On behalf of my mother, Queen Silvia of Sweden, I am delighted to welcome you to the 2016 Childhood ThankYou Gala.

This is the second ThankYou Awards Gala, when we honor three extraordinary people for their tireless efforts to promote children’s rights.

17 years ago, my mother founded Childhood to use her voice in the fight against the sexual abuse and exploitation of children.

It is a great honor for me to continue my mother’s legacy in my role as the founder of the Eyes Wide Open initiative.

The aim of the campaign is to build greater awareness around the issue by using digital tools and social media. By being a voice against child abuse and highlighting the scale of the problem, we can be part of ending violence against children.

I want to bring attention to the fact that 1 in 10 children in the world are sexually abused.

And I want to empower adults with the knowledge and tools to become child protectors.

We as adults have the responsibility to ALL children. So join me and become a child protector.

First step: Keep your EYES WIDE OPEN.

With this let me express our warmest congratulations to our guests of honor, my gratitude to the Childhood staff and my thanks to all of you who are here tonight, who share our commitment to children.

Thank you and have a wonderful evening!