Press Releases

A Word In Your Ear - Listening To Children Is A Priority!

Thursday, 21 December 2006

A series of billboards with children from Foyle View School will go on display around the city to highlight the importance of listening to the views and opinions of young people. The images which feature key decision makers with the children depict the adults as pint sized with the children as giants.

The ‘A Word in Your Ear’ campaign, which is co-ordinated by the Derry Children’s Commission, consists of four different images - each one with a group of children pictured beside a decision maker. The adults who took part in the project included the Mayor Helen Quigley, Joe Lusby FHSST, Barney Mc Neany NICCY and Judge Corinne Philpott QC. To accompany the billboards the Commission have produced a series of posters and postcards to be used in children’s rights education.

The campaign highlights children’s rights and the importance of valuing children and young people and listening to their views.

The Mayor, Cllr Helen Quigley, pledging her support for the campaign said: “Our children are at the heart of the community and their opinions are extremely important. As the city continues to develop, we must factor in what our young people want and what they think is important for the future. I am delighted that Derry City Council is involved in this initiative and has shown the value we place on our younger generation. Their voice must not be lost.”

Clionagh Boyle, Director of Derry Children’s Commission explained the concept

“The Seen and Heard project focuses on children who experience extra challenges in realising their rights. Each billboard displays a relevant article of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child highlighting that children have the right to be treated equally, to good health care, to protection and that decisions should be made in the best interests of the child. The images reverse the traditional power balance, the adults are tiny and the children are giant sized. This is to bring home the message that as adults we are responsible for prioritising the rights of children who often have little power and little say”.

Ethan who took part on the project said ‘We got to meet the Judge and the Mayor, we had a good time, we worked hard and had fun.’ His classmate Jade added
‘ I had great fun and loved meeting new people and doing the photos. They are about the adults listening to us’

The children from Foyle View school who participated, their parents and teachers will then go on a bus tour round the city to view the billboards which are displayed at John St and Culmore Rd on the Cityside and King St and the Railway Station on the Waterside. The ‘Word In Your Ear’ Project was funded by the Derry Local Strategy Partnership under the EU Special Support Programme for Peace and Reconciliation and BBC Children In Need.

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