Landon
Pearson has worked for the promotion and protection of children's rights for over
40 years! As the wife of a Canadian Diplomat, she raised their five children in
a number of diverse countries from India to Mexico to the Soviet Union, and engaged
in many different programs in those countries to improve the lives of children.
In 1974, back in her native Canada, she cofounded Children Learning for Living,
a prevention program in children's mental health. In 1979 she was the Vice Chair
of the Canadian Commission for the International Year of the Child and from 1984
to 1990 she was the President and Chair of the Canadian Council on Children and
Youth. In 1994 she was appointed to the Canadian Senate and continued to advocate
for the rights of children. She was instrumental in shaping Canada's foreign policy
on child labor, sexual exploitation of children, and war-affected children. She
retired from the Senate in 2005, and on June 2, 2006, International Children's
Day, The Landon Pearson Resource Centre for the Study of Childhood and Children's
Rights officially opened. Landon Pearson was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize
in 2005 as part of the 1000 Women for the Nobel Peace Prize project.