H.M. The Queen’s Closing Address
at the Global Child Forum

As we come to the end of this year’s Global Child Forum, I would like to thank all of you for the openness, energy and commitment you have brought to this day.

We have discussed strategy, investment, technology and business decisions. We have shared knowledge and experiences. But perhaps most importantly – we have listened.

This morning, His Majesty the King asked each of us to keep one child in mind. A child or grandchild. A young person we know. Or perhaps the child we once were.

I would like to return to that thought.

Many years ago, in Brazil, I met a young boy living alone on the street in a cardboard box. As I travelled home through a terrible storm that evening, I could not stop thinking about him. Was he safe? What would happen to him?

I never got to know his story. But meeting him changed mine.

So, after everything we have heard today, I would like to ask you one question: What will you do differently because of the child you have carried with you today?

Children may never know that a board meeting took place or what decisions were made and why.

But they live with the consequences.

In the air they breathe and the water they drink. In the safety of their communities. In the digital environments they inhabit. And in whether their voices are heard before decisions affecting their lives are made.

This is why the work of Global Child Forum matters. Because we believe that progress must be measured in the life of a child. In whether that child is safer, healthier, heard, and given the opportunity to thrive.

As you return to your organisations, I ask you to take one concrete step. Reconsider one decision. Listen to one young voice. Take one action.

And let it begin with a simple question: What will this mean for children?

The first step does not need to be large. But it must be real.

Ladies and gentlemen,

The value of a day like this is not what we say here. It is what happens when we leave.

Continue to listen. Continue to ask the difficult questions. And make sure that even when children are not in the room, they are never forgotten.

I would like to thank Global Child Forum, its partners, and all of you for your commitment to this important work. Tomorrow, we will return to our everyday responsibilities. Let us make sure that today’s discussions do not end here but translate into action and lasting impact.

Thank you.