opatija_magazine16pag

OCTOBER 2018
Opatija
COVERED
Eurochild Conference ‘18
/croatia/opatija

Childpress!
For and by
Children!
We are Childpress.org - a network of school
children, looking for people that inspire and
move us. Like true journalists we get in dialogue
with the people around us to discover their
talents and inspiring stories. We do interviews,
host talkshows and publish our findings in onand
offline publications.
This magazine shows the most inspiring people
we found in Opatije during the Eurochild
Conference 2018. We hope they inspire you with
their words and action. They sure inspired us!
Dear reader,
Facebook and other social media platforms are
threatening people’s relationship to professional
media. Unfortunately, this contributes to a
lot of wrong information. We have too much
information available, and it is difficult to
navigate through this jungle of information. That
is why it is very important with events like the
Euro Child conference.
Freedom of speech is an important fundamental
right that we need to maintain. Nevertheless,
children’s tend to be ignored. ChildPress
keeps standing for our core values; to ensure
that children’s are being heard. This is one of
the reasons why we consider the Euro Child
conference as very important. We keep fighting
for our main agenda: let the children’s be heard,
and we will move the world together!
What effective
initiatives
by children
do you know?
Mats Pedersen,
Chief editor
2

Eurochild
conference
2018!
This COVERED magazine covers the people we
met during the Eurochild Conference 2018 in
Opatija, Croatia. The Eurochild Conference
in Opatija will bring positive examples of how
public decision-makers at local, national and
European levels are respecting the right of
children to participate in decisions affecting
them. The event brings together practitioners,
researchers, civil society actors, policy and
decision makers along with children and young
people themselves to contribute to improving
children’s participation in public decisionmaking.
More info can be found here:
https://www.eurochild.org/events/
eurochild-conference-2018/
WE ARE
ONE THIRD
OF WORLD
POPULATION!
There are leaders to find in Europe who
are active and effective in getting child
participation organised in their country.
At the conference representatives of
various governments are learning from
us. They will be presidents of the EU in
the coming period.
This magazine is made by 8 children from
3 different PressCentres accross Europe.
By sharing our good examples locally,
we represent the voice of all children
worldwide - 1/3 of world population!
Jana Hainsworth
Secretary of Eurochild
3

Common
sense now:
Prioritize
children’s
rights in
decision
making!
99 Children,
39 Countries,
1 Agenda!
It is our wish, desire and goal for every citizen
of the world to fully respect and practice the
United Nations Convention on the Rights of
the Child (UNCRC). For only children can move
worlds!
Inclusion
& Participation
Education
We want to
be educated
about the facts
climate change!
Vappu, Generaton Z - European School,
Brussels, Belgium
Climate
Safety
UNCRC Article 12
I have the right to
be listened to, and
taken seriously.
UNCRC Article 13
I have the right to
find out and share
information.
4

This is what
we do!
Childpress is about children and having our voices
heard! As curious young citizens we explore the world
around us. As friends, in classes or from local libraries,
we work together as true PressCentres, to discover our
1. INCLUSIVENESS
& PARTICIPA TION
2. SAFE SOCIETY
3. CLIMATE
4. EDUCATION
POLITICS
What do
politicians
do?
PROFESSIONALS
What do
professionals
know?
neighbourhoods, to cover the people around us and to
uncover the topics that are important to our generation!
Like true journalists, armed with a microphone, a pen
and a healthy dose of curiosity.
What do you do
for these topics?
GET THE FACTS!
How do you do this?
When?
Where can I find
more information
on these topics?
We get in dialogue on topics that move us!
By publishing and sharing our findings we
not only show the people that inspire us;
we show the world which topics are
What does
my neighbour
say?
AT HOME
Include
everyone!
What does
my teacher
teach me?
AT SCHOOL
important to children! Have a look at our
covers and find our voices through the
persons that inspire us!
Princess Laurentine
explained us wonderfully
that really every citizen
should get emancipated to
understand how important
the role of every individual
in society is to get the
voice of children heard!
5

Opatija!
We got you
covered!
During the event we are interviewing inspiring people
around us. What do they do for children? How? Can
we help them? We interview people from all layers of
society and put them on a cover! Here you find the
people we have covered! We believe these people can
make a real difference in the world! Let’s follow their
examples!
POLITICS
PROFESSIONALS
DISCOVER MORE!
View this landscape online to discover a
cover of each inspiring person we met!
my.childpress.org/covered
AT HOME
AT SCHOOL
6

7

Jana
Hainsworth
Secretary, Rosult
"Children's must
be heard"
Jana Hainsworth
Who does
what for
Inclusion?
Who makes sure all of us are
included? Who takes our rights as
participating citizen serious? Is
everyone taken care of? These are
some of the people that inspired us
on the topic of inclusiveness during
Eurochild Conference 2018! Let’s
follow them the coming year to
see how they move others to make
changes for inclusiveness!
29
OCT
Eurochild, Opatija, Croatia
A tip from Jana!
Child participation
Moved by Laurentien!
Laurentien is a super lady and a super
girl! The language she uses when she
talks about child participation really
makes people think.
And that is exactly what she wants.
She wants that people start thinking.
And thinking is an activity nearly
every citizen can do. And during
this thinking also feelings will come
along, about how important child
participation is. For every citizen.
Laurentien is a real child right activist
and as a member of the Royal family
she is the perfect example for any
other member of a Royal family. To
follow exactly her example.
Lets try to find the other members of
Royal families who dare to act as she
does!
Sandra
Kebede
Frankfurt am Main
"Children's Rights
are Something
Constant."
Sandra Kebede
30
OCT
Eurochild Conference
Arja Ela 12
years old
Opatija
"To me, Europe is
almost like a
country without
borders"
Arja Ela 12 years old
29
OCT
Eurochild Conference
Many more covers can be found online at
my.childpress.org/covered
Young and old.
View Laurentien’s cover online
my.childpress.org/covered
8

