Children First, Spring 2006: Children’s Thoughts

The official title of the project, Towards Good Governance, Justice and Protection for Children in Turkey, is clear in its meaning but it is difficult to remember easily and it was felt that something shorter was needed in order to attract popular attention. Everyone involved, from the project partners through to the general public and children themselves were consulted on the development of a short title and logo. SHÇEK, with the support of UNICEF, showed some ideas to participants at the Sixth Children’s Forum in November 2005 and asked the children for their first impressions at this important step in the development of the project identity.

It seems to me, said twelve–year–old Eşref from Yalova, that adults only ask our opinion, as children, at events like this. It’s nice to see a family in the picture — we need a good example of how they should behave with their children. Families should support their children.

Twelve–year–old Merve from Iğdır said:

Adults need to listen to what children are saying. They shouldn’t ignore us just because we’re young. That’s why I like the picture of the little girl on her daddy’s shoulders — she looks as though she’s saying something and the rest of the family are not just listening to her — they’re paying attention!

Twelve–year–old Şerife liked the idea of seeing a family as well:

It’s all about respecting our rights as children isn’t it? And I think that the most important rights are health and education. After that I think that children need to be protected from violence and war. I reckon that the Government can do a lot to protect us from these things but I suppose the best place to start protecting children is within the family.

I like the one with the roof over their heads — isn’t that where a family belongs?

Eleven–year–old Emine from Bitlis, twelve–year–old Akın from Muş and fourteen–year–old Gurbet from Şırnak preferred an image with more movement:

Like something is happening and there’s something to be excited about. Also the colours should be bright and strong.

Thirteen–year–old Cengiz from Samsun suggested an umbrella over the family might suit, rather than a roof:

I’ve been living in an institution since I was two and I worry about what will happen when I’m too old to stay there — will I be living on the street when I’m eighteen? That’s why I like the idea of an umbrella — like the roof it means shelter but you can take it anywhere with you.

Fifteen–year–old Özge from Bursa wanted to see something a little bolder:

The figures are a bit hard to make out. This will be quite small sometimes, won’t it? So it might work better if we can bring the family closer together. Then we could make them bigger and easier to see if they’re on a badge or something.

Thirteen–year–old Ömer from Mardin said:

The important thing is that people get the message about child protection when they see this.

Maybe we should have meetings like this more often where we can be heard — not just in Turkey but everywhere in the world.

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Download the Children First Bulletin, Spring 2006 edition, in pdf format. [PDF 1.24MB]

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