No 2/2025 (03/04/2025)

Welcome to the second edition of our 2025 newsletter on the Rights of the Child. Since our first issue this year, several noteworthy events have occurred. The new European Commission completed its first 100 days, where several Youth Policy Dialogues in different member states have taken place including Commissioner Micallef’s visit to Athens and Commissioner McGrath’s visit to Dublin, where he met two members of the EU Children’s Participation Platform. The Commission also announced its 2025 Work Programme. In addition to reflecting on these past events, we are excited to announce that the 15th European Forum on the Rights of the Child (on 23-24 June, with plenary sessions webstreamed) and the 2nd General Assembly of the EU Children’s Participation Platform (for children) will take place this June. We will give you more details in the next Newsletter. If you have any news you would like to share with the network, please submit it to ec-child-rights@ec.europa.eu.

6th Advisory Board Meeting of the Children’s Participation Platform (23/03/2025)

On 24 March, the Platform’s Advisory Board discussed the implementation of the Work Plan 2025-2026, plans for the 2nd General Assembly and the 15th European Forum on the Rights of the Child that will take place in June. On 25 March, child members of the Advisory Board met Commissioner Glenn Micallef. The meeting was a chance for Board members to discuss the matters most important to them with the Commissioner. This included amplifying children's voices in the EU; concerns about online safety and children's access to harmful goods and practices; mental health of children and young people; access to free, safe after-school spaces and activities for all children; and improving the conditions for children in alternative care. After this meeting, children discussed (cyber) bullying with MEP Veronika Cifrová Ostrihoňová.

Youth Dialogue in Dublin (10/03/2025)

On 10 March, Commissioner McGrath held his first Youth Policy Dialogue in Dublin, focusing on democratic empowerment. The 30 young participants, including two of our young members of the EU Children’s Participation Platform, discussed ways to enhance participation in democracy, contributing to the upcoming Democracy Shield initiative. For a glimpse into the young voices of Ireland, read news from the members of the EU Children’s Participation Platform.

Youth Dialogue in Athens (28/01/2025)

On 28 January 2025, Commissioner Micallef held a Youth Policy Dialogue in Athens. The theme of this dialogue was “All in: Promoting Inclusiveness through Sports and Culture”. The Youth Policy Dialogue, which brought together 28 young people from diverse backgrounds, focused on key topics like fostering access to culture and cultural heritage for young people and the role of sport as a vehicle for inclusion, solidarity and social cohesion.

The EU Youth Stakeholders Group meeting in Brussels with Commissioner Micallef (27/03/2025)

On 27 and 28 March, more than 100 youth representatives from across Europe gathered to discuss on the best approach for a youth-driven future. The aim of this meeting was to connect the EU with young people and youth civil society, to help the European Commission have a better understanding of the needs and concerns of young people and to strengthen young people’s role in EU policymaking.

Have your say and have an impact on policy: Intergenerational Fairness (03/04/2025)

The Commission wants to hear what EU citizens think about intergenerational fairness. The Citizens' Engagement Platform is up and running and waiting for input from everyone who has something to say on this important topic.

Call for evidence: European Democracy Shield (31/03/2025)

The European Democracy Shield will address the most severe risks to democracy in the EU and build on the work already done under the European Democracy Action Plan and the Defence of Democracy Package. To further develop and fine-tune this initiative, feedback can be given between 31 March and 26 May 2025.

Have your say: EU LGBTIQ equality strategy for 2026-2030 (01/04/2025)

Discrimination targeting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, non-binary, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ) people has no place in society, but it is a daily reality for many people in the EU. The Commission is therefore proposing a new strategy to combat the inequalities experienced by LGBTIQ people. The initiative will build on the 2020-2025 LGBTIQ equality strategy and focus on hate-motivated harassment and violence and on banning conversion practices. Take part in the consultations and call for evidence.

EU-wide solution to age verification (08/04/2025)

The Commission published technical specifications for the EU-wide solution to age verification on its GitHub website. The objective is to develop an EU-wide solution to age verification that reinforces the Digital Services Act (DSA) objective to ensure safe, secure, and trusted digital space—notably Article 28, which focuses on protecting minors. Contributions are welcome to enhance and refine the specifications. If you would like to contribute to this repository, please follow the guidelines explained in the relevant document.

Safer Internet Day (11/02/2025)

On 11 February, the Safer Internet Day (SID) took place. The aim of this day is to raise awareness of the importance of staying safe online, especially for children and young people. Leading up to this day, AdWiseOnline released materials for families, educators and young people, providing tools to protect YOU(th) from manipulative in-game marketing.

European Migration Network - report on migration and asylum -Q4 2024 (03/04/2025)

The European Migration Network published a report on the updates and developments at EU and national level relating to migration and asylum covering the last three months of 2024. You can find under the section on ‘unaccompanied minors and other vulnerable groups’ specific updates on developments in Greece and Luxembourg regarding this topic.

Funding opportunities - CERV 2025 (03/04/2025)

Three funding opportunities addressing rights of the child under the CERV programme are currently open. Deadlines 29 April and 7 May.

Have your say: EU’s next long term budget (MFF) (12/02/2025)

Share your views on EU funds supporting cross-border education, training and solidarity, young people, media, culture, and creative sectors, values, and civil society. Your input will be taken into account to further develop and fine-tune this initiative.

REPORT: Towards Integrated Child Protection Systems - Challenges, Promising Practices, and Ways Forward (20/03/2025)

In support of the Commission’s Recommendation on developing and strengthening integrated child protection systems in the best interests of the child (2024), FRA launched its report, "Towards Integrated Child Protection Systems - Challenges, Promising Practices, and Ways Forward." It builds on FRA's previous mapping child protection systems in the EU and the 27 national reports from country based research. The Commission will be closely working with FRA in supporting Member States moving forward in their plans in strengthening further their child protection systems.

Empowering Children and Young People to Tackle Cyberbullying (04/03/2025)

On 4 March Vice-President Ewa Kopacz, the Vice-President of the European Parliament, hosted a seminar on “Empowering Children and Young People to Tackle Cyberbullying”, organised in cooperation with MEP Veronika Cifrová Ostrihoňová, the Vice-Chair of the EP Intergroup on children's rights and Alliance for Childhood European Network Group.

Eurobarometer Flash Youth Survey (03/04/2025)

The latest Eurobarometer Flash Youth Survey is now available, offering valuable insights into the perspectives of young people across the EU. Conducted by Ipsos in October, the survey engaged over 25,000 participants aged 16-30 from all 27 Member States.

Case law on the rights of the child (03/04/2025)

This guide provides an analytical overview of the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights related to the rights of the child, including areas such as citizenship, birth registration, surrogacy, contact rights, adoption, international abduction, education, healthcare, housing, immigration, sexual exploitation, violence, trafficking, and many other pertinent issues on children and their rights under the European Convention on Human Rights

UNCRC: draft general comment No. 27 on children’s right to access to justice and to an effective remedy (08/04/2025)

Share your views on the draft of general comment No. 27 on children’s right to access to justice and to an effective remedy.

Council of Europe: Public consultation on a draft Recommendation on Equality and Artificial Intelligence (10/03/2025)

Share your views on the Recommendation on Equality and Artificial Intelligence. This Recommendation will provide non-binding guidance for member states and other key stakeholders.

Putting the Rights of Child Human Rights Defenders Into Practice (03/04/2025)

This guide provides a child-friendly introduction to the rights of child human rights defenders (CHRDs), addressing their challenges, rights, and actions, while serving as a resource for children and adults to better understand and advocate for the rights of these young activists.

Training course on citizen engagement in policymaking (03/04/2025)

The Competence Centre on Participatory Deliberative Democracy offers training courses on citizen engagement in policymaking. They are tailored to EU public officials, civil servants and other government professionals working in local, regional and national public administrations, and to future trainers.

Children’s Participation in Decisions about their Health (03/04/2025)

The Council of Europe produced a comprehensive guide aimed at enhancing child participation in healthcare decision-making. This guide addresses the complexities of healthcare situations, considering diverse legislative frameworks across Member States, and offers practical advice for healthcare professionals.

Girls’ rights over 30 years (08/03/2025)

UNICEF, UN Women, and Plan International released Girl Goals: What has changed for girls? Adolescent girls’ rights over 30 years. The report highlights progress and challenges since the 1995 Beijing Platform for Action, with adolescent girls' voices central to its insights on education, gender-based violence, harmful practices, and health and nutrition.

Training: Exploring Transnational Child Protection – Guidance & Tools (06/05/2025)

The Council of the Baltic Sea States Expert Group on Children at Risk organises a training on children’s rights in transnational contexts.The online training on transnational child protection guidance provides guidance and practical tools for addressing transnational child protection cases.

Programme for Government (PfG) Ireland - child protection (03/04/2025)

The new programme for government (PfG) in Ireland mentions expansions of Barnahus nationally and strengthening measures aimed at preventing violence against children.

Newsletter on the rights of the child No 1/2025 (19/12/2024)

Dear Readers, we closed 2024 which was year full of developments regarding children’s rights. As global trends indicate, never before have children been so exposed to violence and well-being risks due to the devastating effects of protracted conflicts, social and climate changes. But it was also a time when a new European Commission started its work, with new political guidelines, new priorities and with a new Commissioner responsible for the EU Strategy on the rights of the child. For 2025 we should all keep in mind what extra we can and must do, so that all children, all around the world enjoy the full protection of their rights now and have a bright future ahead. Should you have other news you would like to share with the network please submit them to ec-child-rights@ec.europa.eu.

New Commission 2024-2029 (20/12/2024)

The new European Commission started its mandate on 1 December 2024. President Ursula von der Leyen was re-elected for her second mandate and the college of Commissioners was confirmed after hearings by the European Parliament. Glenn Micallef is the Commissioner for Intergenerational Fairness, Youth, Culture and Sport and is responsible for the implementation of the EU Strategy on the Rights of the Child, for an action plan against cyberbullying and for synergies between youth participation and child participation actions.

EU Children's Participation Platform - updates (19/12/2024)

The Platform has a new Work Plan 2025-2026 adopted by the Advisory Board on 2 December 2024, a new video from the meeting, videos form the Create, Plan, Participate meeting that took place in June 2004, the children’s version of the Recommendation on Integrated child protection systems and the report from the consultation on democracy. Visit the website to see all these and read information about the Platform, its events co-designed and co-facilitated by children and documents co-produced by children.

