Youngsters get their own champion, to whom they may pour out woes
Imagine a world where children play a part in the decisions that affect them, where they can take problems, great or small, to figures of authority, where children select the person who can ensure their rights. No, this is not a scenario out of the pages of a children’s book, but a pioneering approach to children’s issues and their rights, implemented by the Children’s Commissioner of Wales, Great Britain. His office is inundated with calls and letters from youngsters who explain problems and suggest solutions. In mid-March, the children’s section of Greece’s Citizen’s Advocate held a seminar along with the British Council where the main speaker was Peter Clarke, Children’s Commissioner for Wales. He spoke to Kathimerini about how children could make complaints and suggests feasible solutions to their problems. But chiefly, he talked about how adults needed to take children’s opinions into consideration.
