The First Children’s Forum, 2000: Why a Children’s Forum?

We are child delegates drawn from the 81 provinces of Turkey. As is the case in many countries of the world, we are endeavouring to help ensure the promotion, expansion, and exercise of children’s rights in our country.

We began our activities one year ago today. First, we formed our children’s commissions in all provinces under the guidance of the Social Services and Child Protection Agency (SHÇEK) in collaboration with UNICEF and the Ministries of National Education, the Interior, Health, and Labour. In each province, our friends of varying backgrounds became familiar with the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and expressed their concerns and wishes on these commissions.

When we gathered together as friends and colleagues in the Children’s Commission from all of the provinces at the First National Children’s Forum, we realised how common our problems were, and how similar our expectations from the persons and agencies who are responsible for us. We collated the views and wishes that emerged during the Forum into a declaration and presented them to the President. There, at the highest level of the State, we got the promise that our concerns would receive attention.

The CRC envisages that everyone under the age of 18 enjoys the rights to survival, development, protection, and participation. We are aware that it is not realistically possible to do away with the barriers to our rights all at once, and to alleviate our difficulties immediately. We are also aware that any decisions taken by adults without hearing our voices, without including us, and in ignorance of us, will be useless.

It was for this reason that the Right to Participate, which we had defined when we met as provincial child delegates in October, became the theme for the Children’s Forum which we held between the 20th and 21st of November, 2000. We declared that from now on, we want to participate in the decisions which have an impact on our lives in the family, at school, in the media, in the administration of justice and in health. We sought answers to questions about what should be done to lift the barriers to our participation -- how, by whom, and when.

On the first day of the Children’s Forum, we had group discussions. On the second day, we deliberated on the conclusions we had reached as groups the previous day. We presented the action plans that we subsequently developed to President Ahmet Necdet Sezer and received a pledge of support.

Even though the year-long Rights of the Child Promotion Campaign is over, we will continue with our efforts because we know that exercising our participatory rights will contribute to our development; help improve our ability to make decisions, overcome our problems, share and cooperate; help us to understand the true meaning of democracy; teach us to respect others’ rights and to defend our own rights.

We the children expect both material and moral support from adults in all circumstances so that our efforts are not in vain. What we want from you is simple: put your hand on your breast and feel the heartbeat of the child inside of you, sense that enthusiasm and joy of living, and then see just how right we are. Now extend your hands to leave a warm touch in the heart of every child -- believe us, we desperately need this.

With wishes that you nurture the child in your heart forever.

Continue to the next section Opening Speeches.

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This fully illustrated report from The First Children’s Forum, 2000 is also available for download in pdf format. [PDF 417KB]

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