Flemish Community

2001 OFFICE UPDATE

Working year: oct. 1st 2000 – sept. 30th 2001

OMBUDSWORK

The amount of individual requests is still increasing. Two part-time ombudsworkers handle incoming questions, complaints and suggestions.

The past year we received 1056 requests.

The majority of those are informative questions (658) on Children's Rights in general, on the work of the Children's Rights Commissioner, or on more specific situations and services.

305 requests were actual complaints on possible violations of Children's Rights or on the work of children’s services. The complaints are mostly about problems regarding the divorce of the parents (24,5%), more specifically custody arrangements and art. 12 violations, followed by family and education issues (22,4%) like violence and abuse, sexuality of young people. Problems in school are also a big topic (19,5 %). Other issues were: free time, or the lack of that (7,6%), social services and youth care (10,4%).

36 cases involved policy suggestions of children.

The number of children who conctacted the office is also increasing (now 34%), which is a good result. This proves that the office becomes more known to children.

INFORMATION AND CAMPAIGNING

The annual campaign in the fall consists of three recurring elements:

	the Children's Rights Festival as the annual kick-off, focussing on the annual theme of the campaign. The Festival offers children a safe experimental environment, full of play, ideas, good practices and entertainment. It is set up as the ideal kid’s city for a day.
	a concrete action-element on the field, lasting several months. In 2000 a voting ballot was set up, parallel to the community elections. Children’s issues were published and sent to the newly elected local authorities. In 6 pilto-communities Megafoon-meeting points were organised to do the follow-up. In 2001 a school-participation-bus will tour around Flanders, visit 30 pilot schools, where participation processes will be set up.
	the booklet ‘Megafoon’ for children aged 8-12 approximately (200.000 copies approx.). This Megafoon explains what Children's Rights are and makes them concrete for children. According to the campaign theme, the relevant rights are illustrated with true stories and ideas for action. The Megafoon also has a virtual component on our website.

The targetgroup in the campaigns are young kids in elementary school, because we want to inform them on their rights, esp. participation rights, as soon as possible so that they can enjoy those rights all through their childhood and adolescence. We also want to aknowledge and appeal to their existing competences.

The campaigns are being worked out during the previous working year.

2000: rights in your neighbourhood (festival, voting ballot, Megafoon)

2001: rights in your school (festival, school participation project, Megafoon)

2002: rights in your family (in progress)

From last year’s campaign children tought us that ‘space for kids’ has become a problem. They say that there is hardly any informal space left for them and that they are banned towards the controlled ‘play-areas’. The informal public space is highly child-unfriendly and not safe.

The Megafoon has been distributed all over Flanders and in six ‘pilot-communities’ Megafoon-meeting-points were established, where children can work out their ideas, get support to work out an initiative of their own. The Children’s Phone serves as a helpline. This project will be evaluated at the end of the year.

The 2001 school campaign consists of the following:

	a touring ‘participation’- schoolbus
	30 pilot-schools working a whole year on pupil’s participation
	brochures for pupils and teachers
	Megafoon

The website is a success with several thousand visitors per month. There is age-adapted information on the Convention and on our work. Children and young people can enter their questions and complaints, can discuss among eachother and can answer our question- of- the- month. Last year we also let children give suggestions on how to organise the annual festival.

For adults there is a ‘documentation’ site where they can read the Convention, the recommendations and the annual report.

(This site is still in Flemish only: www.Kinderrechtencommissariaat.be)

All through the year and within the budgetary restraints, folders, leaflets and posters are being designed and/or reprinted.

The commissioner also takes part in study groups (youth policy, social services for children, students ‘trade union’…), participates in conferences, visits schools etc…

RESEARCH

The sociologist of the team has been working on a large scale questionnaire on the welbeing of children and young people both at home and in school. This is a long term research project of which most results will be published end 2001-beginning 2002.

Last year some results were published, more specifically on the knowledge on both the Convention and the office and function of the Children's Rights Commissioner.

E.g.: 49% knew about a person standing up for Children's Rights (not all of themknew the correct name)
76% knew about the Children’s Rights, only 33% about the Convention as
such.
It also became clear that a major source of information was the school.

POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS

Most of the recommendations had to do with issues on the political agenda (law reform, gov’t initiatives…) It is still difficult to get other Children's Rights on the agenda. The recommendations are supported by the information children give us through ombudswork or other contacts. Recommendations were given on:

	Urban and environmental development,
	Intercountry adoption,
	Equal opportunities in schools,
	Environment and health,
	Advertisements in schools,
	Learning targets in secondary education,
	Cost-free education,
	Lowering the voting age to 16,
	Patient rights,
	Organ transplants and minors,
	Law on family name,
	Unaccompanied refugee children