1946-1953: United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund
1953-to date: United Nations Children’s Fund
UNICEF was established on 11 December 1946 by the United Nations to meet the emergency needs of children in post-war Europe and China. Its full name was the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund.
In 1950, its mandate was broadened to include the long-term needs of children and women in developing countries everywhere. UNICEF became a permanent part of the United Nations system in 1953, when its name was shortened to the United Nations Children's Fund. However, UNICEF retained its original acronym.
UNICEF is the United Nations Children’s Fund and is the world’s leading advocate for children. UNICEF is on the ground in over 150 countries and territories to help children survive and thrive, from early childhood through adolescence.
UNICEF works in emergency relief, and on longer term development projects for children. The world’s largest provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and HIV/AIDS.
UNICEF is non-political and provides aid to children on a non-discriminatory basis based on need and has no religious, racial or political affiliations.
UNICEF’s approach is to use low-cost, highly effective solutions that work dramatically to improve children’s lives. UNICEF is funded by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments.
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Our mandate is the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. This is an international human rights instrument that sets out the basic rights of children and the obligations of governments to fulfil those rights. It has been ratified – a formal term for governments signing up – by all but two governments in the world. Australia signed the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1990. The Convention is the foundation of UNICEF’s work and sets out rights for the survival, development, protection and participation of children.
This ground-breaking treaty for the world's children was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1989 and within a year it entered into force as international law. The convention expanded the world's legal boundaries, for the first time establishing children's basic needs as rights.
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The United Nations General Assembly unanimously adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child in November, 1989. The Convention has been ratified by 191 out of 193 territories and states worldwide (all countries except the USA and Somalia). This makes it the most widely and rapidly accepted human rights convention in history.
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UNICEF commits its resources to achieving results for children in five priority areas while also continuing to respond rapidly in emergencies and conflicts. These priority areas are:
• Young Child Survival and Development – UNICEF works to ensure that children survive and thrive through child survival, nutrition and environmental interventions.
• Basic Education and Gender Equality – UNICEF works to ensure that every child, especially girls, receives and completes a quality primary school education.
• HIV/AIDS and Children – UNICEF works to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS and ensure care for the children and young people already affected by the disease.
• Child Protection – UNICEF works to protect children so that they can grow up free from violence, exploitation, abuse and discrimination.
• Policy Advocacy and Partnerships – UNICEF works to establish partnerships, conduct research and raise awareness that help protect the rights of children.
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No, UNICEF works with governments, non-government organisations, community organisations, local committees and families, as well as children themselves, in order to improve the lives of both children and their communities.
The focus of UNICEF's work is children, but many of the improvements made for children ultimately improve the lives of others in their families and communities. For example, our maternal health projects that help mothers survive childbirth will ensure that children grow up with the support of their mothers.
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UNICEF maintains programs in over 150 countries. UNICEF headquarters are in New York. There are eight regional offices, a research centre in Florence, a supply operation in Copenhagen and offices in Tokyo and Brussels. There are 36 National Committees for UNICEF (of which UNICEF Australia is one) that raise funds and spread awareness about the organisation’s work.
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UNICEF is a United Nations agency. However, National Committees for UNICEF in industrialised countries, like UNICEF Australia, are not.
Our formal link with UNICEF is through a Cooperation Agreement, which recognises UNICEF Australia as UNICEF’s sole representative in Australia.
UNICEF Australia is a registered Australian charity and a registered non-government organisation in Australia, and is governed by its own Board of Directors.
UNICEF Australia’s functions are fundraising and raising awareness of child rights.
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UNICEF Australia is a non-government organisation established more than 30 years ago. We are one of 36 National Committees around the world who play a vital role in generating fundraising revenue, public support and awareness for the organisation's work. UNICEF Australia is a company limited by guarantee.
Our primary function is fundraising.
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The first difference is that UNICEF is one of the largest organisations specifically focusing on children’s development, children in emergencies and children’s rights.
The second difference is that, internationally, UNICEF is what is known as an intergovernmental organisation (IGO). This means that UNICEF works in formal partnerships with governments, and has greater access to and influence with those governments on programs for children.
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UNICEF is funded entirely through voluntary contributions. The main sources of income are individuals, trusts, businesses, government, community organisations and student fundraising through schools.
UNICEF National Committees, like UNICEF Australia, are non-government organisations that promote children’s rights, raise funds, sell UNICEF greeting cards and products, create key partnerships and provide other invaluable support in industrialised countries.
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UNICEF’s approach is to use low-cost, highly effective solutions that work dramatically to improve children’s lives.
In 2009 for every dollar donated to UNICEF Australia:
• 68 cents was spent on UNICEF projects for children overseas.
• 7 cents was used to support children in Australia and educate the Australian public about the needs of children.
• 17 cents was used for Fundraising in Australia
• 8 cents was spent on UNICEF Australia Administration
For a detailed costing breakdown, please refer to UNICEF’s 2009 Annual Report.