The EU Network for Children’s Rights - 5th meeting (18/11/2024)

The EU Network for Children’s Rights held its 5th meeting on 18 and 19 November 2024. 70 participants from Member States, international and civil society organisations and the Commission reaffirmed the joint EU unwavering commitment to safeguarding and advancing the rights of every child, without any discrimination, in the EU and globally, discussing concrete challenges - and notably how to implement the Commission Recommendation on integrated child protection. The drumming event "Bubnovačka," led by Czech and Slovak delegates, highlighted the need to protect children from violence, on the occasion of World Day for Prevention of and Healing from Child Sexual Exploitation, Abuse and Violence. (Bubnovačka – Dětství bez násilí). This event kicked off an intense week for children’s rights, also marking the World’s Children Day on 20 November (celebrating the 35th anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child), and the week of Childhood without Violence.

Call for participation in a youth policy dialogue on the future of finance (07/01/2025)

On 4 March 2025, Maria Luís Albuquerque, Commissioner for Financial Services and the Savings and Investments Union, will host a 2-hour conversation with young people from the European Union. The topic will be the future of finance. If you would like to take part – and you are a European citizen aged 18 to 30 with an interest in finance – you just need to submit a short video (up to 1 minute) addressing one or several of the questions posted on the website.

Directive on procedural safeguards for children (24/10/2024)

The Commission published the Report to the to the European parliament and the Council on the implementation of Directive (EU) 2016/of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 May 2016 on procedural safeguards for children who are suspects or accused persons in criminal proceedings.

Tracking Framework on the Communication on a comprehensive approach to mental health (19/12/2024)

To mark World Mental Health Day (10 October), the Commission published an updated Tracking Framework on the Communication on a comprehensive approach to mental health together with an EU Support Package on Stigma and a media awareness campaign (#InthisTogether) that focuses on tackling stigma and discrimination around anxiety and depression, which is particularly focused on young people. A joint event (organised by SANTE, WHO-Europe, Mental Health Europe) which was held 20 October 2024 on mental health stigma and discrimination.

The Safer Internet Forum 2024 (21/11/2024)

The Safer Internet Forum 2024 was held in Brussels and on-line on 21 November. For those who might wish to revisit some of the discussions of the day, the recordings from the various sessions, the report and other outputs are available on the Better Internet for Kids (BIK) public platform.

Better Internet for Kids+ (BIK+) -EU Wide Evaluation (19/12/2024)

Its been two years since the launch of the European strategy for a Better Internet for Kids+ (BIK+) in May 2022, which aims to improve age-appropriate digital services and ensure that every child is protected, empowered, and respected online. The Commission is now conducting an EU-wide evaluation of the strategy’s progress and successes together with children and young people, teachers and educators, parents and caregivers, and expert stakeholders from policy, academia, industry and civil society organisations. Special input from parents and caregivers and teachers and educators is vital for this important work. Online group discussions with EU parents and caregivers and teachers and educators, respectively, will be organised from December 2024 onwards. If you are interested in sharing your views, please check the options on the website.

European judicial training report 2024 (19/12/2024)

The Annual Report measures the participation of justice professionals in judicial training in respect of EU law. In collaboration with all institutions involved in training justice professionals, annual reports have been published since 2011. The European Commission annually launches questionnaires to collect data to monitor the implementation of the objectives of the European Judicial Training strategy.

New data visualisation on children in the Eurostat website (06/01/2025)

Eurostat’s put up data a new informative infographic, which covers topics such as education, health, living conditions and more on children and young people in the EU.

Eurostat new publication on migration and asylum in Europe (18/12/2024)

Eurostat has released the 2024 interactive publication Migration and asylum in Europe, providing insights into key questions about migration in the EU using the latest available data. The publication looks at topics such as people migrating to the EU, within the EU and from the EU, international protection and asylum, children in migration, irregular migration, and the skills of migrants.

New call for proposals on the Rights of the child and children’s participation (19/12/2024)

The CERV-2025-CHILD call is published, with an unprecedented budget of 17 million EUR. The call covers three priorities: Children’s rights in the digital age (including promoting children's digital literacy, raising awareness of children’s rights online and reducing the negative impact of digital use on children's well-being), Children’s engagement and participation, to complement the work of EU Children’s Participation Platform, and Embedding a rights of the child perspective in actions at national and local level, to mainstream children’s rights across the EU. The call will open for submission on 16 January 2025 with deadline 29 April 2025.

Call for proposals for 3-year Framework Partnership Agreements and for operating grants in the areas of Union Values. (19/12/2024)

The objective of these calls is to select and support European networks, civil society organisations active at EU level and European think tanks in the areas of Union values, including networks active in the field of promoting and protecting the rights of the child and children’s right to participate, as well as in combating violence against children. The budget for the Specific Operating Grant (SGA) call 2025 is 36 million EUR. The deadline to apply for funding is 28 January 2025 for the Framework Partnership (FPA) call and 5 February 2025 for the SGA call.

New call for proposals - training of justice professionals (19/12/2024)

The Call for proposals for action grants to support transnational projects on training of justice professionals covering civil law, criminal law or fundamental rights is now published. The call budget is EUR 4 075 000. The applicants can submit their proposals between 12 December 2024 and 26 March 2025. The primary objective of the call is to support training promoting the digitalisation of national justice systems. Funding will be provided for training activities and tools for training providers to support training activities for justice professionals.

Call for participation: EU Agency for Fundamental Rights - Youth Advisory Panel (08/01/2025)

The Pilot Youth Advisory Panel (Pilot Panel), launching in 2025, will include seven young people (aged 18–25) with experience in civil society organisations or youth advocacy. They will advise FRA’s Director on future (strategic) priorities, as well as planned and ongoing activities. This pilot group will test and refine the structures and procedures for the Youth Advisory Panel planned to be launched as a permanent initiative in 2027.

EP public hearing to mark the 35th anniversary of the UNCRC (06/01/2025)

European Parliament to mark the 35th anniversary of the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child held a held a public hearing to discuss the Rights of the Child in the EU external policies. The first session focused on the implementation of the Convention's articles in the EU's external policies. The second session concerned the protection of children affected by armed conflicts. In her remarks, Ewa Kopacz, the EP Coordinator on Children’s Rights highlighted that children in conflict zones bear a disproportionate burden of suffering and trauma caused by the violence, which continues into adulthood and impacts the entire societies that today’s children will build in the future.

The European Parliament Intergroup on Children's Rights will continue its work (06/01/2025)

The European Parliament Intergroup on Children's Rights was re-established in the new parliamentary term (2024 – 2029). The Intergroup is composed of members of the European Parliament belonging to different political groups and coming from various countries. They promote and mainstream children's rights in the European Parliament.

Empowering Children's Participation in Malta (20/11/2024)

A high-level event on child participation took place in Malta on 20 November to celebrate the world children’s day, the 35th birthday of the UNCRC and a closure of an Empowering Children's Participation Project (funded by EU under Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values programme). The event was opened by Hon. Michael Falzon, Minister for Social Policy and Children’s Rights with child participation. The project includes capacity building for policy makers, consultations with children, a mobile application for children to share their views and a toolkit on assessing the impact of child participation, developed by by Laura Lundy and children. The project was implemented by the Ministry for Social Policy and Children’s Rights, in collaboration with University College Cork and the Office of the Commissioner for Children in Malta.

JOURNEYS project (20/11/2024)

The EU-funded JOURNEYS project held its closing project events in November 2024 highlighting children’s right to information and participation in the Barnahus context which included a Journeys webinar 5: A safe and informed Barnahus journey for children and a final conference held as a hybrid event in Linköping, Sweden on 20th November 2024.

Final conference - CESAGRAM (09/12/2024)

On December 9th and 10th 2024, Missing Children Europe hosted “The Missing Voice in Grooming” conference in Brussels, bringing together experts and survivors to discuss effective ways to tackle online grooming that leads to child sexual abuse and disappearances. The results of the two-year European-funded project CESAGRAM (Comprehensive European Strategy against Grooming and Missing) were presented at the event.

DAY Project: Empowering Child Participation in Naples (16/09/2024)

Youth delegates from the DAY project: Empowering Child Participation in Naples, met with the European Commission’s DG JUST Child Rights Team in Brussels. For the past 18 months, Eurochild in collaboration with its local member Fondazione l’Albero della Vita, and partner CIDIS, has implemented the Democratic Activation of Youth (DAY) project in Naples, Italy. This EU-funded initiative, part of the Citizen Equality Rights and Values (CERV) programme, has engaged children (14 to 18 years old) in local governance, giving them a voice in decision-making processes that affect their lives.

LGBTIQ+ Missing Children and the GUARD-UP projects (07/01/2025)

Missing Children Europe has recently launched two new projects: the LGBTIQ+ Missing Children and the GUARD-UP project. The first one is carried out in partnership with IGLYO and the University of Portsmouth and seeks to understand the experiences of LGBTIQ+ youth who go missing and the impact of intersectional discrimination. The GUARD-UP project addresses the need to strengthen the support offered to guardians of unaccompanied migrant children. One crucial aspect is training them to effectively respond to the needs of vulnerable children, including those at risk of missing.

Together: Working in partnership with children and youth to enhance their rights in responses to crisis situations such as Covid-19 and other emergencies (07/01/2025)

Within this EU co-funded project, SOS Children’s Villages has worked with children and young people in Bulgaria, Hungary, Italy, and Spain to empower and enable them to participate meaningfully in public decision-making on all topics that affect them.

The project ‘Children's Participation Platforms: Active Citizenship in Decision Making’ (IMCITIZEN) (07/01/2025)

IMCITIZEN is a project funded by the EU's CERV-2022-CHILD programme. It promotes the identity of democratic citizenship of children as active and committed members of their municipalities. IMCITIZEN seeks systemic changes so that child participation mechanisms have a significant impact on public policies and on the education of children's civic and democratic identity.

Child Friendly Justice Network - annual seminar (10/10/2024)

The CFJ-EN held its third annual seminar between 10-11 October 2024 in Brussels and brought together experts from academia, practice, and policy to explore how climate change challenges children’s rights and access to justice. Organised in partnership with Terre des hommes Foundation (Tdh), Justice With Children, CICS.NOVA, and the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), the event provided a forum for discussions on strategic climate litigation and children’s rights to freedom of assembly, building on recommendations from Terre des Hommes’ 2023 report, "Climate In-justice for Children: How climate crisis affects access to justice and children’s rights.

20th anniversary of Eurochild (03/07/2024)

Eurochild’s Convention marking their 20th anniversary of fighting for children’s rights and tackling poverty in Europe was held in in Malta on 2-3 July 2024. The focus was "Fostering Rights-Based Solutions to Tackle Child Poverty and Social Exclusion across Europe". The event, co-hosted by Eurochild and the Malta Foundation for the Wellbeing of Society, featured 15 workshops and study visits.

