Semarang (ANTARA) - Minister of Women's Empowerment and Child Protection (PPPA) Bintang Puspayoga encouraged Indonesian children to keep learning, and searching for knowledge and valuable experiences for the sake of their own future.
"I would like to encourage all children across Indonesia, from Sabang to Merauke, to continue improving themselves by gaining positive knowledge and experiences as much as possible," she remarked at the 2023 National Children's Day event in Semarang City, Central Java, on Sunday.
She affirmed that every child is a great child blessed with great potentials that should be honed and developed.
"All of you, with no exceptions, are great children with lots of potentials. You are the future of this nation," she said.
Minister Puspayoga also urged Indonesian children to keep making good deeds and improving their self-values.
"Do not ever get tired of spreading kindness and building your capacity, because you are the future of our beloved nation," she noted.
On the occasion, she further reminded that all parties should ensure that Indonesian children can grow up optimally by fulfilling their rights, including the right to education, right to be raised with love, right to be protected from violence and exploitation, and right to participate in development.
"Each of Indonesian children must grow up healthy, pursue higher education, possess characteristics, and be able to actively speak up their thoughts. We, adults, must raise them with love, protect them from violence, exploitation, and other wrongdoings, while heeding their voices," she elaborated.
She then stressed that all parties are responsible for the efforts to protect children and fulfill their rights.
"As adults, we all share the same tasks and responsibility," she added.
In addition to holding the summit of the 2023 HAN ceremony, the PPPA Ministry had earlier organized a series of commemorative activities.
Among the activities were caring actions, Jelajah SAPA (Friends of Women and Children), competitions, webinars, activities of National Children's Forum, and awarding ceremony for child-friendly districts and cities.
This year, the HAN commemorative events carried the theme "Protected Children, Advanced Indonesia", with the tagline #BeraniKarenaPeduli (Courage to Care).