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Donations can be earmarked for a specific emergency project or country through the specific appeals listed on our website. For more information on all our current appeals, please visit our website at: http://www.unicef.org.au/Unicef/Donate/Appeals/
Otherwise, donations can best be spent when UNICEF is given the freedom to prioritise spending and therefore allocate funds to projects and countries where they are most needed, which also helps minimise administration costs
UNICEF Australia funds projects following requests from UNICEF headquarters and country offices. If you would like to discuss this further, please call our Donor Services team on 1300 884 233.
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UNICEF Australia has just one office in Australia, based in Sydney. We do not recruit either paid or volunteer staff for UNICEF overseas.
UNICEF recruits volunteers through the United Nations Volunteer (UNV) program. This is a UN program which recruits volunteers for assignment throughout the UN system. Further information about the UNV program can be obtained from their website at http://www.unv.org.
If you are interested in a career with UNICEF overseas, you can obtain detailed information about the various avenues open to you and the application process from UNICEF’s international website at http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/index.html.
Other websites that may be of use to you:
• The Australian Council for International Development, http://www.acfid.asn.au;
• Australian Volunteers International, http://www.australianvolunteers.com
• Australian Youth Ambassadors for Development, http://www.ausaid.gov.au/youtham/default.cfm
• Volunteering for International Development from Australia, http://www.vidavolunteers.com.au/aspx/home.aspx
• RedR Australia is a not-for-profit humanitarian organisation that selects and trains specialist personnel to be available at short notice to by selecting, training and providing competent and effective relief personnel to humanitarian relief programmes world-wide (http://www.redr.org.au/).
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We have a wide range of publications available for teachers including classroom activities. Some publications are available in our online shop – the link is listed below. Other activities are profiled through our schools program UNICEF Day for Change and can be found online on the website – http://www.unicefdayforchange.org.au
Many schools choose to get involved in UNICEF Day for Change which is held on Universal Children’s Day – the fourth Wednesday in October. You can hold a school event, special activities or lessons, or have students donate spare change, to help improve children’s lives. Some teachers use the day to teach about development issues and how children live and learn in developing countries.
Additional education links are also are available on our website at: http://www.unicef.org.au/Unicef/SchoolRoom/LearningCentre/
For the online shop visit the ‘publications’ and ‘educational resources’ section:
http://shop.unicef.org.au/
For teaching resources and further information on UNICEF Day for Change visit:
http://www.unicefdayforchange.org.au/welcome.html
If you would like a poster to display in your classroom please contact us on (02) 9261 2811.
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UNICEF has a monthly giving program, called UNICEF Global Parent. The Program is designed to provide long-term assistance to children and communities in 150 developing countries worldwide. UNICEF’s Global Parent program helps many children, not just one. As a Global Parent, your monthly donations support long-term programs to provide essential services to improve the lives of all children.
By focusing on helping as many children as possible, we ensure that funds go to where they are most needed to help the most vulnerable and disadvantaged. With UNICEF’s help, hundreds of children’s lives are improved every day.
UNICEF does not promote individual child or family sponsorship, which can potentially interfere with family or community relationships.
For more information about our Global Parent program, please visit http://www.unicef.org.au/Unicef/Donate/BecomeaUNICEFGlobalParent/ Alternatively, if you would like some information about the UNICEF Global Parent program posted to you, please contact our Donor Services department on 1300 134 071 or 1300 884 233.
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UNICEF sells unique and attractive gifts and beautifully designed cards from around the world. When you purchase a high quality UNICEF item, you are contributing to the lives and well-being of children around the world.
You can view and purchase cards & gifts online by visiting our online shop at: http://shop.unicef.org.au/
You can also buy our cards and gifts at the UNICEF shop which is located at:
Level 7, 171 Clarence Street, Sydney
The shop is open Monday to Friday from 9am-5pm.
A full list of other retail outlets can be found at: http://www.unicef.org.au/Unicef/CardsandGifts/RetailOutlets/
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UNICEF Australia accepts local and foreign currency through two programs; UNICEF Change for Good on Qantas flights and UNICEF Coins for Kids at ANZ.
UNICEF Change for Good is a foreign currency collection program on Qantas flights.
To contribute to the Change for Good program, please place your foreign (or local) coins in the envelopes provided on Qantas flights or in the collection bins in the following airport terminals:
• Adelaide
• Alice Springs
• Brisbane (and International)
• Cairns (and International)
• Canberra
• Coolangatta (Gold Coast)
• Darwin
• Hobart
• Melbourne (and International)
• Perth (and International)
• Sydney (and International)
• Townsville
You can also make foreign currency donations using ANZ Coins for Kids donation boxes located in the following ANZ branches:
Melbourne
- International Departures, Melbourne Airport
- Melbourne CBD, 100 Queen St
- Melbourne CBD, 55 Collins St
- Melbourne CBD, 293 Collins St
- Melbourne CBD, 230 Swanson St
- Melbourne CBD, 21/530 Collins St
- Melbourne CBD, 7/833 Collins St
Brisbane
- Brisbane CBD, 146 Queen St
- Brisbane CBD, 324 Queen St
Sydney
- Sydney CBD, 96 Pitt St
- Sydney CBD, 37 Pitt St
- Sydney CBD, 97 Castlereagh St
- Sydney CBD, 205 Castlereagh St
- Haymarket Sydney, 665-669 George St
- International Terminal, Sydney Airport
- Martin Place, 10/20 Martin Place
Perth
- Perth, 77 St. Georges Terrace
Adelaide
- Adelaide, 121 King William St
If you are in Sydney you are welcome to drop your coins in to our Sydney CBD office, located at Level 7, 171 Clarence St, Sydney.