UNICEF report on birth registrations (06/01/2025)

On the occasion of its 78th anniversary, UNICEF released a new report with updated global and regional estimates on birth registration as well as an overview of progress toward achieving universal birth registration for every child. The right to be recognized as a person before the law is a critical step in ensuring lifelong protection and is a prerequisite for exercising all other rights. This publication draws from more than 500 data sources spanning a period of more than 20 years to present updated global and regional estimates of the number of unregistered children under age 5 and under age 1. In addition, it assesses progress over time and presents evidence for the amount of effort that will be needed – at both global and regional levels – to ensure that all children have a legal identity.

UNICEF report on sexual violence against children (09/10/2024)

UNICEF's report on Confronting the global scale of sexual violence against children presents the first-ever global and regional estimates of sexual violence against children, revealing the magnitude of this human rights violation worldwide. The publication stresses that sexual violence against children is pervasive, cutting across geographical, cultural and economic boundaries. But the scale of this has long been difficult to quantify.

International Day for the Eradication of Poverty (17/10/2024)

To mark 2024’s International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, Eurochild published a documentary that sheds light on how children and young people growing up in poverty or social exclusion can actively shape their communities. It showcases the inspiring achievements and visionary ideas of three young people representing over 2,000 high school students that participated in our EU funded Democratic Activation of Youth (DAY) Project in Naples, Italy.

Ministerial Global Conference on Ending Violence against Children (07/11/2024)

The First Ministerial Global Conference on Ending Violence against Children was held in Bogotá, Colombia, 7-8 November 2024. To advance a collective ambition to end violence against children, representatives from governments and other partners from around the world committed to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development including Goal Target 16.2. It seeks to end abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence against and torture of children. The participants called for the effective implementation of all relevant international and regional instruments to which a state is party and encourage their ratification by those countries that have not yet done so, to finally end violence against children everywhere, in partnership with children and in their best interests.

International Day of Care and Support (07/01/2025)

To mark the International Day of Care and Support, SOS Children’s Villages launched a Global Report on Children’s Care and Protection, focusing on understanding and preventing the separation of children from their families. This report provides insights into the factors leading to the separation of children from their families and offers evidence-based recommendations on how governments and stakeholders can uphold every child’s right to grow up in a family environment. Drawing on global and national research, including new data from eight countries, the report incorporates the perspectives of over a thousand children, young people, families, and child protection professionals. It highlights critical gaps in child protection and social support services and provides recommendations for creating more inclusive, integrated care systems—especially in contexts of poverty, inequality, and violence.

How can we make prison spaces more child-friendly for children visiting a parent (01/12/2024)

The report published by COPE gathered directly views from children across ten countries (nine EU Member States), highlighting critical areas that require attention to make prisons more accommodating for children. Structured to highlight key findings and recommendations, the report outlines the changes that children wish to see and the common issues in prisons they want addressed. COPE advocates for significant changes that will enhance the well-being of children visiting their parents in prison and strengthen the child-parent bond. The report is a call to action for policymakers and prison administrations to create more compassionate and child-friendly environments.

New resources to assist migrant children in transition to adulthood. (01/12/2024)

The Guidance for policy makers and practitioners on regularisation mechanisms for people transitioning into adulthood addresses one on the key reasons why children and young people enter undocumented adulthood. It delves into how procedures and permits can be designed to work better for children and young people. Stepping up: a collection of projects and practices helping migrant children transition into adulthood highlights 25 practices and projects supporting children and young people across the region. It includes chapters on housing, mental health and peer support, mentoring, care and aftercare, legal aid, ‘figuring things out’, regularising one’s stay, cross-border exchanges, outreach work. Both publications are available in English, French, Greek and Italian

Guidance for developing comprehensive, child-centred cooperation to identify, support and assist trafficked children (07/01/2025)

The Council of Baltic Sea States and Child Circle published a Guidance, Creating a Cycle of Protection: Guiding principles and key considerations for developing comprehensive, child-centred cooperation to identify, support and assist trafficked children. As Member States take action to implement these new measures at national level, the Guidance encourages and supports them to take the necessary action to prioritise and respond effectively to the needs and rights of trafficked children.

2024 UNODC Global Report on Trafficking in Persons (11/12/2024)

This latest report records a 25% increase in the number of trafficking victims detected globally in 2022 compared to 2019 pre-pandemic figures. Between 2019 and 2022, the global number of victims detected for trafficking for forced labour surged by 47% The global number of detected child victims increased 31% in 2022 compared to 2019, with a 38% rise recorded for girls. More boy victims have been detected in areas where increasing numbers of unaccompanied and separated children had been recorded. Child trafficking is also on the rise in high-income countries, often involving girls trafficked for sexual exploitation. The Report finds that women and girls continue to account for the majority of victims detected worldwide (61% in 2022). The majority of girl victims (60% detected continue to be trafficked for the purpose of sexual exploitation. Some 45% of detected boys are trafficked for forced labour and another 47% are exploited for other purposes, including forced criminality and begging.

3/2024 (21/06/2024)

While waiting for the sun to show up in Brussels, we have compiled for you the latest news regarding children’s rights in the EU for you. You have other exciting news you would like to share with the network? Submit them to ec-child-rights@ec.europa.eu.

Video - 3 years of the EU Strategy on the rights of the child (21/06/2024)

This video highlights the progress in the implementation of the EU Strategy on the rights of the child. The Commission has put in play many actions announced in the 2021 Strategy. This aims to ensure the protection of all children, puts forward actions to better protect all children to help them fulfil their rights and to place them right at the centre of EU policy making.

Video- Behind the scenes: designing “Your Digital Principles” (21/06/2024)

This video shows how a group of young people from a school in Dublin, Ireland, contributed to the creation of Your Digital Principles by advising on the language, visual style and some examples used in the booklet.

Guidelines on wellbeing at school (21/06/2024)

The European Commission published two new sets of guidelines for education policymakers and for school leaders and educators respectively, to help them address the challenges related to wellbeing and mental health of both young people and teachers.

Webinar - launch of the report ‘Inclusion of displaced children from Ukraine in EU education systems – 2023/2024’ (21/06/2024)

The webinar takes place on 26 June, from 9:30 to 10:30. The European Commission (DG EAC) - in cooperation with the Belgian Presidency of the Council - will present the results of the pilot data collection on the inclusion of displaced children from Ukraine in EU Member States’ education systems in 2023-2024. Please register before 24 June.

Webinar - Wellbeing without overload: integrating self-care in teaching practices (21/06/2024)

On 26 June, the European School Education Platform will run a webinar on how schools can reduce stress and enhance teacher wellbeing, e.g. through practical strategies that help integrate wellbeing into the daily routines of teachers.

Brochure – Keeping our promise to you! (21/06/2024)

The European Comission published a brochure to highlights EU’s achievements in supporting youth related issues including, education, employment, health, and environmental initiatives since the start of the current European Commission mandate in 2019.

European Migration Network Inform - Family reunification for beneficiaries of international protection (21/06/2024)

In the context of the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the Family Reunification Directive (2003/86/ EC) and in light of recent CJEU and ECtHR case-law, the last European Migration Network (EMN) inform examines the legislation and practice on aspects of family reunification for beneficiaries of international protection in EMN Member and Observer Countries.

Have your say on Rights, equality, citizenship and values funding programmes (21/06/2024)

Share your feedback before 27 June. With this public consultation the European Commission asks stakeholders about their opinions on the relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, coherence and EU added value of these programmes. It is available in all official EU languages . All responses are welcome, including from those who do not know these programmes well but are interested in the topics.

Call for proposals - Technical Support Instrument 2025 (21/06/2024)

On 24 April 2024, the Commission launched a new call within the Technical Support Instrument (TSI) 2025 cycle. The aim of this call is to provide Member States with technical support for the design or implementation of reform projects in 2025. In particular, Member States can submit requests for technical support in a broad range of areas, such as green and digital transition, diversity, public and private finance, migration, business environment, health, skills and education. This can for instance cover on-demand tailor-made technical expertise for designing and implementing structural reforms linked to integrated child protection systems.

EU Youth Council meeting (21/06/2024)

On 13 May 2024, Belgium welcomed the Youth Ministers from the 27 European Union Member States for the EU Youth Council.  In this meeting, all 27 Member States adopted four Council acts, including the Council conclusion on the European and International Policy Agendas for Children, Youth, and Children’s Rights. These conclusions aim to strengthen synergies in the implementation between youth policy and children's rights agendas. The text addresses how Member States and the Commission can facilitate a more seamless transition from childhood to adulthood, especially for young people with fewer opportunities, and improve cooperation and exchange between relevant policies, policy areas and levels. It also invites to ensure sure access to children and youth spaces for meaningful, inclusive and safe participation.

MOOC - Meaningful Child and Youth Participation in Public Decision-Making (21/06/2024)

The EU co-founded “Together” project developed a free e-learning course, “Meaningful Child and Youth Participation in Public Decision-Making”. The course is primarily designed for public decision- and policymakers, but it is also relevant for a wider group of professionals who work for and with children and young people.

Project ‘Towards a new governance framework for children and youth policies in Ireland’ (21/06/2024)

The project is part of the European Child Guarantee Flagship, which facilitates the implementation of concrete actions and policies to prevent and combat child poverty and social exclusion, with specific attention to children experiencing disadvantages. It was supported by the Technical Support Instrument (TSI) and implemented by by the OECD with Ireland’s Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. It provided recommendations to improve the governance, monitoring and evaluation of child and youth policies.

Video - Implementation of Barnahus in EU Member States (21/06/2024)

DG REFORM published videos on “How the EU's Barnahus Model Protects Child Victims of Violence”. The European Commission together with the Council of Europe continuously work on promoting ‘House for Children’ with the goal to have Barnahus in all Member States, in line with the Commission Recommendationon integrated child protection systems. Since 2018, Slovenia, Finland, Ireland, Croatia and Spain have been implementing Barnahus with the help of Technical Support Instrument (TSI).

Project: “Strengthening the response to violence against children through better informed policies and enhanced institutional capacity” - Poland and Romania (21/06/2024)

On 26 March 2024, DG REFORM selected a new round of 170 projects under the Technical Support Instrument (TSI), which aims to support Member States in designing and implementing reforms. One of them is a project to strengthen the response to violence against children in Poland and Romania, through better informed policies and an improved capacity of the authorities. The analysis will be used to underpin recommendations and roadmaps and to develop capacity of the professionals to prevent, identify and respond to violence against children. The project will be launched by September 2024, with UNICEF as implementing partner. If you are interested in applying for the TSI or have questions, please contact us at REFORM-B4@ec.europa.eu.

