Abu Dhabi, 21 November 2024 – The Government of the United Arab Emirates awarded Mr. Kul Chandra Gautam the prestigious Community Service Medal in recognition of his lifetime commitment to improving the lives of children worldwide.
The award was presented at the closing ceremony of the Sixth Global Forum of the Global Network of Religions for Children (GNRC), held in Abu Dhabi from 19–21 November 2024. It was conferred in the presence of H.E. Sheikh Mubarak bin Nahyan, UAE Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence, and H.E. Sheikh Abdullah bin Bayyah, President of the Abu Dhabi Forum for Peace.
“On this day, we honor Mr. Kul Gautam, a global leader, and a tireless advocate for children’s rights”, read the citation highlighting his transformative contributions during his three-decade career with UNICEF. Notably, in 1990, Mr. Gautam had played a pivotal role in drafting the Declaration and Plan of Action of the historic World Summit for Children, the largest gathering of world leaders until that time. The ambitious, time-bound goals of the Summit became the foundation for the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Mr. Gautam has also been a tireless advocate of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). This sowed the seeds of his uninterrupted collaboration with faith leaders and religious communities to advance the wellbeing of children.
Mr. Gautam’s distinguished career included serving as UNICEF’s Director of Programmes, overseeing this multi-billion dollar-a-year international organization’s global policy and priorities in over 160 countries.
He also served as UNICEF country representative in Laos, Haiti and India; as UNICEF Chief for Latin America and the Caribbean, and as Regional Director for the Asia Pacific region, before he was appointed as Deputy Executive Director of UNICEF, holding the rank of Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations. During the decade of 2000, he was the highest-ranking Nepali official within the UN system.
Reacting to the award, Mr. Gautam said, “I am deeply humbled to receive this recognition from the UAE, a nation that has demonstrated great leadership in promoting interfaith cooperation and providing substantial humanitarian assistance to children and families in countries affected by war, conflict and natural disasters”. He also commended UAE for pursuing highly child-friendly policies for its children. UAE prides in its multicultural society with eighty percent of its population being non-native. By providing jobs to millions of people from other poorer countries, including Nepal, UAE indirectly helps promote the wellbeing of children in those countries. Mr. Gautam noted that UAE treated its migrant laborers much better than most other countries in the Gulf, Malaysia and elsewhere.
Currently, Mr. Gautam serves as Chair of Arigatou International’s Advisory Group, bringing decades of global experience and passion in serving the best interests of children through interfaith cooperation. Serving as a bridge builder, he followed-up on the Japanese Buddhist leader Rev. Takeyasu Miyamoto’s request to the UN and faith communities to commemorate 20th November, when the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child came into force as a ‘World Day of Prayer and Action for Children’.
Along with Mrs. Dana Humaid, President of the Interfaith Alliance for Safer Communities of UAE, Dr. Vinu Aram, President of Shanti Ashram in Coimbatore, India, and Dr. Mustafa Ali, Secretary-General of GNRC, Mr. Gautam played a key role in organizing the GNRC 6th Forum. The Forum brought together over 600 in-person and 600 virtual participants, including prominent religious and secular leaders, the Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Kailash Satyarthi and children from over 75 countries in a series of intergenerational dialogues. Under the theme of The Child is Calling: Interfaith Cooperation to Build a Safe, Secure and Sustainable World for Children, the Forum adopted the Abu Dhabi Declaration on Building A Hopeful World for Children
