BEIJING, Nov. 5     -- A large-scale global media campaign for children' rights co-sponsored by Xinhua News Agency and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) was launched here Thursday in the run-up to the Universal Children's Day, which falls on Nov. 20, in advance of a planned 24-hour global live multimedia coverage of events on the day.

    As of Wednesday, more than 500 worldwide media organizations had confirmed participation in the program.

    The "Global News Day for Children" program aims to highlight the international media's role in helping to improve the situation of children's living environment and promoting their healthy growth.

    It will be the first joint international media child rights advocacy program with simultaneous live coverage focusing on the same topic.

    A memorandum of understanding was signed here Thursday morning by Xinhua's management and UNICEF representatives. The two sides agreed that against the backdrop of the 20th anniversary of the Convention of the Rights of the Child, they would collaborate with worldwide media organizations to launch child rights advocacy activities and a global reporting campaign under the theme of "protecting the rights of children" around November 20th.