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.