Internationalism, the universal child and the world of children's literature

Today’s children perceive the world from the perspective of photographs taken in outer space. They understand the concepts of lands and waters without national boundaries – boundaries that were never capable of limiting the flow of air or ocean currents or ideas. It is therefore especially appropriate that the highest prizes for children’s literature should be international, representing the universality and diversity of children and their literature and offering young readers books and ideas that flow as freely as ocean currents.