50% Campaign for Tanzanian Youth

The campaign objectives include:

• promoting juvenile justice services which uphold the best interests of Tanzania's children;
• ensuring legal reform such that Tanzania adheres to international standards of child rights and protection;
• facilitating public awareness of appropriate treatment of children and alternatives to abuse;
• promoting collaboration between civil society, business and local government in the pursuit of child rights and welfare; and
• challenging the stereotypical image of street children and youth.

The campaign uses new technologies as part of its strategy.

• Blog - The campaign has a blog spot, intended to provide an interactive space to share ideas and information about children’s rights and juvenile justice in Tanzania. The blog aims to people’s thoughts, ideas and actions with respect to the 50% campaign.
• Online Petition- people are being asked to sign the online petition to advocate for children’s rights. Once 1,000 signatures are collected, the petition will be forwarded to the government.

Children, Rights, Law.

According to the organisers, a dramatic increase in the youthful profile of Tanzania’s population has been an emerging trend for years. The trend was confirmed in 2002 with alarming national statistics: a full 55% of Tanzania's population falls in the very narrow 0-19 age bracket, whereas 45% of the population spans the 20-80+ range. In fact, as recently as 2005, it has been shown that 45.8% of Tanzania's population is actually under the age of 15. Undeniably, the predominant youthfulness of Tanzania's population begs the question of its emerging issues in national development, and increasingly, it is acknowledged that the health, protection, and education policies and services which exist (or fail to exist) for Tanzania's children give cause for concern.