News

The Raffi Foundation for Child Honouring spoke to Ada Mawson, Knowledge Keeper and Tsawout Education Manager, about the connection between Child Honouring principles and Coast Salish teachings. This is part 1-3 of the conversation. To learn more about Child Honouring and our

Cities across Canada formally recognize Child Honouring, the movement founded by Raffi Cavoukian, calling on communities to place children's needs at the center of decision-making The City of Toronto and the City of Vancouver have each proclaimed July 8 as Child Honouring Day, joined by the City of Victoria, marking the first time Child

Our Executive Director, Laurel Collins, recently spoke on CFAX news about her reaction to the new Digital Safety Act bill. You can listen to the interview here: For more information, visit our campaign page "Write Your Representatives – Protect Our Kids: No Social Media Under 16"For the full

Say "Thank you" to the important people in your child's life: As the school year comes to a close, many families are reflecting on the people who helped children feel supported, encouraged, and honoured this year. Whether it was a teacher, caregiver, mentor, elder, or guide, these relationships leave a lasting impact. We invite

Right now, a child in Canada is being bullied online. Another is at risk of online sexual exploitation. Others are lying awake at 2am, scrolling through content designed by algorithms to keep them hooked. Social media platforms were built to maximize engagement, not to protect children. We are seeing rising rates of anxiety, depression,

Little Light, Big World is a free digital children’s book inspired by the Nine Principles of Child Honouring. Through warmth, imagination, and everyday moments of connection, the story invites children to notice their own “light” and the ways care, kindness, and belonging show up in the world around them. Designed for shared reading, this

ABC Democracy“To defend liberty, why not inspire the young to love it? With democracy under attack, one way to stand up for freedom is with an upbeat, danceable song young kids will love and grow into.” —Raffi “ABC Democracy,” a brand-new song from beloved singer, songwriter Raffi. Written and produced by Raffi, the

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Raffi Foundation for Child Honouring Welcomes Laurel Collins as New Executive Director Salt Spring Island, BC – September 16, 2025 – The Raffi Foundation for Child Honouring proudly welcomes Laurel Collins as its new Executive Director. Laurel brings to the role a distinguished career of public service, advocacy, and leadership. Her

Check out Raffi's new and timely essay Barbie, Patriarchy, and Taylor Swift. Now live on the National Observer website. Follow this link to read on the National Observer website or read the full article below! Barbie, Patriarchy, And Taylor Swift / Raffi Cavoukian Recent blockbuster successes both in film and pop music provide an opportunity

In a very special surprise, the BC Legislature was treated to an extraordinary guest on Thursday, February 9. “Hold the bananaphone, honorable speaker, Raffi is in the building,” Sonia Furstenau, leader of the BC Green Party, announced to MLA’s. Raffi was delighted to be Sonia’s guest of honor as she spoke about his work as …

Raffi has created a stunning new song about the power of love to help us heal from trauma. “Song For Healing” was inspired by the ground-breaking research of Dr. Gabor Maté into childhood trauma and healing. Humanity and the planet are suffering as a result of a lack of understanding about trauma and its root causes. “Song …

To submit your children’s artwork by February 28, email us at: info@raffifoundation.org Parents and Educators, new opportunity alert! In recognition of February being Black History Month, we are sharing our “Black Lives Matter to Me” educational activity guide to engage children in conversations around freedom, justice, and the Black Lives Matter movement. We invite you …

A message from Raffi: “We have a historic opportunity to heal the wounds of racism and injustice. In support of the Black Lives Matter movement, I wrote this as a song that people everywhere might sing, citing Martin Luther King’s stirring words, “let freedom ring.” My music repertoire has included many songs of universal …

Thank you for helping us celebrate Baby Beluga’s 40th anniversary! We’re pleased to share a music video created with hand-drawn artwork submitted by fans @Raffi_RC

Celebrating Baby Beluga at 40! Featuring a special new 40th anniversary version of Baby Beluga, see Raffi’s ‘virtual’ duet with Yo-Yo Ma , as featured on CBC News – click above to view!

Stream Lindsay Munroe’s I Am Kind  on Spotify by clicking the album cover above. Raffi’s Troubadour Music Releases Lindsay Munroe’s First Kids’ Album, I Am Kind Raffi’s warm harmonies enhance this uplifting album for the whole family, available digitally today.Sing along with Lindsay Munroe on her video “I Am Kind” (featuring Raffi) HERE.“This music is so welcoming, calming

RaffiFrom Systems Failure to Renewal “Could this not be the single thought that steers us through the dangerous passage — a world that honours all its children?” Peter Senge, senior lecturer, MIT. The upside of systems meltdown in the financial sector is that it offers the opportunity to think systemically about the global family and

RAFFI CAVOUKIAN A Bitter Truth in Ivory Coast The Ivory Coast is in turmoil. The UN General Assembly has recognized Alassane Ouattara as the democratically elected new president, but the incumbent Laurent Gbagbo refuses to step down. Governments worldwide have called on Gbagbo to concede defeat. The Economic Community of West African States has

Newly revised, this “COOL IT” video (with Raffi, David Suzuki and staff) is a call to action—to cool this planet down!

