Interesting conversations, good fun and fresh ideas of 26 teenagers, born between 2001 and 2006, were hosted at the Town Hall of Thessaloniki on Sunday, December 16, 2018, in the context of the consultation workshop "Zoom in on Children’s Rights".
The meeting took place in the framework of Global Child Rights Dialogue (GCRD) and the international project GlobalChild, which runs under the auspices of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. The children, after getting to know each other through games and energizers, exchanged views and suggestions on the implementation of the UNCRC, in particular Articles 2 (non-discrimination), 3 (child's best interest), 6 (right to life and development) and 12 (right to be heard). Their views were recorded by a group of social scientists who acted as facilitators in the workshop, and will be sent to the project coordinators (at University of Victoria / Canada, supported by Queen's University of Belfast / Northern Ireland). At the same time, similar child consultation workshops are being carried out in 50 different places of the world, in the context of GCRD. The reports from the implementation of all these workshops will be used for the development of a system to improve monitoring the implementation of UNCRC.
The workshop in Thessaloniki was organized by the Initiative for Article 12 (InArt12), in collaboration with SOS Children's Villages, ARSIS Association for the Support of Youth and the Department of Health Education of the Directorate of Secondary Education in West Thessaloniki. The 26 girls and boys who participated in the workshop come from various schools in the city (Gymnasia: 4th, 13th, 32nd of central Thessaloniki, 2nd Chalkidona, 5th Neapolis, 3rd Menemeni, 1st Oreokastro, Experimental UMAC, Intercultural, Lyceum: 1st, 2nd and 17th Thessaloniki, 1st Cordelio, Intercultural and 1st TEE of Special Education) including also children with disabilities, refugees, Roma and children residing in the SOS Children's Villages, ARSIS and the Lighthouse of the World.
The methodology used in the workshop enhances children's participation in a pleasant and creative way. Children's claims have been highlighted and in particular their wish to be heard, to be taken seriously and their rights to be constantly respected.
InArt12 warmly thanks all children who participated in the workshop, the volunteer facilitators, the teachers who accompanied the children and those who collaborated for their selection, as well as the Municipality of Thessaloniki, which provided the place where the consultation took place.