"Taking Destiny in their Hands" is the first attempt to document the relevance of the International Movement for Working Children and the central themes that it addresses. It gives viewers a rare opportunity to listen to children’s analyses of global problems, their strategies to overcome them and their call to adults and policy-makers to give them due credit as social actors. As the most affected and directly linked to these problems, working children have been the first to realize that they cannot be passive recipients of adult policies, which are often ineffective and uninformed. The working children’s movements have organized themselves in order to fight for children's rights, and for the inclusion and effective participation of children in decision making-processes. The film provides an overview of the long process that working children’s movements in Africa, Asia and Latin America have undergone to create, initially, their own national and regional movements and then a united international movement. It highlights the struggles and successes of their participation in the international policy-making arena. The ILO consultations in Amsterdam and Oslo; interactions with decision makers in Milan and Berlin are a few examples in the film that demonstrate how the members of the movement continue to make their voices heard despite tremendous challenges. Spanning three continents over three decades, the film depicts how the similarities of the movements form their foundation and how their diversities bring rich nuances to their struggle. During the course of the 45-minute film, children articulate their concerns and insights. Based on central themes—such as the harmful effects of globalization and the inadequate distribution of resources, exploitation, the lack of access to education, inadequate healthcare, urban violence, wars, environmental degradation, urban migration, gender, racial and caste discrimination—children identify and analyze specific issues that they face on a daily basis, such as the distinction between good and bad work, the importance of organizing themselves, the importance of education, and the role of international agencies in determining the conditions in which they work and live. Children paint their vision for a just society and in no uncertain terms describe themselves as an integral part of the civil society. The title of the film was taken from a quote by Berlin mayor Harald Wolf’s address to the International Movement in Berlin, and reflects how adults and those in power are increasingly recognizing that there is a lot to be learned from children’s engagement and its impact on the society. The International Movement of Working Children In 1996, representatives of working children’s movements from three continents met for the first time in Kundapur, India. One of the most significant outcomes of this meeting was the formation of the International Movement of Working Children. The Kundapur Declaration was presented there to conclude the discussions held between child representatives from 33 countries on issues related to child work, child labor, children’s rights and children’s protagonism. In this meeting, the young delegates expressed the importance of uniting and creating an internal movement that together could have a stronger voice to demand respect and a stronger presence to influence policy matters from local to international levels. The International Working Children’s Movement’s need for support and solidarity from adults has provided a unique and essential opportunity to revolutionize the relationship between adults and children, creating an environment of mutual trust and learning. Adult’s role in promoting children’s involvement has therefore been an important issue in the growth and strengthening of the children’s movements. Adults who support the International Movement have formed the ‘International Forum in Solidarity with Working Children’ in 2005 to support the Movement and collaborate with them.