“Một sứ mệnh xã hội lớn lao nhằm để đảm bảo công lý, hòa hợp và tình thương cho trẻ em vẫn còn phải được hoàn thành. Và nhiệm vụ to lớn này phải là công việc của giáo dục, bởi đây là phương thức duy nhất để kiến tạo một thế giới mới và mang lại hòa bình.”

English original letter

Dear friend,

Today on the 6th January, the date which marks the opening of the first Casa dei Bambini, I paused for a moment to reflect. Maria Montessori often described the 20th century as the century of the child. Progress achieved for children then has continued into the two first decades of this 21st century and we have seen even more changes for the better, for many children. Each year of these last two decades saw fewer children dying from easily preventable diseases; more families having access to clean water and sanitation facilities; fewer people living in extreme poverty and, most importantly, more children in school, in particular greater numbers of girls. Significant progress, success of a kind. 
But many children and families still miss out on improved social and economic progress, and we must remain conscious of the continuing and acute problems millions of children face in their daily lives. 

Success has another face: thirty years ago, at the United Nations, the goals and aspirations for children, core to Maria Montessori’s work and life, were embodied in an internationally recognised and legally binding commitment, the "Convention on the Rights of the Child". In particular her views of the purposes of education are in total accord with the aspirations of the goals of the Convention.

2020 starts a new decade and it is the year we celebrate the 150th anniversary of Maria Montessori’s birth. To give resonance and visibility to children’s rights is a great way to celebrate the 150th birthday of one who spoke so extensively and ardently about the need for the world to recognise the rights of children.
 
Indeed, last August the participants at the Educateurs sans Frontières (EsF) meeting in Mexico declared that, “In co-celebration with the 30th anniversary of the Convention, and in recognition of its ratification by nearly every country in the world, we commit to promoting the rights of ALL children as articulated in the Convention within the communities in which we work; we commit to creating environments in which all children with whom we work will have the possibility of developing their own understanding of their rights, in part through making available to them child friendly versions of the Convention.”
 
AMI has launched a special EsF campaign to celebrate and promote the convention and children’s rights, (esfforchildrensrights.com) and I would urge each of us to join in the effort. Let us make the EsF declaration known to colleagues and partners. Let us encourage the children with whom we work to contribute to the upcoming Montessori Book for Children’s Rights. This will be a book in which children from many countries will explain what different articles of the Convention mean to them.   
 
We must continue to be effective advocates for all children; we must fulfil our obligations to them, and to Maria Montessori, helping to build a greater commitment to peace. For, in as much as we can be encouraged by success, we can equally be spurred on by the challenges of today. The frequent failures to protect children, keeping them safe from war and violence and with their families, with access to good health and education systems, are an anathema in this 21st century.
 
It is a good time to remind ourselves of Maria Montessori’s words:

I look forward to working with you during 2020 to make progress to that end.
 

Philip O’Brien,
AMI President