It's one of the oldest rules in this society - children should be seen and not heard, but the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child says otherwise. It says that children should be seen and heard. That's the name of a new publication generated by UNICEF, which documents various programs that have been completed which give more prominence to the voice of children. But of course, you get the feeling that the folks at the U.N. who make the rules never had to deal with upstart children.
So today, as UNICEF gathered school children for an awareness forum at the bird's isle, we asked some youth leaders to defend the position: why should they be heard, here's what they had to say:
Jules Vasquez Reporting
Jemie Hibberd – Youth Parliament
“Adults were once children, so we the children are the future. If children learn to practice running ourselves like making the decisions from now in the future we’ll be better fit to run this country and make the decisions and make the money as well."
Jules Vasquez
“It’s a perverse strategy to say that they know and they will make decisions. That’s deluding yourselves.
Marleni Cuellar – Children’s Advisory Committee
“Well, actually no. You are not deluding yourself believing that children should… that they don’t have and opinion. It’s not to say that children are going to run the country but at some point they will so why not prepare them from now rather than wait until later when they are older? Education starts from what… when we are 4, 5 years old. We are going to be leaders eventually so why can’t leadership skills start from now too. Leadership skills include participating, taking action, standing up and getting involved and that leads you to who you are going to be later on.”
Jules Vasquez
Q: “Suppose an adult were to say that you aren’t entitled to be heard because you don’t have the proper values that your generation is a generation that is intoxicated by materialism and Americanism and the culture of Hip-Hop which is at the debase culture. How would you answer the criticism?
Herbert Wiltshire – Youth Group Member
“Who are they to judge us? Because you see things, you live life a certain way and we believe or we have different of approaching life that we are wrong? Adults are being left out to make all the decisions and as I can see growing up, no disrespect, when you look at them they are pure rubbish. Look at Social Security. Look at some of the decisions they just give away money. I am over here. You understand. It’s decisions that I know if you would put some youths in there they would make wiser choices that those, as to different things in our society where adults again make the decision… Aye Aye Aye.”
“It’s just what they say common sense but trust me it’s not that common again.”
And this uncommon honesty is perhaps what best qualifies these young leaders who today told an audience of their peers and younger children that by united nations decree, they have a right to be heard:
Starla Bradley- NCFC
“This event is really the catalyst for children acknowledging the fact that they are right holders, understanding their rights and start have them ways in which they think they can actively participate."
For Herbert Wiltshire, that came with his participation in a youth group.
Herbert Wiltshire
“There are many out there in our society, in our country on a whole that don’t know about certain programs like for example the youth group that I am representing: the Youth Advocacy Movement. It was what I call a lucky chance that I even found out about the youth group because what I think other people need to do is to promote more that young people could get active.”
And the idea is that if these children get a sense of collective power, they’ll be able to move on
“So I think that we as young people must look up and realize that they are not taking us lightly and we need to stand up and unite as young people and give the adults a run for their money. Let them see that we deserve to be heard and not only seen and that we don’t only talk, we bite.”
Strong words from a new power generation that seems its not about to let the establishment off the hook easily.
That "bite" was heard throughout today's forum and the work for children's rights has been compiled in the new UNICEF publication, the first of its kind in this region.