THE 31ST ARTICLE

(Upholding a child's rights to play and laughter)

Article 31 of the United Nations convention on the rights of the child, as signed by 162 of the 164 member states of the United Nations states that:

1. "States Parties recognise the right of the child to rest and leisure, to engage in play and recreational activities appropriate to the age of the child and to participate freely in cultural life and the arts."
 

2. "States Parties shall respect and promote the right of the child to participate fully in cultural and artistic life and shall encourage the provision of appropriate and equal opportunities for cultural, artistic, recreational and leisure activity."

THE 31ST ARTICLE states that:

There's no point in you and I enshrining these rights in posh sounding conventions unless we, their guardians, are prepared to actively enforce them.

The following are a set of rules governing the use and release of funds from THE 31ST ARTICLE bank account, and the behaviour and actions of collaborating artist and all personnel involved in all projects run by or connected with the not-for profit organisation known as

THE 31ST ARTICLE

Aims objectives and rules governing the release of the organisations funds:

1. The artist will hold as fundamental the aim to better the situation of children who live in crisis situations of any type (conflict, natural disaster, social inequalities, etc.) in any part of the world and to actively enforce Article 31 of the United Nations convention on the rights of the child.

2. The main beneficiaries of THE 31ST ARTICLE projects are children living in situations of crisis, and the collaborating artist will make no distinction between them for reasons of race, religion, culture, politics, social situation or any other categorization when offering his/her work.

3. For collaborating artists participating in THE 31ST ARTICLE projects, volunteering is the general rule.

4. In respect to the artist’s public image, he/she will not use the participation in humanitarian activities as a means to promote their professional career, separating clearly at all times such activities and not using his/her humanitarian work for publicity purposes or to promote his/her professional career.

5. Collaborating artist will insure that the name, logo and identity of THE 31ST ARTICLE will not be used as a vehicle for remuneration.

6. In the matter of seeking financial support, THE 31ST ARTICLE remains attentive to the ethical values of our partners.

7. The collaborating artist, when working with THE 31ST ARTICLE will, by definition of the nature of their work, see and share in difficult situations. Their work does not end when they return home. They should testify in any measure possible all situations of injustice that they have witnessed.

8. The collaborating artist, when choosing the contents of his/her performances and workshops, will consider the sensibilities of the destination population, taking into account their culture as well as the delicate situation in which they are living.

9. The collaborating artist will not use their humanitarian activities to impart personal ‘points of view’ to the destination populations of the projects and will limit themselves to sharing their artistic activities. The artist will not attempt any “evangelical” activities (including religious, political or social kinds) whilst working with/for THE 31ST ARTICLE.

10. Although collaborating artist are expected to do their own fundraising, THE 31ST ARTICLE reserves the right to use its funds to pay part or all of the expenses of any participating artist as it see's fit, including but not exclusively, travel, food and drink, play equipment, medical insurance and visas.

11. In the case of a difference of opinion, the decision of the bank account signatories will be final.

12. Collaborating artist will insure that they have the correct inoculations, medical insurance, visa and passport requirements etc for the countries and situations they encounter.

13. Collaborating artist wave the right to hold THE 31ST ARTICLE legally and/or financially liable for any damages, mental or physical to themselves or any part of their equipment howsoever caused.

14. THE 31ST ARTICLE reserve the right to use any photo's, film, and/or written material on, by, or about collaborating artist and/or their work with THE 31ST ARTICLE to highlight its aims, work, and projects, be they past, present or future, to the general public, governments, non-governmental organisations, press, media and other parties.

15. The collaborating artist must remain aware of the fact that, for many of the children they encounter, they will be seen as role models and should behave as such when around these children. This includes not smoking, drinking, or being under the influence of intoxicating substances.

16. Although THE 31ST ARTICLE accepts the fact that, due to the nature of the crisis areas in which it works, it may not always be possible for collaborating artist to acquire receipts, where possible receipts for all funds used should be acquired and passed on to THE 31ST ARTICLE bank account signatories. Where this is not possible, a record of spending should be kept by the collaborating artist and handed over to THE 31ST ARTICLE bank account signatories as soon as practically possible.

17. The changing of these rules and guildlines can only be accomplished by a majority vote on the part of the committee.