The Royal Court

The Queen awards prize at Gripsholm Castle

The Queen with the jury and the prize-winner. Photo: Leif R Jansson/Scanpix
On Thursday 28 April, The Queen awarded the World's Children's Prize for the Rights of the Child at Gripsholm Castle.
The Queen went to the White Room and the Hall of State together with 15-year-old Lisa Bonongwe from Zimbabwe, 15-year-old María Elena Morales Achahui from Peru, and 16-year-old Poonam Thapa from Nepal. Lisa, María and Poonam are all members of the World's Children's Prize International Child Jury. The members of the jury are all experts in children's rights as a result of their own life experiences.

The three finalists for the World's Children's Prize 2011 were:
Cecilia Flores-Oebanda, from the Philippines, for her untiring work to combat child labour and human trafficking, and for her support for girls who have been forced to become sex slaves.
Monira Rahman, from Bangladesh, for her fearless fight to save girls, in particular, who have been disfigured as a result of attacks using acid or petrol.
Murhabazi Namegabe, from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, for his perilous struggle to free children who have been forced to become child soldiers and sex slaves.

The Queen awarded the prize to the winner, Murhabazi Namegabe. Find out more about the winner here.external link, opens in new window

The Queen is the first Honorary Adult Friend and patron of the World's Children's Prize.

The World's Children's Prizeexternal link, opens in new window contributes towards a more humane world, in respect of the rights of the child and democracy. Schools with 24 million pupils in 101 countries are involved. Each year, millions of children learn about rights of the child, democracy and global friendship.