The funds raised through foreign currency donations contribute to UNICEF's life-saving programs in health, education, and protection in more than 150 countries around the world. For more information about the Change for Good program, please visit: http://www.unicef.org.au/Unicef/Partnerships/tabid/
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It has come to our attention that scam emails and letters alleging to be from or associated with UNICEF are in circulation.
One of the most recent fraudulent emails refer to “The Unicef Grant Donation Award Promo” whereby recipients each receive a cash grant/donation of £500,000 and are asked to contact UNICEF to claim the money. Another example is a letter from the UNICEF/Spanish Lottery Board notifying the recipient of their winning ticket and asking them to send personal information including bank account details, to UNICEF.
These emails and letters are not genuine and UNICEF is in no way connected with them.
UNICEF Australia would like to urge you to be wary of any suspicious emails (or other communications) that claim to originate from UNICEF or someone connected with UNICEF, especially when they are not from an official UNICEF email account and are asking for personal information or for international money transfers.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) website SCAMwatch (www.scamwatch.gov.au) provides information on how you can recognise, report and protect yourself from scams.
Please verify the authenticity of any such correspondence before sending a response, before divulging personal information and before parting with any money. If you are in any doubt, please contact UNICEF Australia at unicef@unicef.org.au or (02)9261 2811 for clarification.
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If you have been approached by a person claiming to be raising funds for UNICEF and you believe they might not be a genuine fundraiser, please contact UNICEF Australia on (02) 9261 2811 or email unicef@unicef.org.au with information on who approached you, how and when. Sadly fraudulent fundraising is affecting many charities.
Below is a list of ways to identify a legitimate UNICEF fundraiser in Australia. All our fundraisers are knowledgeable about UNICEF and have either a signed contract with UNICEF Australia or have a letter of authority from UNICEF Australia or badge identifying them as a volunteer UNICEF fundraiser.
Who might ask you for your bank or credit card details?
Our face-to-face fundraisers will have UNICEF-branded ID badges containing the name and number of the fundraiser; information on the company that employs them and UNICEF contact details. They will be wearing a UNICEF T-shirt and/or hoody. They collect credit card or direct debit information. THEY WILL NEVER ASK FOR CASH.
Who might call you?
At times UNICEF may contact people by telephone to ask for support. If the caller is from a contracted professional telemarketing agency, you will be told that you are being contacted on UNICEF’s behalf at the start of the call. If you wish to support us but would prefer to give your details out over the phone, all of our callers will be happy to send you a letter and a donation form in the post.
The caller will be knowledgeable about UNICEF and will be able to provide contact details to enable you to confirm that the call is genuine.
If you would like to confirm a fundraiser’s identity please contact UNICEF Australia on (02) 9261 2811 or at unicef@unicef.org.au.
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All money raised by UNICEF Australia must be remitted to other UNICEF development programs in over 150 countries. We have no flexibility to remit funds to other NGOs or individuals.
You may wish to contact UNICEF in your country of interest to enquire about possible assistance from or referrals to other partners. Contact details for all UNICEF offices around the world can be found at http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/index.html
UNICEF Australia Health raises other funds for programs for Indigenous children in Australia. Those programs are administered by our partners. UNICEF Health Australia does not accept funding applications.
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UNICEF Australia does not procure supplies for UNICEF's emergency or long-term projects overseas. While it is a very generous offer to donate medical/educational supplies, food or clothing, it is administratively and logistically extremely difficult and expensive to organise to freight and distribute items overseas from Australia.
Instead, UNICEF has its own Supply Division which procures humanitarian supplies from around the world.
For gifts-in-kind to overseas communities, there is an organisation based in Hong Kong called Global Hand, which facilitates the distribution of medical supplies and equipment, food, computers, construction materials, educational supplies etc. Their website is http://www.globalhand.org .
You could also try contacting the Australian Council for International Development, the umbrella organisation for all overseas aid agencies with a presence in Australia. Their website is www.acfid.asn.au.
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DOES UNICEF AUSTRALIA WORK WITH Indigenous communities?
UNICEF Australia is dedicated to working towards reconciliation between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and other Australians to help build a nation where the rights of all children in Australia are respected and realised. We do this by working in partnership with government, communities, non-government organisations and other partners to improve the lives of Indigenous children and help give Indigenous children the same life opportunities as other children in Australia.
UNICEF Australia is developing a Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) to help improve the lives of Indigenous children in Australia. Through our RAP, we will develop positive relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people, build respect for Indigenous culture and identify opportunities to work towards closing the 17-year life expectancy gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous children. By developing a meaningful plan, UNICEF Australia hopes to ensure Indigenous children have the same life opportunities as other children in Australia.
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