Participants of the 2020 Forum on the rights of the child included children and young people, national authorities and policymakers, judicial and child protection practitioners, ombudspersons for children, independent experts, international and non-governmental organisations, academics, EU institutions and agencies.

This year’s Forum was part of the consultation process that will lead to the new EU strategy on the rights of the child and we gathered a wealth of inspiration.

During Day 1 we put children right at the centre of debate, democracy and decision-making. 

Day 2 was dedicated to discussing the disproportionate impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on children and their basic rights – especially those who are already in vulnerable situations.

Day 3 was full with inspiring and informative content, with a particular focus on the wide range of policy areas in which children’s rights do – or should – play a pivotal role, including migration, healthcare, education, public transport, social policy, technology, and the prevention of risks such as online abuse and addiction.

The Forum was a milestone in terms of child participation – never before were children involved so much in the preparations for the Forum and participation in the event. The need to put more efforts into child participation came also strongly through in speeches, comments, word cloud, etc.

Children organised and led a workshop on child friendly justice, engaged in an opening conversation with Cssr Reynders, spoke in all sessions and workshops. The idea of introducing the 25^th EU language, the child friendly language was born during the Forum, one child participant was invited for a showing exercise to the European Parliament. Una from Serbia presented the conclusive remarks on behalf of children participating in the Forum.

For more photos, videos, graphic recordings, this website.