Mallorca: 100 experts push to give children a say

Mallorca: Around 100 social care workers and council representatives meet in Porreres on Friday, 30 October, to look at how more children and teenagers can take part in local activities and decisions. The Mallorcan Institute of Social Affairs hosts the meeting, its fourth on prevention and community work, according to Mallorca’s island council.

Leisure activities are a focus. At the close of the meeting, Guillermo Sánchez, the island councillor for social welfare and president of the institute, says it is not enough to offer children a chance to speak: their views must count when decisions affect them.

Experts from Mallorca and elsewhere in Spain join UNICEF representatives to share ways of involving children. Examples from Murcia and Parla, in the Madrid region, show how councils can bring young people’s views into decisions.

Four workshops cover differences in how children think and learn, accessibility, inclusive participation and first-hand experiences. Young people and families also describe barriers to taking part. Their contributions and the workshop proposals feed into the closing discussion on how to give children’s opinions more weight.

Topics: Social affairs · Porreres

Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com