An exhibition inspired by Scottish author Irvine Welsh, will mark this year’s anniversary of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). London’s Proud Galleries and UNICEF have collaborated to create the exhibition Childscapes, which documents the harrowing plight of children in the developing world, following a suggestion from Welsh, who happened on the idea following a visit to Afghanistan last year. The show features pictures illustrating the work of UNICEF, as seen through the lenses of award-winning photographers Tom Craig and Abbie-Trayler-Smith, and theatre photographer Charles Hart. More than 120 images are featured in the exhibit – from refugees in Iran, to Ralph Fiennes witnessing the devastating effects of AIDS in Uganda, to Manchester United players meeting illegally trafficked girls from Burma in Thailand. Welsh was impressed with the way Abbie Trayler-Smith’s photography illustrated the work of UNICEF, and decided to create an exhibition around it. ‘Based around the articles in the convention – which looks at children’s rights – the exhibition is both an educational journey as well as an inspirational and beautiful exhibition,’ said Anita Tiessen, Deputy Executive Director of UNICEF. ‘It is our aim to make more people aware of the convention, and thus make governments more responsible to their duties,’ she commented. Twenty-five year old Trayler-Smith, who recently covered the Afghan refugee crisis in Pakistan, in March received the Picture Editors Guild Young Photographer of the Year Award, presented by Prime Minister Tony Blair. Photographer Tom Craig, who at the age of 28 has already been acknowledged by numerous press awards, including the British Magazine Photographer of the Year, has worked with UNICEF for the past two years. ‘The project shows images that are essential for the British public to see, so as to further their understanding of the UN convention, which is without question one of the most important documents written in recent times,’ Craig said. The Convention on the Rights of the Child was created over a ten-year period, with input from different societies, religions and cultures. In November 1989, the convention was adopted as an international human rights treaty.