Child marriage is a significant child protection issue in Solomon Islands, impacting the health, education, and futures of all children. Learn about how the Solomon Islands Endim Vaelens Agenstim Pikinini (SIEVAP) coalition—comprising of Save the Children, ChildFund, and World Vision and supported by the Government's Negotiated Partnership Programme - is working to raise the legal age of marriage to 18 through policy and legislative reforms.
Hosted by the Council for International Development, this webinar will highlight the efforts of this unique coalition of child-focused organisations, collaborating to influence law and policy through community consultations with children, youth, and faith-based organisations. The panellists will share insights from their report, outline their collaborative approach, and discuss next steps towards amending the Islanders Marriage Act. This work has significant relevance for all New Zealand organisations engaged in child protection in Solomon Islands.
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Facilitator: Amie Richardson - Save The Children New Zealand
Panellists:
- Anna Lazar - Save The Children New Zealand
- Maria Trogolo - ChildFund
- Rebekah Armstrong - World Vision NZ
About our Facilitator and Panelists:
Facilitator: Amie Richardson, Save the Children New Zealand, Communications and Media Director
Amie Richardson is an experienced communications professional, who has worked for a variety of not-for-profit organisations, companies and media outlets over 20 years. She first joined the industry as a journalist, before moving into a freelance career where she split her time between journalism and TV documentary making and PR consultancy and communications.
With a particular expertise across all aspects of storytelling, strategic communications and media relations, Amie first began working with Save the Children in 2020 to support media engagement around Five to Thrive, a multi-agency advocacy campaign ahead of the General Election, before coming onboard officially as Communications Director in 2021.
Panellists:
Anna Lazar, Save the Children Child Protection Technical Advisor 
Anna Lazar has worked for approximately 15 years in international development and humanitarian work across Eastern Europe, Asia and the Pacific, with a focus on children's rights, particularly child protection. During this time, she has worked in a wide range of roles with Terre des hommes Foundation, World Vision and more recently, Save the Children.
Anna has worked as Save the Children Child Protection Technical Advisor, where she has supported the planning, design and implementation of child protection programmes and advocacy initiatives across the Asia-Pacific region, closely working with local partners on the ground to deliver impactful, safe and child-friendly programmes.
Rebekah Armstrong, World Vision New Zealand Head of Advocacy and Justice 
Rebekah Armstrong is a leading specialist in children’s rights, modern slavery, and humanitarian law. As Head of Advocacy and Justice at World Vision New Zealand, she has driven the campaign for modern slavery legislation to remove child labour from supply chains, led efforts to align New Zealand’s definition of child trafficking with international standards and advocated for greater protections for children resettling in New Zealand for humanitarian reasons.
Internationally, Rebekah has specialised in best interests of the child in refugee and resettlement cases. Before joining World Vision, she held senior leadership roles at the New Zealand Human Rights Commission and UNHCR in Mashhad, Iran.
Maria Trogolo, Child Fund New Zealand, Programmes Director
Born in Argentina, Maria was shaped by the realities of growing up under a dictatorship—a formative experience that instilled a deep commitment to human rights protection. After completing her law degree at the University of Buenos Aires, she earned a master’s in international relations from Sorbonne University in France, launching her career in humanitarian law. Since then, Maria has accumulated almost 3 decades of international development experience and has worked across continents, from humanitarian law with the United Nations in Afghanistan, post-conflict Easter Europe, and sustainable development in Bolivia, to heading the Fairtrade Programmes team in the Pacific, and leading strategic partnerships with Amnesty International in New Zealand.
Maria currently serves as ChildFund New Zealand’s Director of Programmes, where she oversees the organization’s development and humanitarian projects across 11 countries, with a focus on Pacific Island countries.
