Empower Young Voices: Book City Hosts Engaging Workshop on Advancing Children’s Rights
In a significant initiative to enhance understanding of children’s rights, Book City, in collaboration with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), has organized an impactful workshop titled ‘Children’s Rights and Business’. This workshop aims to boost staff knowledge regarding the role that bookstores can play in advocating for and promoting child rights.
The event took place at Book City’s central branch in Tehran, where it successfully gathered sales staff from the children and young adult departments. The primary focus was to raise awareness about the importance of children’s rights within the business and retail sectors. The UNICEF website announced this event in a press release dated July 27.
The workshop commenced with an opening speech by Dorina Andreev-Jitaru, the UNICEF Representative in Iran. She expressed gratitude towards Book City for organizing such an essential event, emphasizing its commitment to enhancing staff knowledge about child rights. She stated, “We need to understand that children are not only customers for businesses—they are members of families, communities, and supply chains. They are affected by how businesses operate, where they invest, who they employ, and how they treat their workers.”
This workshop’s primary goal was to highlight the pivotal role that bookstores play in promoting child rights and to explore practical strategies for integrating these principles into retail environments. This initiative is part of Book City’s renewed focus on children and youth, aiming to elevate cultural and social standards while engaging with young audiences.
During the workshop, Ali Jafarabadi, CEO of Book City, also delivered remarks, expressing appreciation for the partnership with UNICEF and stressing the importance of a responsible and respectful approach towards children. He noted, “Childhood is an opportunity to understand and shape the future. A children’s bookseller should know which words uplift a child’s dignity — and which words might harm it.”
As part of the opening session, Jafarabadi announced the introduction of a new literary award called “The Sand Fox Prize”, selected by adolescents. This award aims to recognize the most popular book chosen by young readers aged 11 to 18. The prize is officially supported by UNICEF Iran and the Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults (Kanoon).
In the main session of the workshop, Vahid Hedayati, a UNICEF Social Policy Expert, presented the core principles of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. These principles revolve around four key pillars:
- Non-discrimination
- The best interests of the child
- The right to life, survival, and development
- The right to participation
Hedayati emphasized the necessity of transforming these principles into visible and respectful behaviors in public spaces such as bookstores. He encouraged participants to create safe environments, show respect for diversity, promote active participation, and enable informed choices as essential components of implementing child rights. Practical suggestions for how retail environments can embody these values were also provided.
The workshop concluded with Vida Montakhab, UNICEF’s Partnership Officer, discussing the global framework for Children’s Rights and Business. She shared international best practices and highlighted the significance of incorporating ethical, social, and environmental standards when designing child-friendly service spaces, such as bookstores.
Participants had the opportunity to exchange their experiences and innovative ideas on promoting child rights and fostering youth participation in decision-making processes.
In a related development, in November 2024, UNICEF and the Book City Institute signed a three-year agreement aimed at promoting children’s welfare and rights throughout the country. The partnership agreement was signed by Monika Oledzka Nielson, UNICEF’s interim Representative in Iran, and Mehdi Firouzan, CEO and President of the Board of the Book City Institute, during a ceremony on November 18.
Book City operates as an Iranian network of bookstores with over 100 active branches and employs approximately 1,500 individuals who introduce books and cultural products to their communities. This collaboration seeks to leverage the unique strengths, networks, and expertise of both organizations to support the most vulnerable children across various provinces in Iran, as announced by UNICEF.
As part of this partnership, both organizations will engage in a series of advocacy and awareness-raising initiatives to foster a love for reading among children. Key activities will include:
- Organizing book-reading leagues and clubs for vulnerable children
- Establishing cultural awards to honor children’s book authors and publishers
- Mobilizing resources to support UNICEF’s critical programs in Iran
“This partnership is a remarkable opportunity for UNICEF to leverage Book City’s vast capacity and reach to extend vital messages to children and the general public. In Iran, the private sector holds immense potential to contribute resources, expertise, and innovations to support UNICEF in achieving meaningful results for the most vulnerable children. Today, UNICEF and Book City join hands to help Iran’s children live their dreams, with smiles lighting up their faces,” said Nielsen.
This collaborative effort not only aims to promote children’s rights but also seeks to create a nurturing environment where young readers can thrive.
