The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) is the organisation in the United Nations dedicated to children. It was established in 1946 to work toward the protection of children's rights, particularly the most disadvantaged children, for example, victims of war, disasters, extreme poverty and violence.

An important objective of UNICEF is to ensure countries abide by the Convention on the Rights of the Child. This includes mobilizing political will and material resources to help developing countries improve their ability to provide services for children and their families.

Each day over 35,000 children die in the developing world from malnourishment and diseases such as measles, whooping cough, polio and diarrhoea. UNICEF works with other United Nations bodies, governments and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to prevent these threats to children by focusing on immunisation, water and sanitation, education, health and safe motherhood. To learn more about UNICEF click here.

UNICEF Australia is one of 38 National Committees that assists in raising money for the various UNICEF projects. An important function of UNICEF Australia involves raising community awareness about UNICEF as well as the importance of overseas aid generally. To learn more about UNICEF Australia and its projects, click here.

The UNICEF website contains a section named "Teachers Talking About Learning" which is used to support the professional development of teachers. The site allows you to choose your preferred learning style from a variety of activities. To have a go at the activities click here.

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