World Children's Day
Next: November 20, 2026
Ask a child. Then listen.
The story
Where it comes from
In 1954 the UN General Assembly recommended that every country hold a Universal Children's Day, a day of friendship and understanding between children. The UN marks it on 20 November, the date on which the Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child in 1959 and the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1989. The Convention sets out children's rights to health, education, play and to have their views heard, and it is the most widely ratified human rights treaty.
How it's celebrated
UNICEF runs it as a day of action for children, by children. Children 'take over' roles in media, politics, business and sport for the day, and schools and landmarks light up blue for child rights; the Empire State Building, Petra and Shanghai Tower have all turned blue. Families can mark it simply by asking a child what they would change about the world, and listening to the answer.
Did you know
- Audrey Hepburn, then a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, was in the General Assembly hall when the Convention was adopted without a vote on 20 November 1989.
- 196 states are parties to the Convention; UNICEF notes that only the United States has not ratified it.
- Many countries also keep their own children's day: Japan on 5 May, while Singapore's primary schools close for Children's Day in early October.
Coming up next
- World Television Day · November 21, 2026
- The First Computer-Animated Feature · November 22, 2026
- Good Couple Day · November 22, 2026
- Labour Thanksgiving Day · November 23, 2026
- Fibonacci Day · November 23, 2026
- Loy Krathong · November 24, 2026