The Public Entity and UNICEF Netherlands invite you this Friday to a film premiere starring three of Saba’s local families. This is part of our campaign ‘Raising our Future’ that is developed together with the Public Entity of Saba, St. Eustatius, and Bonaire. The campaign is set to inspire positive change in the upbringing, ignite conversations, and foster a sense of community among parents and caregivers alike.

In a world where our children represent the future, UNICEF in the Netherlands launched a campaign titled “Raising Our Future”. The campaign is set to inspire positive change in the upbringing, ignite conversations, and foster a sense of community among parents and caregivers alike. The campaign is developed in collaboration with the Public Entities of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba.

It takes one….

The campaign is inspired by the saying “It takes a village to raise a child.” It emphasizes that through our children we shape our future and highlights the importance of working together as a community to nurture the next generation.  Discover the strength of One: embrace positive parenting one step at a time, with the support of a united community. Sometimes a small change in your behavior can create a big impact. Just one action can make a difference. Join our inspiring journey where parents and caregivers share their knowledge in raising their children.

Inspiration

The ‘Raising our Future’ campaign is designed to initiate conversations around parenting and all the responsibilities, challenges, and joys it entails. It aims to highlight the common interests shared by parents and caregivers to stimulate more effective and positive parenting practices. Motivated parents, caregivers, and professionals from all three islands are thinking along, talking about what it means to raise a child, to learn from each other, and to see where we can be an inspiration to each other in dealing with daily situations with our children.

Key objectives

Some key objectives of the “Raising Our Future” initiative include:

• Highlighting Shared Interest in Positive Parenting: The campaign underscores that parents and caregivers share a common interest in nurturing the following generations regardless of their backgrounds.
• Raising Awareness of the Joint Objective for the Future: “Raising Our Future” reminds us that our children are the torchbearers of our collective future, making it essential that we work together to provide them with the best possible upbringing.
• Stimulating Self-Esteem and a Sense of Community Support: The campaign seeks to boost the confidence of parents and caregivers, assuring them that they are not alone in their journey and that they have the support of their community.
• Discover the Strength of One: Embrace positive parenting one step at a time, with the support of a united community. Sometimes one small change in your behavior can create a big impact.
  Topics include parenting, quality time, positive disciplining, the common interests that bind us as caregivers, and the positive effects of a loving upbringing on the physical and mental health of children.

Storytelling and videos

The campaign is set to record mini documentaries portraying local families, organize a theater show for parents and professionals and provide inspiration from community members shared through various channels. These videos empower our community’s voices to shape public perceptions of parenting. Topics include Quality Time, healthy disciplining methods, parental emotions, and common struggles. The videos from Saba, Statia, and Bonaire will be shared on our Facebook page where we also post tips and activities.

Quality Time campaign 2022

The ‘Raising Our Future’ campaign is building on the ‘Quality Time’ campaign of 2022, where we inspired parents and caregivers to spend quality time with their children and highlighted the importance of play. Quality time between parents and children is important for bonding and the development of children. It can be spent in many ways, also with just a few minutes per day without extra costs. Role models from the community recorded mini-documentaries to demonstrate how they spend quality time with their children; in the playground, during breakfast, or playing sports together. During an interactive theater tour, parents and children had the opportunity to show their talent together on stage. See our Youtube playlist for the minidocumentaries and after-movies of the show.

Collaboration

The campaign is developed together with parents and professionals of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba in English, Dutch and Papiamentu.

The campaign is a collaboration between UNICEF the Netherlands and the Public Entities of Bonaire, Statia and Saba and is part of UNICEF’s BES program which is made possible by the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relation.

UNICEF