Children in the Development Debate: The Role of UNICEF from 1947 to the First UN Development Decade

This paper aims at analyzing the UNICEF contribution to the development debate, from the origin of UNICEF after the Second World War to the First UN Development Decade. Starting from the legacies of the interwar period, it will consider the UNICEF contribution to Europe and Asia in the period of reconstruction, then analyze the shift it experienced in its focus on developing countries from the 1950s and throughout the 1960s. The final part of the paper will be devoted to the case of Italy, the second largest recipient country of UNICEF aid in Europe, as a test case of UNICEF’s action to spread a new vision of child welfare in Europe and, later, as a feasible experience to be used in the developing world.