Romanian Children's Board renewed with 15 new teenagers

BUCHAREST, 10 August 2023. 15 teenagers have joined the Romanian Children's Board this month, bringing energy and fresh ideas, after a recruitment and selection process carried out by the children who were already part of the group set up at UNICEF's initiative.

The Children's Board, established in 2019 in the context of Romania's Presidency of the Council of the European Union, promotes children's rights, and in particular the right to participation, in numerous media and public events, participating in debates and speaking in plenary sessions of national and international organisations and contributing to the development of public policies.

The new members come from all over the country, are of different ages, genders and abilities, from different ethnic backgrounds and from both family environments and the child protection system.

For the first time, the new Board includes a teenager from Ukraine, a refugee in Romania. The 15 new members, selected from a total of over 220 eligible applications, join, ahead of the International Youth Day (12 August) the 18 existing members who have not yet reached the age of 18.

"I am passionate about volunteering, I am involved in climate change awareness activities and I am interested in research in the field of psychology, primarily on issues related to anxiety and depression. I also enjoy hiking and love spending time in nature. One of the main reasons I applied for the Children's Board was to promote Article 12 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child - the right to participate in decision-making and consultation in the decision-making process", said Octavian, 16, from Oradea.

Kateryna, a 15-year-old teenager from Ukraine, who is passionate about painting, hopes that participating in the Board's activities will help her broaden her horizons and share her creations with other art lovers, this contributing to a better integration in the country of refuge.

Adelina, who lives in Galați and is 14 years old, is passionate about debates and said: "...I felt that I can do a lot more with the skills I have and that I can use them to do something beneficial for Romania and especially for the children living there".

"I am a brave, wise, loving person who has gone through many challenges in life but has managed to stay positive. Although I grew up in a difficult environment, I am a dedicated student who dreams of continuing her studies at university level", said Maria, who is 16 years old and is a beneficiary of the child protection system.

You can discover all the members of the Romanian Children's Board here. The board meets online this week to welcome new members. A physical meeting will be held early next month. 

"We welcome the new members to the Children's Board and look forward to working closely together with our partners on many projects to promote children's rights," said Jean-Benoit Manhes, acting UNICEF Representative. "UNICEF supports consultation and participation of children in decisions that concern them. Together with such a diverse and dynamic group, we will certainly succeed in putting children's rights higher on the public agenda and contribute to public policies for children and adolescents".

About the Romanian Children's Board

Among the activities and initiatives in which the Children's Board is involved are consultations through the U-Report platform on various issues concerning children; involvement in the Child Friendly Cities Initiative within the project "Romania for every child"; drawing attention to the importance of mental health, especially in the context of the post COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine; promoting media literacy among adolescents; engaging in the process of the Situation Analysis of Children and Adolescents in Romania; engaging in the process of creating and implementing the Strategy for the Protection and Promotion of Children's Rights 2022-2027, as well as the National Action Plan on the implementation of the Children's Guarantee; marking international children's days, such as 1^st of June and the World Children's Day. 

More details on the work of the Romanian Children's Board can be found here.