On the 12^th June 2010 in Hanoi a diverse group of leaders of Ministries, former child labourers, sportsmen, and development workers joined forces in an important event to give a red card to child labour from Viet Nam.

The World Day Against Child Labour comes hot on the heels of the Global Conference on Child Labour, the biggest event of its kind in a decade that was held in the Netherlands last month.

The World Day was first launched in 2002 by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and has been celebrated since then on a global scale. This year the World Day coincides with the football World Cup in South Africa and a “Red Card to Child Labour” campaign will be launched.

People around the world will be responding to this year’s campaign by organising sporting events to shine a fierce light on child labour. Viet Nam is ceasing the opportunity to be part of this global campaign and has organized a showcase event at Quan Ngua stadium to drive home the message. Spectators will be able to show their commitment by giving a “red card to child labour” and sing along to the song “A world without child labour”.

The event includes a 15-minute exhibition football match played with 7-a-side teams, where three national football stars will join four former child labourers on each team, to show their solidarity and support in the fight against child labour. It was held at Quan Ngua Stadium, Van Cao, Lieu Giai, Ba Dinh, Hanoi.

A staggering number of 215 million children in the world are still exposed to child labour, and the ILO works with governments and social partners at the national level, and also at the local level to help child labourers and communities.

The event was organized by: the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs; Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism; International Labour Organization (ILO); Spanish Agency for International Development; Save the Children Viet Nam; and the Viet Nam Gymnastics Federation.