Conference -mainstreaming children’s rights into decision-making (21/06/2024)

On 3 July, Eurochild will host an international hybrid conference on the topic of mainstreaming children’s rights into decision-making through the use of child rights impact assessments. This conference is part of Eurochild’s EU-funded Building Children’s Futures project, in partnership with Ireland’s leading organisations and government representatives for children rights.

1st newsletter from the European Network of Ombudspersons for Children (21/06/2024)

Check out the first newsletter of the European Network of Ombudspersons for Children (ENOC).

Missing Children Europe- call for Youth Board members (21/06/2024)

Missing Children Europe is looking for 5 to 7 members aged between 15 and 24 years old who have experience of running away from the place they live in or being forced to leave, of being in migration and/or being an unaccompanied minor, and of being abducted and/or trafficked. Children and young people who have experience of being at risk of these issues may also apply.

First year of celebrations - International Day of Play (21/06/2024)

Article 31 of the United Nations Convention on the rights of the child (UNCRC) says that children have the right to rest, relax and play. This year, on 11 June, we celebrated the first ever International Day of Play, which aims to champion the importance of children having fun.

Guide to children’s participation in decisions about their health - Council of Europe (21/06/2024)

In April 2024, the Council of Europe published a Guide to children’s participation in decisions about their health, which aims to provide answers and food for thought and pursues efforts to promote a child-friendly, participatory approach to care and research.

First meeting of the European Child Advisory Board - Save the Children (21/06/2024)

On 17 May, children members of the Save the Children European Child Advisory Board met for the first time in Tirana, Albania. Young leaders aged 15-16 from Italy, Albania, Romania, and Sweden came together to work on setting up the board and shaping its future work in Europe. This marks the beginning of a journey to create a mechanism and a safe space for children to both influence the priorities of Save the Children in Europe and to engage directly with EU politicians and national decision-makers. The children have signed up to participate in the board for a minimum of one year, and will during their first term focus on capacity building and external communications, as well as being consulted on the Save the Children in Europe 2025-2027 Strategy.

Recommendation on developing and strengthening integrated child protection systems in the best interests of the child (30/04/2024)

The adoption of this recommendation keeps the promise made in the 2021 Strategy on the Rights of Child and aims to support the development and the strengthening of integrated child protection systems to encourage all relevant authorities and services to better work together in a system that puts the child at the centre. The Recommendation is part of a package, including a Staff Working Document, an Annex and a Communication.

Special edition - Commission Recommendation on Integrated Child Protection Systems (30/04/2024)

A week ago, on 23 April, the Commission adopted the Recommendation on Integrated Child Protection Systems (ICPS)! In this edition of the newsletter, you can get all relevant documents relating to the recommendation in one place. Through the EU Children’s Participation Platform, over 1,000 children gave their views, and we collected views from other stakeholders through Have Your Say portal. If you are reading this, you might be one of them – and we warmly thank all stakeholders who contributed!

Report from the consultation with children on what they need to feel safe (16/04/2024)

The EU Children's Participation Platform asked children across Europe about what helps keep them safe. The ideas that children have shared helped the European Union draft the ‘Recommendation on integrated child protection systems’. Between May and October 2023, 1,095 children from 21 countries of the European Union took part in the consultations. 73% of children were aged between 14 and 17, 27% were between 7 and 13.

Report on the Public Consultation on Integrated child Protection Systems (16/04/2024)

The report from the public consultation on Integrated Child Protection Systems is available online. This consultation was launched to gather views from a wide range of stakeholders and the public, to inform the preparation of the Commission Recommendation on Integrated Child Protection Systems.

4th meeting of the EU Network for children's rights (30/04/2024)

More than 70 people from all over the EU participated in the 4th meeting of the EU Network for children's rights. They represented national authorities and civil society organisations. During the meeting, the Commission presented and discussed the Recommendation on integrated child protection systems and the implementation of the EU Strategy on the rights of the child.

Call for proposals to prevent violence against children – deadline extended (30/04/2024)

The EU is seeking innovative projects that address violence against children, including on improving functioning of integrated child protection systems. The deadline for submission of applications has been extended to 29 May 2024.

FRA – Mapping Child Protection Systems in the EU (Update 2023) (16/04/2024)

In January 2024, the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights published the update of their mapping on child protection systems in the EU. This document gives an overview of the state of child protection systems at national level and developments since the first publication in 2015 and promotes the improvement of integrated child protection systems. It helped in drafting the Recommendation on integrated child protection systems.

Newsletter 1/2024 (15/04/2024)

Dear Readers, with the spring comes this rights of the child newsletter. The EU Children's Participation Platform has grown and has members in 24 EU Member States. The adoption of the Recommendation on integrated child protection systems – coming soon and it is still possible to send your application for funding under the Daphne call. Stay tuned and scroll down to see what has happened and what opportunities are still available.

Survey for children on democracy - open until 30 April (16/04/2024)

The EU Children’s Participation Platform launched an its second online survey for children across Europe to hear what they think about different ways of participating in democracy, voting and where they get information from. The survey is available in all EU languages and open until 30 April.

Report on the Public Consultation on Integrated child Protection Systems (16/04/2024)

The report from the public consultation on Integrated Child Protection Systems is available online. This consultation was launched to gather views from a wide range of stakeholders and the public, to inform the preparation of the Commission Recommendation on Integrated Child Protection Systems. The Recommendation is scheduled for adoption before the end of April.

Report from the consultation with children on what they need to feel safe (16/04/2024)

The EU Children's Participation Platform asked children across Europe about what helps keep them safe. The ideas that children have shared helped the European Union draft the ‘Recommendation on integrated child protection systems’. Between May and October 2023, 1,095 children from 21 countries of the European Union took part in the consultations. 73% of children were aged between 14 and 17, 27% were between 7 and 13.

Joint European Union and Council of Europe Child-friendly Justice Project (16/04/2024)

In January 2024, the European Union and the Council of Europe launched a joint project on child-friendly Justice. It will last until March 2026. It aims at improving the protection of children in contact with the law (as perpetrators, victims, witness or parties in non-judicial and judicial (civil and criminal) and administrative proceedings). Through three focus countries (Belgium, Poland and Slovenia), the objective is to test and finalise a child-friendly justice assessment tool which will help the Member States meet European standards in the matter of children’s rights before, during and after judicial proceedings.

2024 European elections and young people participation (16/04/2024)

The European Commission has published a leaflet to raise awareness among young people on the upcoming European elections. The flyer, in all 24 EU languages details who can vote and why voting in this particular election is important. It also contains information on the opportunities available to young people to boost their impact on the European Union

Policy and Practice Forum 2024 – Climate Resilience: Preparing for the Future (16/04/2024)

On 17 April afternoon, the Commission will host an online Forum entitled ‘Climate Resilience: Preparing for the Future’. Participants will engage in a direct dialogue with policymakers and practitioners in the field of climate resilience, in order to explore strategies to enhance resilience, adapt to changes and mitigate future risks. You can register online.

EducationForClimate: Youth Climate Lab on AI and climate change (16/04/2024)

Between February and October 2024, the Commission, through its Youth Climate Lab, proposes six online sessions on ‘How to approach AI and climate change in learning communities’. These peer-learning world café are opened to young people between 16 and 26 years old.

Call for proposals to prevent violence against children – deadline extended (30/04/2024)

The EU is seeking innovative projects that address violence against children, including on improving functioning of integrated child protection systems. The deadline for submission of applications has been extended to 29 May 2024.

#VoteForChildren (16/04/2024)

On 21 March 2024, the European Parliament’s Intergroup on children’s rights hosted an event that launched the #Voteforchildren campaign. More than 9200 children aged between 10 to 18 replied to the online survey "Europe Kids Want" designed by children and ChildFund Alliance, Eurochild, Save the Children, SOS Children’s Villages, UNICEF and the Child and Youth Friendly Governance Project. Based on the results, the EU should prioritise efforts on education, mental health, combating bullying and violence against children, creating more jobs or study opportunities and addressing war and conflicts

EP – Debate – Building inclusive societies through education, the role of primary schools (16/04/2024)

On 17 April 2024 morning, the European Parliament’s Coordinator on children’s rights, Vice-President Ewa Kopacz, will host a high-level debate on the thematic of the role of primary schools in the building of inclusive societies. The agenda includes presentations from Learning for wellbeing foundation, Czepczyński Family Foundation, European Schools and Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture.

Political agreement on rules enforcing human rights and environmental sustainability in global supply chains (16/04/2024)

On 14 December 2023, the European Parliament and the Council reached the political agreement on the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive. The proposal aims to foster sustainable and responsible corporate behaviour throughout global value chains. Large companies will be required to identify and, where necessary, prevent, end or mitigate adverse impacts of their activities on human rights, such as child labour and exploitation of workers, and on the environment, for example pollution and biodiversity loss.

Political agreement on new rules to combat violence against women and domestic violence (16/04/2024)

On 6 February 2024, the European Parliament and the Council reached the political agreement on the on the Commission's proposal for a Directive on combating violence against women and domestic violence from March 2022. The Directive is a milestone - the first comprehensive legal instrument at EU level to tackle violence against women, which is still too pervasive in the European Union.

FRA – Mapping Child Protection Systems in the EU (Update 2023) (16/04/2024)

In January 2024, the European Union Agency for fundamental rights published the update of their mapping on child protection systems in the EU. This document gives an overview of the state of child protection systems at national level and developments since the first publication in 2015 and promotes the improvement of integrated child protection systems. It helped in drafting the Recommendation on integrated child protection systems

FRA and CoE – Publication of a new guidance for border officials and other authorities (16/04/2024)

The Council of Europe and the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights published a new guidance on human rights standards at Europe’s borders that apply to children. This note summarises the main safeguards of European law and completes the two previous publications in this matter.

UNODC – Targeted by Terrorists: Child recruitment, exploitation and reintegration in Indonesia, Iraq and Nigeria (16/04/2024)

Through the project 'STRIVE Juvenile: Preventing and Responding to Violence against Children by Terrorist and Violent Extremist Groups' funded by the European Union, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the partner countries, Indonesia, Iraq and Nigeria, intend to develop and implement comprehensive national responses to prevent and counter terrorism and violent extremism affecting children. The research study of the project ‘Targeted by Terrorists: Child recruitment, exploitation and reintegration in Indonesia, Iraq and Nigeria’, published in February 2024, has been carried out in these 3 countries to increase knowledge regarding children associated with groups designated as terrorist.

