KinderRijk Children’s Council 2023

International Children’s Rights Day is celebrated on 20 November, which is the day when we celebrate that children have special rights. These rights were officially enshrined in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1989. One of the rights in this convention is the right to participation, which is why at KinderRijk, we created the Children’s Council.

The sixth edition of this Children’s Council was held on Wednesday 22 November. Margreet, the director, received 11 children from six different after-school care locations at the head office. After a pleasant joint lunch, the meeting was kicked off. It started with the ‘installation’ of the members. The director Margreet presented the one and only Children’s Council button to the members, which made them official members of the KinderRijk Children’s Council.

Theme ‘Celebration’

The topic this time for the Children’s Council was celebration, which fits in with the upcoming festive month. Using the visual communication sheet “Hey what are you celebrating?”, director Margreet discussed with the children questions such as “What does celebration mean to you?”, “What festivities do you celebrate at home?”, “Who will come to the celebration?”, “What do you eat or drink at that celebration?”.

They also talked about how at KinderRijk we can celebrate, for example, a birthday at after-school care or a farewell. The afternoon ended with a pleasant gathering after the meeting in the canteen and the children received a bouquet of flowers as a thank-you gift

The KinderRijk Children’s Council gives children a strong voice, their opinions count and their observations provide many useful insights!