2009 Children's Week Forum

The United Nations’ Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) is 20 years old and the 2009 Children’s Week Forum about ‘Turning child rights into reality’ gave us the opportunity to take stock of where we have come from, and think about where we want to go. 

At the heart of the forum's dialogue emerged two real issues for all of us:

• How do we turn the words on the page of the UNCRC into improvements for children’s wellbeing? 
• How can we put children’s wellbeing at the front and centre of our services and planning?

The Forum’s keynote speaker Chris Sidoti spoke of how the UNCRC is framed around the four key principles of non-discrimination, protection, development and participation.

Speakers and delegates provided inspiring stories of how they have turned rights relating to all of these principles into reality.  We heard from a group of young people who have found their voice – representing Australia at an international youth conference – and their conviction about the importance of listening to young people.  We heard from a young Aboriginal woman who told us of the challenges she faced in overcoming stereotypes and discrimination to achieve her education.  We heard the 2008 Australian Youth Representative to the United Nations express her desire to have children and young people’s participation built in to all government planning processes. 

We were also reminded of the challenges still to be faced, particularly around providing equal opportunities for our Aboriginal children, and Professor Mick Dodson spoke of the need to ensure Australia is a just and decent country for all Australian children. 

There are positive activities, services and planning underway for children all over the State, and hundreds of examples of where rights are being made real.  I invite you to use this space to share your examples, reflect on how you/your organisation might do things differently, or discuss where you’d like to see action taken to benefit the children of Western Australia.