It’s not just water that’s poisoning our kids; it’s also our collapsing democracy. Governments must show that they understand what environmentalism and democracy demand: transparency, accountability and stewardship.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Raffi Cavoukian Dharamsala, India — 25.10.2000 RC: (showing a book) I was reading this book, where you talk about how it would take a worldwide scale of a revolution in our commitment to and practice of universal humanitarian values, and I couldn’t agree more …and last time when I was

RAFFI CAVOUKIAN We live in dangerous times, or so it feels. It’s not just a feeling, though: More and more families struggle to make ends meet, and to find affordable childcare and health insurance. There’s a vengeful white supremacist in the White House, from which the daily news sounds surreal and bordering on chaos. And

RAFFI CAVOUKIAN Governments must show that they understand what environmentalism and democracy demand: transparency, accountability and stewardship. What in the water is going on in North America? In Flint, Michigan, people were unknowingly forced to drink lead-contaminated water for months after Governor Rick Snyder’s administration decided to save money by changing families’ water source from

RAFFI CAVOUKIAN In an unprecedented season of hundreds of B.C. wildfires, Premier Christy Clark can disappear from view for a long time. Yet she is calling a rare summer session of the provincial legislature for an LNG debate (so-called), to rubber-stamp the ratification of her government’s first proposed LNG project, near Prince Rupert. The premier

RAFFI CAVOUKIAN I’ve been reflecting on why the months-long dispute between the B.C. government and teachers has shaken me so. Why should I be this bothered about a labour dispute? Why am I so mad at Premier Christy Clark and Education Minister Peter Fassbender — aren’t there two sides to any story? What follows is

RAFFI CAVOUKIAN Amanda Todd changed my life. The Vancouver teenager was driven to suicide October 10, 2012, after years of cyber harassment by a sexual predator. A year after her death, that predator has still not been identified or charged by police, and not enough has changed for vulnerable kids online. The tragedy of Amanda’s

RAFFI CAVOUKIAN You might wonder—pro hockey & world peace—what’s this about, is he nuts? Well, maybe. But considering the NHL hockey violence often in the news, and hockey analyst Don Cherry’s repeated tributes to Canada’s Afghan war dead within “Coach’s Corner” on CBC’s Hockey Night In Canada, I could examine the militarization of Cherry’s segment

RAFFI CAVOUKIAN On a fine spring day with trees in soft green bloom I left Manhattan for Pete Seeger’s place, near Beacon NY, courtesy of his longtime friend and noted videographer Jim Brown. During the drive Jim and I talked non-stop: about my singer-songwriter beginnings, about the early folk music scene, Jim’s work with Pete

RAFFI CAVOUKIAN “Environmentalism has failed” is a statement that deserves attention. It comes from famed environmentalist David Suzuki marking 50 years since Rachel Carson’s book, Silent Spring, widely regarded as having sparked the environmental movement. Suzuki’s May 2, 2012 blog (HuffingtonPost, rabble.ca) on the fundamental failure of environmentalism is ominous. The world faces not only environmental calamities

RAFFI CAVOUKIAN Reflections on an unusual friendship with a beluga mama. My Dear Kavna, I feel like I’ve lost a very dear old friend. Yet it’s much more than that. Since hearing the news of your death, I have felt the loss of an extended family member—one who had a profound impact on me. Kavna,

RAFFI CAVOUKIAN It’s fun to get tweets from my grown-up “beluga grad” fans who are surprised to find that the singer they knew in childhood now cares about the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement. They shouldn’t be. I’ve been tracking societal trends and Earth changes for decades. My values have been in my songs, and

RAFFI CAVOUKIAN Global warming didn’t pause at all during Cairo’s recent rebirth. In fact, every month of inaction on Earth’s climate emergency makes recovery that much harder and costlier. In a recent essay, “The Right To A Future,” I proposed a new lexicon for conveying accelerating climate change as the greatest threat on Earth, a

RAFFI CAVOUKIAN A siren song is this Cairo freedom fire, the Tunisian spark now a roaring flame. A new Mecca in Tahrir Square. I close my eyes and wander to the city of my birth, and I’m just eight years old in the helio-polis my Armenian family called home, playing in the Cairo sands, my

In his recent communique with his extensive mailing list, Dr. Hansen wrote “Singing in the Rain: Why we need Raffi” and distributed a link to Raffi’s recently published essay on the need for a new lens and lexicon with respect to climate change. Please join us in following news and updates from Dr. Hansen about

RAFFI CAVOUKIAN Are we tweeting while Earth burns? Is climate collapse our new collective Titanic? How do we best describe the survival struggle of 7 billion in a way that connects with the public and with decision makers? The science on global warming is clear and compelling. Earth is in serious climate crisis. That’s