UNICEF organizes first Child Rights, Protection and Participation workshopUNICEF organizes first Child Rights, Protection and Participation workshop in Balkan province. Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, 24 June 2005 – The United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF, organised a three-day workshop on Child Rights, Protection and Participation in Turkmenbashi City, Balkan province, from June 21-23 for children and their guardians from the provincial orphanage. The workshop, the first of its kind, is part of a long-term regional UN programme which was launched jointly with the Government of Japan. Two international consultants from the United Kingdom took part in the workshop which also involved close collaboration between UNICEF staff and the Turkmen government authorities responsible for the orphanage. “I am very happy to participate in such training. The state does a lot to support the children in this situation but such training is helpful for children,” said Ms Aybolek Orazniyazova, head of Turkmenbashi City Department of Social Affairs and chairperson of the City’s Women’s Union. “There is one important feature of our collaboration with UNICEF and this project because the work plan is signed by the Women’s Union and the Women’s Union has the mandate for Child Rights and Protection. I have derived a lot from this workshop and I’m sure we can implement these ideas,” added Ms Orazniyazova. The guardians of the orphanage along with some 30 children, boys and girls aged 12-16, took part in three days of discussions, exercises and group work which centred on the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the major international document on children’s legislation, and how this legal framework applies to everyday life. With the children, the UNICEF trainer also introduced the concept of children’s rights and decision making through games and role plays that emphasized both individual and group decision making. “This workshop was good because we had physical exercises through games and we thought a lot too. I found it useful in terms of learning about rights,” said 16-year-old Mekan, one of the young participants who will shortly leave the orphanage. The workshop took place with the cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Women’s Union and Mr Mahboob Shareef, UNICEF representative in Turkmenistan, said he regarded it as another constructive outcome of the joint collaboration between the Government and the United Nations Children’s Fund. UNICEF remains committed to working with the government to help it fulfil its national priorities and international obligations covering children’s rights. For more information, please contact Mr. Brian Hansford, UNICEF Communication Specialist, at:
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