An Evening with Raffi

Judge Baker Children's Center

53 Parker Hill Ave

Boston, MA

Thursday, October 26, 2006

7:30 PM

A program for adults. 

(Free Parking on Site; Click here for directions)

An Evening with Raffi includes:

• Presentation of Fred Roger's Integrity Award to Raffi by CCFC

• A presentation - in word and song - by Raffi on his Child Honoring philosophy

• A book signing of Raffi's recently published anthology, Child Honoring: How To Turn This World Around (co-edited with CCFC summit presenter Dr. Sharna Olfman)

• A reception with light refreshments

Tickets are $25 for general admission and $10 for students

(free for registrants for CCFC's 5th annual Summit)

Click here to purchase tickets or call (617)278-4280 to order by phone.

The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood is proud to announce that this year's winner of the Fred Rogers Integrity Award is Raffi Cavoukian, the beloved children's troubadour.  The award, named in honor of the host of the award winning PBS children’s program, Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, will be given each year by CCFC to the public figure whose efforts to protect children from harmful marketing best embody  Fred Rogers' long-standing commitment to nurturing the health and well-being of America's children. 

Raffi Cavoukian is a renaissance man known to millions simply as Raffi: a renowned Canadian troubadour, record producer, systems thinker, author, entrepreneur and ecology advocate, once called “the most popular children’s entertainer in the western world” (Washington Post). President of Troubadour Music, among the most successful independent record labels, Raffi was a pioneer in music for children and families: his CDs, tapes, videos, and DVDs have sold over 14 million copies in Canada and the US, and his books, more than 3 million copies. A generation saw him in concert and grew up singing Down by the Bay and Raffi’s signature song Baby Beluga. “Beluga “grads” often tell him they’re now raising their own kids with his songs.
 

In his 3 decade career, Raffi has refused all commercial endorsement offers, and his triple-bottom-line company has never directly advertised or marketed to children. He is a passionate advocate for a child’s right to live free of commercial exploitation. Recently, he sent an open letter to Rogers Wireless urging they stop marketing cellphones to kids, and turned down a Baby Beluga film proposal whose funding depended on direct advertising to children.
 

A recipient of the Order of Canada and the United Nations’ Earth Achievement Award, Raffi has recently been awarded two honorary degrees: Dr of Music, from the University of Victoria, and Dr of Letters, from the University of British Columbia. He is associated with many NGOs, including the Council of Human Development, the Darwin Project Council, the Center for Partnership Studies, the Center for Children’s Health and the Environment, and the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research.
 

Raffi has become a “global troubadour”, lecturing and networking to help create a viable future: a restorative, child-friendly world for ourselves and for those to come. His original philosophy, Child Honoring, is gaining support among eminent thinkers as a systemic remedy for addressing the major issues of our time. His Covenant for Honoring Children is widely circulated among child development, education, ecological economics and environmental health circles (available for download at Raffinews.com).

The first Fred Rogers Integrity Award was presented to Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) in 2005.  Senator Harkin was honored for his efforts to protect children from harmful marketing.
 

CCFC will present Raffi with the award at the opening reception of our 5th annual  summit: Consuming Kids: Marketing in Schools and Beyond.  Tickets for the reception are $25; $10 for students and free for summit registrants.

Click here to reserve your ticket for An Evening with Raffi.

Click here for more information about CCFC's 5th annual summit.