Several NGOs launched on Tuesday a nation-wide project aimed at raising awareness of children's rights among children. Dubbed "My Rights", the project will be coordinated by the Slovenian branch of the World Association for the School as an Instrument of Peace.
According to Ombudsman Matjaz Hanzek, whose office has joined the project, this is a way of establishing direct contact with students, teachers and, indirectly, parents, in promoting children's rights.
A survey conducted by the School as an Instrument of Peace in the seventh grade of primary school suggests that students and teachers alike have very poor knowledge of the very important provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Hanzek pointed out.
The poor knowledge is also evident in the great number of violations, said Hanzek, as the survey shows that 98 percent of children know at least one person who was a victim of violence in the past two months, while 83 percent would like people to help them in such cases.
The Ombudsman's office wishes the project to encourage children to report violations, which Hanzek believes far outnumber the complaints that his office receives. One of the reasons is that children do not know where to turn and what their rights are, Hanzek noted, hopeful that the project would improve the situation.
Alenka Bregant, head of the Slovenian School as an Instrument of Peace, stressed that the project is indeed necessary. Not even teachers are aware of the importance of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which is legally binding, and the impact it has on their work, she said.
To inform children, the organisers have compiled a kit consisting of a CD-ROM and flash cards, which were designed with participation of children. It is hoped that the project would reach out to 86,000 primary school students and teachers this year.
The project has also been backed by Amnesty International Slovenia, the UNESCO network of schools, the Government Institute for Education, the Ministry of Education and other NGOs.

Source: STA, 30 September