Children aged between 13 and 15 will have the opportunity to learn more about their rights, thanks to a seminar organised by the Commissioner for Children entitled Rights 4U.
The Commission said children’s rights education was an area deserving particular attention and importance. Commissioner Carmen Zammit explained that “the fundamental thing within this live-in seminar is that children learn about their basic fundamental rights. We talk about rights. But we have to specify what we mean. We often get criticised for emphasising children’s rights.”
However Zammit said that, “we speak about children’s rights which are given in the Convention. We want to pass on what the Convention says. It speaks about family, education, the right to have some leisure time and health.”
Asked whether children are also made aware of their obligations, Zammit replied: “We mirror their rights as much as their duties. If we talk about respect, we tell them that if they want to be respected, they must respect others.”
Rights 4U, set for next month, will also tackle attitudes and values within a diverse world. The commission will discuss inclusion during practical sessions where participants are coached to develop critical thinking skills, responsibility and independence.
“We are quite cautious when selecting the participants. In total there are 45 of them. Flyers and applications are sent to all government, church and private schools. We make it a point to balance out the amount of boys and girls and most importantly we chose children from different backgrounds, including children with diverse needs and children coming from marginalised backgrounds,” Zammit explained.
Young people who have attended the course last year view the seminar with an open mind. Ramon Bonett Sladden, 16, said: “This course, the first of its kind, was aimed at enlightening adolescents to their rights as enshrined in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. It was a combination of a number of factors which led to my positive judgement of the course.
Firstly, there was the professional way in which it was conducted, especially by the youth workers and personnel. The second positive aspect was that the participants managed to get to know each other enough to select four young people to serve on the Council for Children over a weekend, and the fact that such a decision was taken in such a short time reflects the good planning.”
Other children viewed the seminar as being a good opportunity for interaction purposes. “From these discussions, many important factors were pointed out, such as the type of family one is brought up in, and whether children’s homes are giving the love and attention a child needs in order to build a strong character,” Antonella Portelli said.
“Before I attended this course, I did not know how vast and delicate this subject was. It made me realise that everyone is on the same level as one another, and each one of us should have equal opportunities even if he/she comes from totally different culture and society.”

sagius@mediatoday.com.mt