This month marks the 30th anniversary of the Netherlands' signing of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. To mark the occasion, a flash survey was conducted among over a thousand young people under 18 by State of Youth* and the Children's Rights Collective , of which Kinderpostzegels is a member. The aim of the survey? To amplify the voice of young people on several important issues.
Before the research, Noud (11) from our Children's Stamps Panel was asked to contribute his thoughts. This morning, he, along with fellow panel member Adit (11) and vice-chair of the Children's Rights Collective Lars Westra, attended the presentation of the report to the House of Representatives. With "A Young Look at Children's Rights," we call on the government to take action because:
- 𝐊𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐧 As many as 56% of young people do not know that they have special rights under the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
- 𝐉𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 On a scale of 0 to 100, young people give an average score of 38 for the way their opinion is listened to.
- 𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐑𝐄𝐃𝐈𝐉𝐊 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐳𝐢𝐣𝐧 30% of young people believe that the stress and pressure they experience at school should be resolved first. They want performance and test pressure at school to be reduced, so that there is more focus on the development of young people (58%).
- **URGENCY ISSUES** 36% of young people consider it an urgent problem that the opinions of all young people are not being listened to properly and that some groups are being excluded. According to them, for example, the government should support young people living in poverty (48%).
- JUVENILE COURSE OF DEVELOPMENT When it comes to juvenile criminal law, 22% of young people consider it an urgent problem that not enough attention is paid to the child/person, and too much to their crime. They see a solution in good education and training for these young people (46%).
- 28% of young people consider it an urgent problem that they do not have enough say in their own situation. They want the Netherlands to provide easy access to help, without young people having to wait long for it (56%).
Lars asked Noud if he knew that children have special rights. Noud replied, "Yes, I knew I had children's rights, but I didn't know exactly what they entailed. Now, with my connection to Kinderpostzegels (Children's Stamps), I understand them much better."
The full report can be consulted via Kinderrechten.nl.
*State of Youth is an initiative of KidsRights .
Photography by Dirk Hol