CFJ-EN – First Caravan meeting (16/04/2024)

On 4 December 2023, the Child-Friendly Justice European Network (CFJ-EN) Caravan made a stop at the European Commission before visiting the EU Parliament and meeting with UNICEF and the Ombudsperson for children of the Francophone Belgian Community. This Child Justice Caravan is an initiative proposed by the CFJ-EN to children and young people to visit European institutions, meet with key representatives, become advocates for change in European justice systems and have their rights and needs more respected.

Report: Building Children's Futures (16/04/2024)

The ‘Building Children’s Futures: Using Children’s Rights to Recover from the Global Pandemic’ project is funded by the EU Commission and is being led by the Children’s Rights Alliance in partnership with the Department of Children Equality Disability Integration and Youth, Tusla, Ireland’s Child and Family Agency and Children and Young People’s Services Committees (CYPSC), Eurochild, UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre University of Galway, and Foróige. Using Ireland as a case study, the project aims to document how child participation structures worked during the Covid-19 pandemic and identify best practices in Covid-19 responses in Europe. The project will explore how a child rights-based approach, utilising Child Rights Impact Assessments (CRIAs), can be embedded in decision-making in times of emergency.

ECJ – European arrest warrant (16/04/2024)

The surrender of a requested person cannot be refused on the sole ground that she is the mother of young children. By judgement of 21 December 2023, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that a court cannot refuse to execute a European arrest warrant (EAW) on the sole ground that the requested person is the mother of young children living with her. However, that court may exceptionally refuse that person’s surrender if two conditions are satisfied.

The European harmonised technical standards on the safety of toys should be accessible to EU citizens (16/04/2024)

Judgement of the Court in Case C-588/21 P | Public.Resource.Org and Right to Know v Commission and Others. In 2018, the European Commission refused the request of two non-profit organisations to be granted access to harmonised technical standards concerning the safety of toys. In 2021, the General Court upheld that refusal. Relying in particular on the principle of the rule of law and the principle of free access to the law, the Court considers that the possibility for citizens to acquaint themselves with those standards may be necessary in order to enable them to verify whether a given product or service actually complies with the requirements of such legislation. Accordingly, the Court finds that there is an overriding public interest in disclosure of the harmonized standards in question.

UN – Committee on the Rights of the Child – General Comment on Children’s Rights to Access Justice and Effective Remedies (16/04/2024)

During its 95th session in January 2024, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child decided to draft its 27th General comment on children’s rights and to dedicate it to access to justice and effective remedies. The objective is to instigate States Parties to undertake appropriate actions to ensure children’s right to access justice and effective remedies. The Committee stated clearly its intention to involve Children in the drafting process.

Exhibition – Brussels – ‘From Despair to Hope: Children Beyond Armed Conflict’, P. DOWLING (16/04/2024)

From 21 March to 28 April 2024, a photography exhibition of Paddy Dowling, a humanitarian photojournalist and correspondent, takes place at the BOZAR Museum of Brussels. The exhibition was opened by Vice-President Dubravka Šuica, Virginia Gamba, the UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict and a representative of the Federal Public Service Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation of the Kingdom of Belgium. This collection of portraits shows children around the world who suffered, in different ways, from armed conflicts. The entrance is free.

UN online course – The Children and Armed Conflict (16/04/2024)

Until the end of the year, the United Nation system Staff College is proposing a free self-paced online course about children and armed conflicts. The course presents the UN Agenda on this topic and offers the possibility to contribute, through your work, to the implementation of this agenda.

Newsletter 4/2023 (18/12/2023)

Dear Rights of the child community. 2023 is coming to an end. We wanted to start this edition of the newsletter on a positive note, but it is difficult looking at the situation around the globe and the impacts on children. “Children do not start conflicts; they deserve and need peace,” was rightly put in the Joint Statement by the European Commission and the High Representative issued on the World’s Children Day. Nevertheless, we will try to bring some positives. In the same statement, we read about the upcoming Commission Recommendation on the integrated child protection systems, on the EU Children’s Participation Platform, Better Internet for Kids, European Child Guarantee and many other initiatives that took or will take place to make children’s live easier and happier. And this is our wish for 2024. For every child. Every right.

EU Children’s Participation Platform – one year on (18/12/2023)

The Platform celebrated its 1st birthday in October during the third Advisory Board meeting – the first one with children. Over the year, the Platform had its first General Assembly, first consultation with children on what they need to feel safe and adopted its first Work Plan. You can read about it all in the Platform’s newsletter or on the website. The Platform has currently 50 member organisations from 20 EU Member States.

Clear Writing Award 2023 (18/12/2023)

Documents prepared for the General Assembly of the EU Children’s Participation Platform won an award in the Winner in the External communications materials category! Big thanks to members of the Platform and all partners - we wouldn't have done this without you!

Victims’ rights campaign – keep your eyes open – focus on children (18/12/2023)

The book ‘The Girl Who Kept Her Eyes Open’ aims to raise awareness among children (7-10 years old) and adults (parents and teachers) of the problems suffered by people fleeing war and their rights. Through the story of a Ukrainian refugee child meeting a particularly observant little girl in her new school, it shows the importance of paying attention to others in order to recognize the victims of crime - in this case, the victims of war-related crimes - and offer them support. The book is available in 13 languages (English, French, Dutch, Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Estonian, Hungarian, Latvian, Polish, Romanian, Slovak and Ukrainian).

Safer Internet Forum 2023 (23/11/2023)

Safer Internet Forum (SIF) 2023 took place on 23.11.2023 with a theme of Empowering YOUth with skills for the Digital Decade. The event was organised in a youth-led manner, with 41 young people from 22 European countries playing an active role in planning, preparing and delivering the Forum through the Safer Internet Forum Youth Advisory Group (SIF YAG) and the BIK Youth Panel. More than 150 participants joined the event in person, with an additional 700 registering to participate participating online, and jointly representing 93 countries across the globe.

Early Childhood Education and Care – discover ECEC wiki (18/12/2023)

The ECEC space of the European Education Area website (aka the “ECEC wiki”) offers documents and resources on children’s rights and early childhood education and care. One of the latest documents is the 3rd report related to monitoring and evaluating quality of ECEC considers the importance and ways for “Involving children, parents, staff and stakeholders in monitoring and evaluating quality of early childhood education and care”.

Early Childhood Education and Care – policy brief (18/12/2023)

The Policy brief "Staff shortages in early childhood education and care" examines the extent, impact (incl. on the implementation of the Child Guarantee and the Barcelona targets), causes and solutions of ECEC staff shortages across Europe. It is currently available in English only, but translations in all EU languages will be available online in December.

Pathways to school success – report on assessment practices (18/12/2023)

A new thematic report was published by the Working Group Schools – Pathways. It looks at new assessment practices and argues that in addition to standardised tests, new assessment methods are needed that capture a broader range of learning aims. This means not only assessing knowledge, but also the ability to use knowledge in various contexts – as well as learners’ personal and social development and well-being.

European Education Area- factsheets on well-being and mental health (18/12/2023)

The European Commission together with NESET (Network of Experts on the Social Dimension of Education and Training) created a series of factsheets on on well-being and mental health in schools. The European Education Area promotes the development of a ‘whole-system, whole-school approach’ to address mental health and well-being in schools and build positive learning environments for all learners and their teachers.

World Mental Health Day Conference (18/12/2023)

To mark World Mental Health Day on 10 October 2023, the European Commission held a half-day, high-level conference in Brussels, hosted by Stella Kyriakides, European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety. This event brought together hundreds of representatives from the EU institutions, national governments, international organisations and other interested partners to raise awareness of the new approach, hear from experts, including on those specilising in child mental health. Those with lived experience, including young people shared their stories and recommendations. One chapter of the new communication on mental health focuses on children.

EU Learning corner – newsletter November 2023 (18/12/2023)

This edition of the EU learning corner news looks into upcoming EU elections and proposes several resources on the EU, elections, voting and democracy.

European Youth week 2024 (18/12/2023)

European Youth Week 2024 (12-19 April) is an event organised by the European Commission every second year to celebrate and promote youth engagement, participation and active citizenship all over Europe and beyond. Next year it is titled "Voice your vision” and will focus on democracy & European elections. See more on the European Youth Portal

New call on the rights of the child (15/11/2023)

The 2024 call on the rights of the child is open for applications until 26 March 2024 with a substantial increase of the budget (from 2 to 12 million EUR). The call covers four priorities: Children’s mental health: prevention, protection and support; Embedding a rights of the child perspective in actions at national and local level: mainstreaming, national strategies, data, budgeting; Children’s engagement and participation: national and local level, to complement activities of the EU Children’s Participation Platform; Understanding democratic rights, which starts in childhood: education, creative learning, civic rights

New call on combating violence against children (19/12/2023)

New Daphne call is open for applications until 24 April 2024. One of the priorities looks at funding targeted actions on improving integrated child protection systems.

Framework partners get together (19/10/2023)

On 19 October, the European Commission held a meeting of CERV Framework Partners. The aim was to take stock of the successes and challenges faced by the partners so far, as well as look ahead at the coming years of collaboration. For the rights of the child session, we met online with ENOC, InHope, COPE, MCE and Child Helpline International. Read more about our partners in the document.

FRA – Children who fled Ukraine face rights challenges in the EU (29/09/2023)

FRA’s third bulletin on ‘The Russian war of aggression against Ukraine’ examines how best to protect the fundamental rights of children now in the EU who fled the war in Ukraine. It also identifies the steps some countries have taken and highlights various areas of concern like keeping track of children, access to education and mental healthcare, as well as the situation of children who were evacuated from Ukrainian institutions.

European Guardianship Network on World Children’s Day (20/11/2023)

On 20 November, EGN issued a document reporting on a conversation between European policymakers, guardianship organisations and young people on strengthening guardianship for unaccompanied children in Europe, hosted by the European Parliament.

Spanish presidency of the of the Council of the European Union - child participation (19/12/2023)

Children's voices across borders - 30 children (from 12 to 17 years old) from 10 countries (Malta, Ireland, Germany, Luxemburg, France, Portugal, Poland, Austria, Czech Republic and Spain) took part in a conference organised by the Spanish presidency of the European Council , with the support of UNICEF Spain and Plataforma de infancia. For the first time, a Presidency conference was fully dedicated to child participation.

EU Contest for young scientists 2023 (18/12/2023)

The European Union (EU) Contest for Young Scientists (EUCYS) is the most important student science fair in the EU, showcasing the best of student scientific achievement in the EU and beyond. Each year, the event brings together promising, talented students & bright young minds (14-20 years old) from all over Europe and beyond, to present their projects to a panel of international judges.

