Cape Town - Children from around the world will have a chance in April to vote for the newest recipient of the World Children’s Prize, also known as the Children’s Nobel Prize.
Since 2000 the award has been given to individuals who have made strides in the fight to ensure the wellbeing of children around the world.
A jury of children from 15 countries selected Indian Kailash Satyarthi, Phymean Noun of Cambodia and American Javier Stauring as the three candidates for the award.
Satyarthi is already a Nobel Peace laureate for his tireless work against child slavery while Noun has dedicated her life to helping children living off the city dumps in her homeland.
Stauring runs an organisation that works with children in prison and the victims of their crimes.
The three nominees were revealed in Cape Town on Sunday with children from Chris Hani High School in Khayelitsha entertaining the audience, which included Cape Town mayor Patricia de Lille.
Students from schools in Mitchells Plain and other areas in Cape Town also performed.
Last year, the students travelled to Sweden to perform at the official awards ceremony which was hosted by Queen Silvia.
The students were chosen by The World’s Children Prize organisation after a lengthy audition process that included schools across the country.
Winners of the award receive $100 000 which can be used to further their causes, such as last year’s winner Malala Yousafzai.
Yousafzai, from Pakistan, used her prize money to rebuild 65 schools that were destroyed in Gaza.
In the past South Africans have also won, with the likes of Nelson Mandela, Graça Machel and Professor Ann Skelton of the Centre for Child Law at the University of Pretoria all taking home the prize.
Over the years children have also received the award posthumously with Nkosi Johnson and Hector Pieterson also recognised.
During the first ceremony in 2000 the award was given posthumously to Iqbal Masih, Anne Frank and Pieterson.
Masih was born in Muridke, Pakistan in 1983 and was sold as a child slave by the age of five when his family was unable to repay a loan they had made from a local carpet factory owner.
During his time as a slave Masih worked for the carpet owner and at the age of 10 he escaped on a few occasions and joined a liberation group in Pakistan.
In two years Masih helped 3 000 children escape child slavery until he was killed in 1995 at the age of 12.
Cape Argus