Kailash Satyarthi - Introduction

Introduction

As a worldwide campaigner, he has been the visionary, architect and head of two largest civil society networks i.e. the Global March Against Child Labor, which is a worldwide coalition of NGOs, Teachers' Union and Trade Unions and Global Campaign for education.

Rugmark, yet another brainchild of Mr. Kailash Satyarthi (now known as Goodweave) is the first social and voluntary labelling, monitoring and certification system specially invented and implemented for promoting child labour free rugs produced in South Asia. He initiated and spearheaded an intense carpet consumer campaign in Europe and USA in late 80s and early 90s. This was the first ever effort to sensitize consumers and media to hold global corporations accountable towards socially responsive consumerism and trade. The impact and success of this initiative created a ripple effect across global production and supply chains. Mr. Satyarthi has been an avid partner in several initiatives including sporting goods, garments and cocoa besides Rugmark.

As an analytical thinker, he made the issue of child labor a human rights issue and not merely a welfare matter or a charitable cause. He established the fact that child labor is responsible for perpetuation of poverty, unemployment, illiteracy, population explosion and many other social evils. This was later corroborated by several researches and studies. He has also played a pivotal role in linking the fight against child labor with the efforts for achieving 'Education for All'. He is largely accredited for enactment and adoption of national and international legislations, treaties and conventions as well as the constitutional amendment on child labour and education.

Mr. Satyarthi has been a member of a High Level Group formed by UNESCO on Education for All composed of select Presidents, Prime Ministers and UN Agency Heads. He has been on the board of Fast Track Initiative (now known as Global Partnership for Education). As one of the rare civil society leaders he has addressed the United Nations' General Assembly, International Labour Conference, UN Human Rights Commission, UNESCO, etc. and has been invited to several Parliamentary Hearings and Committees in the US, Germany, UK and Brazil in recent past.

As an ardent advocate for meaningful and quality education, Mr. Kailash Satyarthi has addressed some of the biggest worldwide congregations of Workers' and Teachers' Congresses, Christian Assemblies, Students' Conferences, etc. as a keynote speaker on the issue of child labour and education.

He is on the Executive Board and Committee of several International Organizations. Amongst all, the prominent ones being the Center for Victims of Torture (US), International Labor Rights Forum (US), Africa Child Policy Forum, International Cocoa Initiative etc.

He has survived numerous attacks on his life during his crusade to end child labour, the most recent being the attack on him and his colleagues while rescuing child slaves from garment sweatshops in Delhi on 17 March 2011. Earlier in 2004 while rescuing children from the clutches of a local circus mafia and the owner of Great Roman Circus, Mr. Satyarthi and his colleagues were brutally assaulted. Despite these attacks and his office being ransacked, looted, plundered by anti social elements a number of times in the past his commitment to stand tall for the cause of child slaves has been unwavering.

In 2000, he was honoured by US President Bill Clinton in Washington for featuring in Kerry Kennedy's Book Speak Truth to Power, where his life and work featured among the top 50 human rights defenders in the world including Nobel Laureates Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Elie Wessel, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, etc.

He has edited magazines dealing in human rights like ‘Sangarsh Jari Rahega', ‘Kranti Dharmi', and ‘ Asian Workers Solidarity Link'. Besides, authoring several articles and books on these issues.

He has set up three rehabilitation-cum-educational centres for freed bonded children that resulted in the transformation of victims of child servitude into leaders and liberators themselves.

Kailash has worked as Co- Founder and Co-Chair along with Queen Rania of Jordan and FIFA President Sepp Blatter for the 1-Goal Campaign. This campaign mobilized at least a billion people during the mega football world cup 2010 in favour of education rights for all children. This was a historic moment. Additionally, he is presently in the High Level Panel with former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Koffi Annan, Graca Machel and other dignitaries on Education for All.

His life and work has been eloquently covered in hundreds of programmes on all the prominent television and radio channels including Wall Street Journal, BBC, CNN, ABC, NHK, Japan Broadcasting Corporation, Canadian TV, ARD, Austrian News, Lok Sabha TV, Brazilian TV etc. and profoundly featured in several magazines like The Time, Life, Reader's Digest, Far Eastern Economist, Washington Post, New York Times, Times London, Los Angeles Times, Guardian, Independent, The Times of India, etc.

Mr. Satyarthi lives in New Delhi, India. His family includes his wife, daughter, son and a daughter in-law along with colleagues and umpteen number of children that he and his organization have rescued.