SOS Children’s Villages -e-learning training on child participation (18/12/2023)

A new e-learning course as part of the EU co-funded project “Together: Working in partnership with children and youth to enhance their rights in responses to crisis situations such as COVID-19 and other emergencies”. The free course, “Meaningful Child and Youth Participation in Public Decision-Making,” aims to remind and refresh adults with policy and decision-making responsibility of their duty to uphold children’s rights by seeking children and young people’s views and taking them into consideration when making decisions that impact their lives. It is targeted primarily at public decision- and policy-makers, but it is also relevant for a wider group of professionals who work for and with children and young people.

European Court of Human Rights - climate change and child rights (18/12/2023)

Six children and young people (11-24) filed filed a lawsuit against 32 governments, including all EU member states, the UK, Norway, Russia, Switzerland and Turkey. They accuse these countries of insufficient action over climate change and failing to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions enough to hit the Paris Agreement target of limiting global warming to 1.5C. The case is the first of its kind to be filed at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg.

New online survey for children - The Europe kids want (18/12/2023)

The survey is open until the 15th of January in several EU languages for children between 10- and 18-years old living in the European Union. The objective is to gather the views of children ahead of the EU elections on what future EU leaders should prioritize. The results will be consolidated in a report that will be launched in March. The consultation is put together by ChildFund Alliance, Eurochild, Save the Children, SOS Children’s Villages and UNICEF.

Child friendly justice network Caravan at DG JUST (04/12/2023)

On 4 December 2023, the CFJ-EN Child Justice Caravan made a stop at DG JUST, before visiting the EU Parliament and meeting with UNICEF and the Ombudsperson for children of the Francophone Belgian Community. The Child Justice Caravan is an initiative proposed by the CFJ-EN to children and young people to visit European institutions, meet with key representatives from these institutions, and become advocates for change in European justice systems and have their rights and needs better respected.

ENOC – annual thematic focus November 2023 (18/12/2023)

ENOC’s 2023 annual thematic focus addresses the role of Independent Children’s Rights Institutions (ICRIs) in advancing children’s rights in Europe.

Behind the screens: early findings from the VOICE research (29/11/2023)

The VOICE research aims to listen to the views of children and caregivers and share their insights and opinions about online child safety to inform policy at the national and EU level, as well as globally. Using a mixed-method approach across 15* countries, the VOICE partners consulted a total of 316* children through focus group discussions and surveyed 6618 caregivers. As we start to delve into what children are telling us, this report offers a preview of the valuable perspectives of parents and caregivers on online safety, along with some initial reflections from children.

Eurochild – new report on child poverty (18/12/2023)

Eurochild’s new report “Poverty takes away the right to childhood”: Children’s perceptions of poverty in 4 EU Member States features the results of consultations with over 200 children (aged 10-18) in Bulgaria, Croatia, Malta and Estonia on child poverty. It presents how children view poverty and how they perceive its effects on their peers at home, in school, and in their community.

Littsint- Anger management for parents (18/12/2023)

Steinar Sunde, specialist psychologist and cognitive therapist at the Family Counselling Centre in Molde, developed a website, e-book and anger management app with support from the Norwegian Directorate for Children, Youth and Family Affairs. Littsint is a service providing free materials for parents who want to work on anger management.

Newsletter 3/2023 (18/09/2023)

Dear Readers, in this post-summer edition we will share with you the report from the General Assembly of the EU Children’s Participation Platform. You will see reminders about ongoing calls for actions, consultations and registrations for conferences. We will also let you know about some interesting events and projects, including about TODAY’s launch of the UN General Comment 26 on children’s rights and the environment, with a special focus on climate change. We wish you a nice read.

State of the union 2023 – achievements and priorities (13/09/2023)

EU Children’s Participation Platform is one of key achievements of the current Commission: “The Commission fully recognises children and young people as active citizens and agents of change in our European democracy. For this reason, we are setting up a permanent on- and offline EU Child Participation Platform to enable children across the EU to participate in EU decision-making in a systematic and meaningful way. This platform is being built together with children, civil society organisations and the European Parliament.” The Commission Recommendation on integrated child protection systems is included on the list of priorities for 2024. Last week President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen talked about the state of the Union. You can re-watch it online with subtitles in all languages and in international sign language.

Deadline extended! We want to hear from children about child protection (18/09/2023)

The online survey on what children need to feel safe is still open for children until the end of September. Please help children with filling it in and share with others.

Reminder- we also want to hear from adults (18/09/2023)

In the EU Strategy on the rights of the child, we promised to propose how to better protect children and bring all relevant authorities and services to work together in a system that puts the child at the centre. The open public consultation and a call for evidence for adults on the initiative on the Integrated child protection systems are now available on line. Please respond before 20 October 2023.

Report from the General Assembly – EU Children’s participation platform (18/09/2023)

It was not easy to summarise all that happened and all conversations that took place during the general assembly! Have a look at the report and spend some moments diving into the atmosphere of the meeting recoded in videos and photos.

Still time to send best and promising practices on mental health (18/09/2023)

The Commission collects best and promising practices on mental health. Please contribute before 29 September.

Stakeholder webinar - A Comprehensive Approach to Mental Health (21/09/2023)

It will take only 90 minutes on 21 September to get to know what the new Commission’s Communication on mental health is about, including actions related to children.

World Mental Health Day conference (10/10/2023)

On 10 October, join Stella Kyriakides, European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, representatives from the EU institutions, national governments, international organisations and other interested partners. At the conference you will hear from experts and those with lived experience, exchange on good practices and new approaches. The conference will cover the topics: Mental health across all policies; Promotion & Prevention; Equal access for all

Learn more about child participation–CP4EUROPE website (18/09/2023)

You can find many useful tools on the website, for example: the Child Participation Assessment Tool (CPAT) and its child friendly version, the Handbook on children’s participation for professionals working for and with children; a child-friendly campaign package a to raise the awareness of national and local authorities on the importance of child participation. Also a Moodle/online training course for professionals working for and with children.

Join online - Global Launch of the General Comment No.26 on children’s rights and the environment (18/09/2023)

An official launch event of the General Comment no 26 happens today. 16,333 children from 121 countries contributed to the text. The launch event will be live broadcasted and archived at: https://media.un.org/en/webtv A virtual celebration hosted by children and young people together with Terre des Hommes will take place from 15:00 – 16:30 CEST. Click on to see more about this online meeting. In this general comment, the Committee emphasises the urgent need to address the adverse effects of environmental degradation, with a special focus on climate change. The document clarifies the obligations of States to address environmental harm and climate change. The Committee also explains how children’s rights under the Convention on the Rights of the Child apply to environmental protection, and confirms that children have a right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment.

UNGA 2023 side event on child participation (19/09/2023)

During this meeting you will hear from child and youth delegates about their recommendations for child participation. EU Commissioner Suica will open the event and present the EU Children’s Participation Platform as key initiative to recognise children as agents of change. The meeting is organised by Joining Forces Call to Action and co-hosted by the European Union.

Council of Europe Raoul Wallenberg Prize 2024 (18/09/2023)

The Council of Europe Raoul Wallenberg Prize was set up in 2014. It rewards individuals, groups or organisations for their extraordinary humanitarian achievements. The sum awarded is €10 000 and the award ceremony will take place at the Council of Europe on 17 January 2024.

Newsletter 2/2023 (11/08/2023)

Dear Readers, In this summer edition, we will share some wonderful memories from the first ever general assembly of the EU Children’s participation platform. And just a day after the general assembly, the rights of the child team lived through more amazing moments –thanks to the European Ombudsperson who awarded our work with children on the EU Strategy on the rights of the child. There are also reminders about the ongoing consultations on the integrated child protection systems, and other opportunities for children and adults to share their voices and opinions. We wish you a nice end of the summer season.

General Assembly – EU Children’s participation platform (26/06/2023)

More than 60 children, members of the EU Children’s Participation Platform came to Brussels on 26-27 June. It was the first time children met each other, representatives of the European Commission, European Parliament, EU Member state administrations, civil society organisations and us, the rights of the child team. Over two days children talked about what child participation is and should be, and what would they like the platform to become and do. They also visited the European Parliament, took a tour around Brussels to see its hidden germs and tasted famous Belgian chocolates.

General Assembly continued (11/08/2023)

Our thanks to everyone who was there. It was a truly wonderful event and you can see that from the photos and upcoming videos on the platform’s website. The recording from the two plenary sessions is also available.

And the EU Ombudsperson special award for good administration goes to… (28/06/2023)

The rights of the child team! In reality, it’s an award for everyone who worked on the EU Child rights strategy before and after its implementation – and first and foremost, the children who contributed to it! This award is really special – we got it for working with children for children, and received it the day after the first general assembly of the EU Children’s participation platform. We got a lot of congratulations on the work and achievements, and many questions about how, what and with whom we had done all this. Starting from consultations with children, then child friendly versions of the strategy, and guidelines on how to work on child friendly documents, training sessions for EU staff, etc.

We want to hear from children about child protection! (11/08/2023)

In the previous edition of the newsletter, we shared the link to the online survey on what children need to feel safe – t is still open for children until the end of August.

We also want to hear from adults (11/08/2023)

In the EU Strategy on the rights of the child, we promised to propose how to better protect children and bring all relevant authorities and services to work together in a system that puts the child at the centre. The open public consultation and a call for evidence for adults on this initiative are now available on line. Please respond before 20 October 2023.

Call for best and promising practices on mental health (11/08/2023)

Last time we informed you about the new Commission document on mental health: a new Communication on a comprehensive approach to mental health. As part of the activities coming out from this document, the Commission started collecting best and promising practices on mental health. Please contribute before 29 September.

Final conference: Make the difference (11/08/2023)

The EU-funded project "Make the difference – together for child protection in families with addiction issues" is coming to an end. A final online conference will take place on 18 September 2023, 10:00-11:15 (CEST). 📌 Highlights: • Keynote presentation by Gisela Hansen & Lucia Goberna (Dianova) on Children's Rights in Addiction Care and relevant EU Policies • Overview of the "Make the Difference" Project's objectives, successes and lessons learned • Insights from Project Partners on impact and challenges

Children: tell the Spanish presidency what’s important for you (11/08/2023)

In July, Spain took over the presidency of the European Union. They immediately launched an EU-wide survey to collect children’s views on what is important for them. The online survey will be open until 28 August. The findings of these consultations will inform a call to action, developed by children themselves, which will be presented before the Spanish government and other decision-makers in Spain in September 2023.

The UN wants to know how children can be safer on-line (11/08/2023)

UN Special representative on Violence against children with over 30 organisations that form a POP network (protection through online participation) would like to know how children and young people use the Internet to access protection. They will use the results of the survey to make recommendations on how to improve online tools.

