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Bhavna Patidar, 14, who lives near the Narmada River and is fighting against the dam, was part of the 14-member jury.
On the jury for The World's Children's Prize, she represents children who have had their rights violated by destruction of the environment.
The Barefoot College and the Children's Parliament had been nominated for the prize because, for 30 years, they have made it possible for thousands of poor children, especially girls, to receive education. The jury said that they gave children the opportunity to learn about their rights, so that they can make decisions about and influence matters, which are important to their lives.
They had also been nominated for their important role as an example for others who run night schools and children's Parliaments, it said.
A 59-year-old former street child from Ethiopia, Asfaw Yemiru, was awarded the World's Children's Prize for 45 years of helping street children in Addis Ababa live better lives, the jury also announced. At age nine Yemiru was a street child, and when 14 he started his first school for street children under an oak tree.
Sweden's Queen Silvia, a supporter of children's rights, will present the award, dubbed the Nobel Prize for children, to the Ethiopian teacher on Wednesday in Sweden.
According to the World's Children's Prize for the Rights of the Child, tens of thousands of poor children earned education in Yemiru's two schools. Most pupils have been girls, who normally have difficulty attending school.
Thirty years ago, the Barefoot College founded the first night schools in villages around Tilonia in Rajasthan.
Children are taught in the evenings at the schools. The teachers, who have similar backgrounds, teach the children how to read and write and basic maths.
Today, there are 150 night schools in Rajasthan with 3000 children.
The Barefoot College came up with the idea of a Children 's Parliament, for children to learn how a democracy functions, the importance of the ballot, standing up for rights and not letting one be exploited due to poverty.
The children elect their own Parliament and their own ministers.
They decide about the running of their schools and dismiss teachers who neglect their duties.
The children elect boys and girls as Members of Parliament and they have their own prime minister!
Agencies
EXTERNAL LINK The World's Children's Prize for the right of the child
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