“In my view, child participation is, at its core, a fundamental right that ensures children all around the world have the opportunity to express their opinions, especially in decision-making processes that affect their safety and well being.”

Today, we caught up with Ioana, a member of Terre des Hommes Child Advisory Board in Romania who took part in the EU Child Participation platform in Brussels on June 27 and 28, helping to shape the platform’s next work plan.

Having volunteered and advised Terre des Hommes, other NGOs and UN entities on strategies and approaches to uphold children’s rights for several years, Ioana is certainly no newcomer to working with adults to make child-focused work more impactful! But it was the first time she had done so with the European Commission. And it was her first visit to Brussels, the capital of the European Union.

We asked Ioana to tell us more about her experience and hopes for the platform.

1. Tell us a bit about yourself

My name is Ioana, but almost everyone calls me ‘Yoyo,’ and I absolutely love it! I’m fifteen years old and I come from Romania. I’ve always had a passion for meeting new people, volunteering, and photography. Recently, I’ve taken up learning how to play the guitar, and it’s been an exciting journey. One thing that people usually don’t guess about me is that I aspire to have a career in business and online marketing in the future.

I’ve always been a firm believer in our power to create meaningful change through volunteering and humanitarian efforts. Over the past few years, this has become one of my greatest passions.

What I love the most currently is campaigning for the environment, child participation and children’s rights.

Each moment spent volunteering, campaigning and working for the common good has given me fulfilment, incredible new information and friendships that will last forever.

2. What does child participation mean to you?

In my view, child participation is, at its core, a fundamental right that ensures children all around the world have the opportunity to express their opinions, especially in decision-making processes that affect their safety and well being.

For us, as children, being able to participate and to speak freely means feeling included and in the end, feeling appreciated as human beings.

I believe that if we are given the opportunity to actively work alongside adults towards a more equitable, safer, healthier world, then our planet will truly flourish.

3. How was your experience being part of this event?

In a word, enlightening! The community formed was very involved and open to all our suggestions. I was amazed by how interactive and fun all of the activities were.

It made us feel safe to express our voices. It was great because the organisers made us feel listened to. We talked about our hopes for this platform and our ideas and we discussed these together.

4. Who did you meet, what did you learn and gain from it?

I met several incredible adults who work extremely hard every day to ensure all children’s rights are being respected. I met brilliant young people my age from different countries who have amazing potential. I met a lot of people who are supporting the same initiatives and we bonded over that.

It taught me how important it is to communicate well and how to better articulate my opinion. I’m very glad to have participated as I gained a lot of interesting new information and learned to always search for solutions and personal improvement.

5. What was the best part of your time in Brussels?

The best part of my journey there was being able to exchange different views about our cultures, the beautiful differences that exist between countries, but also the remarkable similarities that join us together. I even learnt some Irish!

Brussels cast a spell on me during my time there – I was utterly captivated. On the first day, we strolled for nearly 10 kilometers, and every step revealed new wonders that I didn’t quite anticipate in the beginning. I would definitely enjoy coming back and revisiting the city in a few years.

6. What are the most important topics that you want the European Commission to focus on in the Platform’s next work plan and why?

I believe that the most important topics for children at the moment are: fighting poverty; protecting them from wars and climate change; helping them have access to quality education and health services; and shielding them from fake news and all types of discrimination.

All these topics ensure that every child’s right to a happy and safe childhood is treated with the utmost importance by the adults responsible. In the end, I believe that each step we take brings us closer to a world where kindness prevails, nurturing the potential within every child.

7. What do you hope the European Commission will do next with all the great ideas that children shared during this meeting?

I sincerely hope that the conclusions we have taken together will be actively implemented. The topics we discussed hold immense significance for young people, and by collaborating with experienced adults from the European Commission, I believe we can start a meaningful change process in the near future.

We are eagerly waiting to see the decisions that will be taken!

8. What comes next for you, Ioana?

I’ll be spending the next few days in the countryside with my grandparents. I plan to edit all the interesting photos I took in Brussels while enjoying the cooler weather. I’m also excited to continue staying engaged in this type of activity and I’m curious to see what will happen with our ideas in the future.

 

For more details about and photos from the event see here.