, etc.
• Honoured by the Former US President Bill Clinton in Washington for featuring in Kerry Kennedy's Book 'Speak Truth to Power', where his life and work features among the top 50 human rights defenders in the world including Nobel Laureates Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Elie Wessel, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, etc.
• Edited magazines like 'Sangarsh Jari Rahega', 'Kranti Dharmi' , and 'Asian Workers Solidarity Link'. Besides, authored several articles and booklets on issues of social concern and human rights.
• Recipient of prestigious International Awards
  • Raoul Wallenberg Human Rights Award U.S.A. (2002)
  • Friedrich Ebert Stiftung International Human Rights Award Germany (1999)
  • La Hospitalet Award Spain (1999)
  • Golden Flag Award The Netherlands (1998)
  • Robert F.Kennedy Human Rights Award U.S.A. (1995)
  • Trumpeter Award U.S.A (1995)
  • Aachener International Peace Prize Germany (1994)
• Born on 11 January 1954 in Vidisha in Central India.
• Initiated the Crusade against Child Servitude after giving up the lucrative career of an Electrical Engineer in 1980