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Solomon Islands
United Nations – International Year of the Child
1977 Proof Silver 5 Dollars 39mm (28.28 grams) 0.925 Silver (0.841 oz. ASW)
Reference: KM# 16
ELIZABETH II SOLOMON ISLANDS 1983, Elizabeth facing right.
FIVE DOLLARS INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF THE CHILD, Children rowing boat.
You are bidding on the exact item pictured, provided with a Certificate of Authenticity and Lifetime Guarantee of Authenticity.
 UNESCO proclaimed 1979 as the International Year of the Child. The proclamation was signed on January 1, 1979, by United Nations Secretary General Kurt Waldheim. A follow-up to the 1959 Declaration of the Rights of the Child, the proclamation was intended to draw attention to problems that affected children throughout the world, including malnutrition and lack of access to education. Many of these efforts resulted in the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1989.
Numerous events took place within the UN and in member countries to mark the event, including the Music for UNICEF Concert, held at the UN General Assembly on January 9. WBZ-TV 4 in Boston, Massachusetts, along with the four other Group W stations, hosted and broadcast a celebratory festival, “Kidsfair” (usually held around Labor Day ever since) from Boston Common. A film festival showcasing international cartoon and film shorts focusing on children was held at the United Nations building in New York City on December 1, 1979. Canadian animator/director Eugene Fedorenko created a film for the National Film Board of Canada, called Every Child, which centered on a nameless baby who nobody wants because they are too busy with their own concerns. This was used to explain how every child is entitled to a home. Sound effects were created with the voices of Les Mimes Electriques.
 Solomon Islands is a sovereign state consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania lying to the east of Papua New Guinea and northwest of Vanuatu and covering a land area of 28,400 square kilometres (11,000 sq mi). The country’s capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal. The country takes its name from the Solomon Islands archipelago, which is a collection of Melanesian islands that also includes the North Solomon Islands (part of Papua New Guinea), but excludes outlying islands, such as Rennell and Bellona, and the Santa Cruz Islands.
 The islands have been inhabited for thousands of years. In 1568, the Spanish navigator Álvaro de Mendaña was the first European to visit them, naming them the Islas Salomón. Britain defined its area of interest in the Solomon Islands archipelago in June 1893, when Captain Gibson R.N., of HMS Curacoa, declared the southern Solomon Islands a British protectorate. During World War II, the Solomon Islands campaign (1942-1945) saw fierce fighting between the United States and the Empire of Japan, such as in the Battle of Guadalcanal.
.svg/250px-Solomon_Islands_on_the_globe_(Oceania_centered).svg.png) The official name of the then British administration was changed from “the British Solomon Islands Protectorate” to “the Solomon Islands” in 1975, and self-government was achieved the year after. Independence was obtained in 1978 and the name changed to just “Solomon Islands”, without the “the”. Today, the sovereign state is a constitutional monarchy with the Queen of Solomon Islands, currently Queen Elizabeth II, as its head of state. Rick Houenipwela is the current prime minister.
Solomon Islands is an island nation that lies east of Papua New Guinea and consists of many islands: Choiseul, the Shortland Islands; the New Georgia Islands; Santa Isabel; the Russell Islands; Nggela (the Florida Islands); Malaita; Guadalcanal; Sikaiana; Maramasike; Ulawa; Uki; Makira (San Cristobal); Santa Ana; Rennell and Bellona; the Santa Cruz Islands and the remote, tiny outliers, Tikopia, Anuta, Fatutaka and Falkie Atoll.
The country’s islands lie between latitudes 5° and 13°S, and longitudes 155° and 169°E. The distance between the westernmost and easternmost islands is about 1,500 kilometres (930 mi). The Santa Cruz Islands (of which Tikopia is part) are situated north of Vanuatu and are especially isolated at more than 200 kilometres (120 mi) from the other islands. Bougainville is geographically part of the Solomon Islands archipelago but politically part of Papua New Guinea. Falkie Atoll, which is closer to Bougainville than to Choiseul, is part of the nation of Solomon Islands.
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