Strengthening families: How family strengthening can help prevent the unnecessary separation of children from their families (11/08/2023)

This report from SOS Children’s Villages explains why it is important to invest in family strengthening in countries across Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia. It features the components of child protection and family welfare systems that need to be in place for a range of integrated and quality family strengthening services, and showcases programmes in Bulgaria and Latvia.

European Court of Justice: Best Interests of the child in return procedures (22/06/2023)

A recent ECJ decision states that the EU Return Directive must be interpreted to say that children’s best interests must be protected at every stage of a return decision. The children’s best interests could not only be considered after the return decision, when the court could decide to suspend enforcement of the return decision on the basis of the children’s best interests.

Child Helpline International launches new (O)CSEA position paper and data report (22/06/2023)

In April, Child Helpline International published a position paper on the role of child helplines in prevention, detection, and victim support for children against (online) child sexual exploitation and abuse. This publication outlines the position of Child Helpline International, provides European child helpline data and information on (O)CSEA 2019-2021, and includes a discussion on OCSEA and underreporting, and what can be done about it.

FRA and the European Guardianship Network: Training for guardians of unaccompanied children (22/06/2023)

The EU Agency of Fundamental Rights (FRA), in close coordination with the European Guardianship Network, to developed training material for guardians and trainers. All unaccompanied children are entitled to a guardian under EU law. Guardians require specific knowledge and skills to promote the rights and best interests of the unaccompanied children they are responsible for. To guide guardians, FRA created an online training and a training platform as well as a trainer's manual for guardians. The training contains practical exercises, case studies and quizzes to assess participants’ knowledge and other resources to allow participants to further develop their skills. The manual It helps institutions, organisations and individuals train guardians or deliver ‘train-the-trainers’ courses in a range of training contexts

EPSUM: Teaming up with children in migration (22/06/2023)

SOS Children’s Villages, War Child Holland and Save the Children joined forces to prevent mental health problems in refugee children. The EU-funded project ‘EPSUM - Enhancing Psychosocial Wellbeing of Unaccompanied Minors’, organised training for professionals and volunteers in Italy, Greece and Sweden and supported to integrate within existing services for children in migration. TeamUp facilitators guide children through games, sports-related activities, dance, body awareness exercises and creative movement that contribute to their physical, cognitive, social and emotional development. They are also trained to timely identify children experiencing mental distress and in need of targeted specialised support and refer to relevant services.

Youth participation: models used to understand young people’s participation in school and community programmes (22/06/2023)

If you want to learn more about the many different forms youth participation can take, this study by Headstart might be of interest. Headstart is a UK-based programme aiming to explore new ways to improve the mental health and well-being of young people. Its new briefing reviews different models of youth participation and illustrates the numerous ways young people can be involved in programmes in schools and communities. For school and community programmes working with young people, models of participation can be a useful way of understanding the influence that young people can have on mental health interventions and supports. With this briefing, Headstart hopes to empower professionals to share leadership of activities with young people, where feasible.

FRA survey on Fleeing Ukraine - Displaced people experiences in the EU (22/06/2023)

This report points at concrete challenges faced by people fleeing Ukraine, with a specific focus on children (who responded to a specific questionnaire). In general, most respondents did not face difficulties when travelling into and within the European Union. Less than half of those who were in education shortly before fleeing Ukraine have continued their education in the host country. The language barrier is the main reason for this. Almost two thirds of children availed themselves of online education provided by schools or universities in Ukraine, or taught themselves using materials and other support from Ukraine. Worryingly, about half of the younger children (aged 12–15) who participated in the survey report having difficulty sleeping and/or concentrating, a loss of self-confidence or feeling vulnerable

Heartbeat of Humanity: Mental Health of Children in Migration (22/06/2023)

Give a listen to the recent episode on ‘Mental Health of Children in Migration’ of the podcast Heartbeat of Humanity. In this episode, IFRC Psychosocial Centre Communications Officer Jesper Guhle explores how humanitarian actors can support the mental well-being of children in migration. One of the guests is Orso Muneghina from SOS Children’s Villages International, who tells us more about the Epsum project mentioned in this newsletter.

Unicef-Policy briefs on ECEC for Ukrainian children (22/06/2023)

In March 2023 UNICEF released two policy briefs on the integration of young refugee children through early childhood education and care and expanding early childhood education and care for Ukrainian refugee children. • Building Bright Futures - How to integrate Ukraine's refugee children through early childhood education and care. • Building Bright Futures - What is needed to expand early childhood education and care for Ukraine's refugee children.

FRA Fundamental Rights report 2023 (22/06/2023)

Published on 8 June 2023, with a specific section on rights of the child: The number of children at risk of poverty and social exclusion continued to increase in 2022. High energy costs and rising inflation placed additional burdens on the households in which families with children are struggling to cover basic needs. Alongside the arrival of children fleeing Ukraine, the arrival of other non-EU asylum-seeking children continued to increase. As a result, several Member States struggled to provide basic reception conditions, and some continued to detain children in the migration context. The European Commission issued several legislative proposals on victims’ rights. Member States have thus taken numerous legislative steps in the protection of children involved in justice systems as victims, as witnesses or when in conflict with the law.

UN Special Representative on Violence Against Children: Let’s Tell the World (22/06/2023)

All across the globe, children and young people are taking actions to end violence and make the world a better place. These projects deserve the spotlight. The Let’s Tell The World campaign aims to map child- and youth-led initiatives everywhere. Fill in this survey to tell the world how you are making it a better, healthier, safer, more equal, more inclusive and more innovative place. You can fill in a survey and tell the world about your project.

Applying Safe Behaviours: Preventing and responding to peer Violence (22/06/2023)

Childhood is not a fight arena! This is one of the key messages developed by young people as part of the EU co-funded project “Applying Safe Behaviours: Preventing and Responding to Peer Violence Amongst Children and Young People”, implemented by SOS Children’s Villages. A free e-learning course and series of explainer videos were developed for all adults who care for and work with children and young people. For young people, two awareness-raising videos were created using stories and ideas from the project’s International Young Expert Group. Children aged 8-11 can have a look at a children’s booklet created by groups of children in each of the project countries.

“Strengthening Families: How Family Strengthening Can Help Prevent the Unnecessary Separation of Children from their Families (22/06/2023)

This report from SOS Children's Villages makes the case for the importance of investing in family strengthening. The report provides recommendations regarding the prevention of unnecessary placement in care. This includes situations when the fully assessed circumstances of a child reveal there are no protection concerns but support is needed to address other vulnerabilities within the family to ensure the child does remain at home. The report was developed with the aim of being helpful to policy-makers and practitioners from government and civil society, and others working in child protection, social protection, and social services.

The Unaccompanied Children in Alternative Residence (U-CARE) (22/06/2023)

The EU Co-funded project was implemented by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), Greek NGO ARSIS and Belgian foster care agency Pleegzorg Vlaanderen. The project reinforced family-based care in Belgium and Greece, developed prototypes to support UMC in their transition to adulthood in Germany and built the capacity of care professionals and (future) foster families in various EU member states. All of the U-CARE tools were developed in exchange with (inter)national experts, social workers, (aged-out) UMC and diaspora and migrant organizations and were disseminated widely in the final months of the project, in the EU and beyond. For more information or questions, please reach out to Anke Van de Velde, U-CARE project manager: avandevelde@iom.int

Newsletter 1/2023 (12/06/2023)

Dear Readers, In the first six months of 2023, we have focused on the two key initiatives of the 2021 EU Strategy on the Rights of the Child: the EU Children’s Participation Platform and the preparation of an initiative on integrated child protection systems. We are happy to let you know that the EU Children’s Participation Platform is up and running! We are pleased to share with you the link to become a member of the platform and the link where children can respond to the first survey on integrated child protection that will feed into our forthcoming initiative. Please use them, share them and contribute to promoting child participation in democratic life and policy making across Europe. We have also been supporting supporting civil society organisations through funding, we kept on mainstreaming children’s rights across EU policies - for example within the new Communication on a comprehensive approach to mental health. Read about this all in our newsletter. Thank you all for your daily work to make their children’s lives better, and for all your efforts to make their rights a reality on the ground.

Child participation on the move! (12/06/2023)

The EU Children’s Participation Platform is now open with first activities on their way. We have children from more than 40 civil society organisations, and more applications in progress. If your organisation or someone in your network is interested in joining the EU Children’s Participation Platform, just share or follow the link to find our more and apply.

EU Children’s Participation Platform - 1st General Assembly (12/06/2023)

The first General Assembly to be held on June 26-27 in Brussels. The Assembly will bring together children, their organisations and child rights stakeholders. It’s going to be a unique event with space for friendship, fun and lots of listening to what children have to say. The opening and closing session will be webstreamed. #EUChildparticipation

Boosting the mental health of children and young people (22/06/2023)

On 7 June, the Commission adopted a new Communication on a comprehensive approach to mental health. Childhood is a crucial stage in mental health. One chapter specifically looks at difficulties that children and young people face and proposes some practical solutions to better prevent mental health problems and to help altogether those in need of assistance.

We want to hear from children about child protection! (22/06/2023)

In the EU Strategy on the rights of the child, we promised to propose how to better protect children and bring all relevant authorities and services to work together in a system that puts the child in the centre. The first step is now to ask children what they need to feel safe. All children below 18 can reply to the child friendly survey, first one under the CPP. It is available in all EU languages - please share the link with children. We will publish an open public consultation and a call for evidence for adults on this initiative in the coming weeks. We will keep you posted. Thus please keep this link for children only! The results of the child and of the open public consultation will feed into the document that is planned for adoption early 2024.

Dear Readers, (26/09/2022)

It is almost the end of 2022. Thank you for reading our newsletter and for promoting and protecting the rights of the child. We have been busy this year with the implementation of the 2021 Strategy on the rights of the child (see below about the latest bits), with supporting civil society organisation through funding (more about a new Daphne call in this edition), the 2022 Forum on the rights of the child (see links to its report below) and other important files to mainstream children’s rights across EU policies. Our thoughts go this year to all victims or the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. This year it may be a good idea to support one of the organisations helping Ukrainian refugees. And broadly to all children disproportionally affected by war, crisis, poverty, disasters and climate change around the globe. Thank you all for your daily endeavor to make their life better and all your joint efforts to make their rights a reality on the ground. Warm end of the year greetings!

