(bitte auf den Link klicken, um zur Deutschen Version zu gelangen)
On the 20th of November, which is the UN World Children's Day, the chess department of FC Bayern Munich organizes an international chess event for children in cooperation with 13 clubs, schools and chess organizations from several countries around the world. Just like the "Reds agaist Racism" tournament in March, the UN World Children's Day event is intended to develop into an annually recurring event, allowing children from all participating organisations to regularly engage with children from other countries.
With the UN World Children's Day the United Nations put a strong focus on the rights of children. The 20th of November is a very special day in this context, since on the 20th of November 1959 the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child. On the same day in the year 1989 the General Assembly adopted the Convention of the Rights of the Child.
There is, of course, no better motivation than this to also intensify the international cooperation in chess in the best interest of children.
The event on the 20th of November will not only feature two online chess tournaments. There will also be a videoconference offering the opprtunity to directly communicate across boarders. The following 14 organisations from 4 continents have confirmed their participation:
- Overseas Familie School Singapore (Singapore)
- #67 School Yerevan (Armenia)
- Wasa SK Stockholm (Sweden)
- Juniors of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
- Limhamns SK (Sweden)
- Masiphatisane Primary School (South Africa)
- FC Bayern München (Germany)
- SV Werder Bremen (Germany)
- Suffolk Junior Chess (United Kingdom)
- Essex Junior Chess (United Kingdom)
- She-Plays-To-Win (United Kingdom)
- Chess for Coexistence Montevideo (Uruguay)
- Programa Municipal de Ajedrez Rosario (Argentina)
- New York Chess Kids (United States)
The teams will briefly introduce themselves as part of the one-hour pre-tournament programme. This will provide for a very special international atmosphere, which is a key concept of the event.
Beside the international exchange and the promotion of the understanding of other countries and cultures, all participating children should have a lot of fun and enjoy the time they spend together. Last but not least, the sporting aspect will be there as well. This was already clearly visible during the friendly competitions in the "Reds against Racism" event in March!
All in all, yet another great opprtunity to use chess for what chess can achieve particularly well in the internet environment: Unite people worldwide!