EU Children's Participation Platform is becoming real! (20/12/2022)

One commitment of the EU Strategy on the rights of the child was to work on bringing children closer to the decision-making processes in the EU. The EU Children’s Participation Platform is being set up to fulfill this commitment. The Platform is being co-created, in partnership with the European Parliament, child rights organisations and children themselves. ICF and its partners (selected through an open tender procedure), incl. Save the children and SOS Children’s Villages, prof. Laura Lundy and prof. Cath Larkins, have started working on the Platform. Early next year, organisations that already work with children (e.g. national children’s parliaments; children city councils; children’s boards advising international non-governmental organisations) will have a possibility to join the platform by replying to call for expression of interest. We will share it as well and let you know more about the Platform.

14th European Forum on the rights of the child (16/12/2022)

The full conference report, including a child-friendly version are now available on the webpage. On 27, 28, 29 September 2022, the 14th European Forum on the rights of the child took place. This year’s theme was “Bringing Children to the Centre: Empowering, protecting and including children”. The event took place online, with over 430 participants, and some speakers present in Brussels. 40 children took part both remotely and in-person, 12 children spoke at the plenary, while others shared their views during the parallel workshops. A special focus was given to child participation, key actions under the EU Strategy on the Rights of the Child and children in conflicts. Vice-President Šuica launched the EU Children’s Participation Platform. We also had a round of consultation on integrated child protection systems.

Youth Action Plan (YAP) in EU external action 2022-2027 (16/12/2022)

On 4 October 2022, the European Union adopted the first Youth Action Plan (YAP) in EU external action to strengthen engagement with young people and children worldwide. The YAP is guided by three pillars of action that will help shape the EU's partnership to engage, empower and connect young people and children in partner countries worldwide. European Commission Vice-President for Democracy and Demography Dubravka Suica said: “We need to empower children and young people across the world, ensure that they have concrete opportunities and promote the effective engagement of young people and children as a right, ensuring no one is left behind. We share the collective responsibility to build more democratic, equal and peaceful societies, also for future generations.”

Equality package: Commission proposes new rules for the recognition of parenthood between Member States (20/12/2022)

The European Commission adopted a proposal for a Regulation aimed at harmonising at EU level the rules of private international law relating to parenthood. The proposal is focused on the best interests and the rights of the child. It will provide legal clarity for all types of families, who find themselves in a cross-border situation within the EU, be it because they move from one Member State to another to travel or reside, or because they have family members or property in another Member State. One of the key aspects of the proposal is that the parenthood established in a Member State of the EU should be recognised in all the other Member States, without any special procedure.

EU ministers adopt recommendations on early childhood education (20/12/2022)

In September 2022, as part of the European Care Strategy, the European Commission proposed that Member States revise the targets on early childhood education and care to enhance women's labour market participation, also called ‘the Barcelona Targets', set in 2002. On 8 December, the Council adopted a recommendation that encourages Member States to increase participation in on early childhood education and care to: (1) at least 45% of children below the age of three; and (2) at least 96% of children between the age of three and the starting age for compulsory primary education. The recommendation also covers qualitative aspects and the territorial distribution of care facilities. When it comes to affordability and accessibility, Member States are encouraged to limit out-of-pocket expenses for parents and to offer solutions for parents with atypical working hours allowing them to better reconcile work, family and private life.

Safer Internet Forum (20/12/2022)

This year's Safer Internet Forum (SIF) took place in a hybrid format on Thursday, 27 October 2022 with a theme of A Digital Decade for children and youth: BIK+ to protect, empower and respect! SIF is a key annual event where policy makers, researchers, law enforcement bodies, youth, parents and carers, teachers, NGOs, industry representatives, experts and other relevant actors come together to discuss the latest trends, risks and solutions related to child online safety and making the internet a better place.

Ethical guidelines on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and data in teaching and learning for Educators (16/12/2022)

The European Commission published a set of ethical guidelines for educators on the use of AI and data in education. The guidelines are intended for primary and secondary teachers and can be used by educators with little or no experience with digital education. They clarify popular and widespread misconceptions about artificial intelligence (AI) that might confuse people and cause anxiety over its use, especially in education.

EUcraft – a digital simulation game (16/12/2022)

Step into the shoes of a national minister and experience EU decision-making by negotiating on real topics that matter for you. Agreeing on a common charger for your devices, banning single-use plastics or supporting the transition to electric cars and greener buildings – it's all in your hands. Play EUcraft – a digital simulation game. Available on web and mobile (15+).

Citizens, Equality, Rights, and Values (CERV) and Justice 2023-2024 work programmes adopted (16/12/2022)

On 25 November 2022, the Commission adopted the new two-year work programme 2023-2024 for the Justice programme and, on 1 December, the two-year work programme 2023-204 for the CERV programme. First 2023 calls were published on 6 December 2022 (see below). The CERV programme is the biggest EU fund ever available for promoting and protecting EU rights and values (1.55 billion over 7 years). Together with the Justice programme (305 million euro over 7 years), it contributes to build a Union of Justice, Rights and Values.

New call on combatting violence against children - apply until 19 April 2023 (20/12/2022)

This year, for the first time, Daphne call is a re-granting scheme. The EU funding goes to intermediary organisations, who fund the capacity building and organise calls for proposals for smaller civil society organisation active at local, regional, national level. Activities should focus in particular on: a. Providing victim support tailored to the specific needs of victims b. Preventing violence c. Tackling gender stereotypes as root causes of gender-based violence d. Strengthening child protection systems

UNCRC consultation on the first draft of General Comment No. 26 (26/09/2022)

The United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child is inviting children and young people and the global community to share their views on the first draft of General Comment No. 26., on children’s rights and the environment with a special focus on climate change. The consultation is open until 15 February 2023.

Missing Children Europe celebrate 20 years of European action for missing children (16/12/2022)

On the occasion of its 20th anniversary, Missing Children Europe honoured Her Majesty Queen Paola of Belgium for her extraordinary commitment to the cause. For 20 years members across Europe have been striving to find missing children and fight against their sexual exploitation. What started off with enthusiastic attempts to work together and speak the same language has evolved into a stable and effective structure for ongoing cross-border cooperation and exchange. The organisation dedicated its 20th anniversary to the Ukrainian children being forcibly deported to Russia.

PROMISE Barnahus Network members at the first Barnahus Forum in Stockholm (20/12/2022)

Around 170 participants from 23 countries met at the Barnahus Forum 2022 in Stockholm to exchange practices, challenges, learnings, and the ongoing development of work. The Forum was co-funded by the PROMISE projects (co-funded under EU CERV programme), and also by the PROMISE Barnahus Network’s membership fees. The main organiser was the Council of the Baltic Sea States, which is the host of the PROMISE Barnahus Network.

Towards Barnahus in All European States; Ensuring the rights of every child (20/12/2022)

On 16 November, on the occasion of the European Day on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse (18 November), a high-level event on Barnahus model was organised by the Council of Europe and the Council of the Baltic Sea States, under the Icelandic Presidency of the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers. The event brought together high-level key international actors with the aim to explore the Barnahus concept, including what works, opportunities for improvement, and potential adjustments to national legal frameworks.

Rucksack Project – a book about and for children of Ukraine. (20/12/2022)

Created in collaboration with the Children and War UK Foundation, the Rucksack Project is a book created not only about the children of Ukraine, but for the children of Ukraine. Every picture book distributed to displaced Ukrainian children comes with a separate exercise book, a simple booklet of advice for parents, carers, teachers - wherever they might be - who are reading RUCKSACK to the children, with the aim of the book becoming a soothing personal possession to support the mental health of the young readers.

Transition of unaccompanied minors to adulthood (16/12/2022)

New EMN inform explores the situation of all unaccompanied minors reaching adulthood who are classified as unaccompanied minors in the Member States and Norway – including, to the extent possible, both those who do and do not apply for asylum.

“This is my Life, and I Don’t Want to Waste a Year of it”: The experiences and wellbeing of children fleeing Ukraine (16/12/2022)

Since the escalation of conflict in Ukraine on 24 February 2022, more than 1,000 children have been killed or injured in the country. This is tragic and likely an underestimation. By October 2022, nearly one-third of the population was displaced and more than 7.6 million refugees from Ukraine were recorded across Europe. Thousands of children and families are still being forced to flee, while violence and fighting make it hard to access essential healthcare and education. Save the Children research with more than 1,000 children and caregivers in eight European countries, shows that children who have left Ukraine face significant challenges adjusting to their new environment.

Cost-of-living Crisis: How it affects children in Europe and what governments need to do (16/12/2022)

The conflict in Ukraine and the subsequent increase in the cost of living has brought unbearable challenges in the life of millions of children. Families and children in vulnerable situations are among those most exposed to the daunting impact of rising inflation. Skyrocketing costs risk plunging financially stable families into poverty and sinking millions of vulnerable children into deeper poverty. Collecting data and testimonies from Save the Children’s teams working in 12 European countries, the policy paper delves into the devastating choices families must make, mental health issues, education, and leisure services.

(In)visible children – Eurochild 2022 report on children in need across Europe (16/12/2022)

This report highlights the recommendations and priorities that EU decision-makers and national governments can do to support the most vulnerable children and prevent widening inequalities. Based on input from Eurochild national members from 22 countries across Europe, the report provides feedback on the 2022 European Semester Country Reports and Country Specific Recommendations; the development of the Child Guarantee National Action Plans and further analysis of the situation regarding child poverty and social exclusion; and members’ knowledge and experiences of EU funding programmes.

What Makes Me? Core Capacities for Living and Learning (20/12/2022)

A high level event at the European Parliament launched a study, run by UNICEF- Innocenti Centre, Learning for Well Being Foundation and Fetzer Institute, called “What Make Me?” The report depicts 9 core capacities fundamental for developing competencies and skills that support lifelong learning and child wellbeing. These capacities - empathizing, relaxing, observing, listening, inquiring, reflecting, sensing, embodying and discerning patterns- need to be cultivated at the early stage of our life. Adults also need to be aware of them since they are essential for learning and living during the entire circle of our life. MEPs, the European Commission, UNICEF, researchers and stakeholders discussed with civil society participants the importance of putting children at the centre of decision-making.

Child-friendly justice network (20/12/2022)

At the occasion of the first Annual Seminar "A 360 view on child friendly Justice" on 12-14 October 2022, the Child-friendly justice European network (CFJ-EN) released its first handbook on child friendly justice. It includes a compilation of resources, key legal standards and case law, agendas and opportunities at European level for 2022-2023. The handbook, updated yearly, is available in English and will soon be available in French. The Child Friendly Justice European Network, co-funded by the EU under CERV Programme, aims to ensure that justice systems are adapted to children’s needs and specificities. It intends to exchange information and expertise, further disseminate useful tools produced and gather them to make them more accessible.