Fahima .
Advocate, Beringen
Henk
Voskamp
Opatija
"Stand up for
children's rights"
Fahima .
"Better facilities
for mothers
for a better
start in life!"
Henk Voskamp
29
OCT
Eurochild Conference, Opatija,
Croatia
A tip from Fahima!
Stand up for other
children's
29
OCT
Eurochild Conference 2018,
Opatija, Croatia
Safety at home is maybe our
most important topic.
Safety at home is a human right. It is a human right
to feel safe, and especially at home. Creating a safe
environment is curtail for all children’s, and we
consider this as one of our top priorities. It is very
important to feel safe at home because that is the
basis of so much. You need to be safe at home to
develop and grow.
Listen to the children, because they are the future.
When adults are talking about the future, they look
far into the horizon, and they overlook the children’s
right in front of them. Their opinion is important, and
it is wrong that adults ignore the children’s. Let the
children’s take part of decision-making, and they will
develop themselves and change the world.
Moved by Adna
People tend to set up imaginary boundaries between
each other, based on background, language and
distance. This creates difficulties in creating a global
cooperation. What most people have not yet seen is
A great example of this is the interview I had with Adna,
who was atttending the Eurochild Conference as a
translator for a 16 year old boy, attending the Eurochild
conference representing Bosnia. Adna says: “Although
this boy doesn’t understand English, this doesn’t stop
him from expressing his amazing ideas.” Through
Children’s tend to be very loyal to their parents and
that makes it hard for them to talk with others about
problems they have at home. We in Child Press thinks
it is important to listen to the children. Above all:
involve them in important decisions that consider
them.
This topic is inspired by the fantastic work done by
Fahima from the Youth Task Force Augeo.
that there are ALWAYS possibilities of collaborative
learning and working together for a greater tomorrow,
regardless of weather you speak the same language,
where in the world you live, and your age. When
creating platforms for people of all background and
ages, to work together, express their ideas, and discuss
the cases that matter to them, we absolutely help
Adna, the boy can communicate with others in his own
language. This creates international perspectives and
shows that people can work together, even when they
need external people to help them communicate. We
are all different people, with different views and ideas,
and it is highly important that we do not restrict our
influences t the people we see on a daily basis, who have
globalize our political society.
the same lives and are of approximately the age as us.
9

THE UNKNOWN TRUTH BELOW THE
SURFACE OF CONSUMERISM
“admirable”. Due to this reality our present consumption
pattern is firmly ingrained in us but we, as a population,
can challenge that. However, the question of how we can
individually contact governments and politicians and persuade
those in power to change our legislation is more difficult.
VAPPU!
As obvious as it might sound, everything that we consume
has to be created, extracted or produced. Most often this
requires the burning of fossil fuels, the core drivers of climate
change. But for us high consumers a 5€ t-shirt in Primark
appears as if it grew from the ground because we have not
witnessed the environmental damage for ourselves. Instead of
paying attention, we keep on humming Madonna’s “Material
Girl” while shopping in the realm of fast fashion and never
questioning the contribution of a tangible product to such an
abstract complexity like climate change.
Let us delve deeper into clothes: A research, composed by
the Continental Clothing Co. Ltd and certified by The Carbon
Trust, studied various pieces of clothing and their total
lifespan from the creation of the fabric to its disposal. A single
t-shirt produced by standard grid electricity emits 6.34 kg
of CO2, including embedded emissions and consumer-use
-phase emissions. Approximately two-thirds of its emissions
originate from the “raw materials and manufacturing” phase.
In contrast to a t-shirt that is produced in the EarthPositive
supply chain (using renewable energy) the percentage of CO2
emitted plummets to 15%. In all honesty, 6.34 kg of CO2 alone
is not much considering the 43 billion tonnes of global CO2
emissions emitted in 2018 . But to provide perspective, this
abstract amount can be translated into house mice.
If the comparison is made to the average adult mouse weighing
19 grams, purchasing five standard t-shirts a year would mean
that you share your home with 1668 of them.
The production and the embedded emissions of such a simple
thing as a cotton t-shirt is a perfect illustration of our economic
system. If we persist on making individual alterations in order
to mitigate our personal carbon footprint, by either being
plant-based, cycling to work or school, keeping the lights off
or investing in EarthPositive t-shirts, the global system will not
change significantly.
Vappu (17, student of the
European School in brussels,
and member of Childpress)
explains: In the late 20th
and the 21st century we, the
homo sapiens, have adapted a
mindless consumerist lifestyle
in the very highly and highly
developed countries. We
purchase items, such as clothes
and gadgets, for ‘wants’ and
not needs’...
“You can make a big difference!” is a partial truth at best.
The global economy has been constructed by human beings
in a way that investing in a low carbon lifestyle is financially
difficult for many and could potentially drive businesses
and microeconomies into bankruptcy. But the beauty of our
carbon crisis is the fact that all of it is human-made. This way,
unlike the laws of nature that exist beyond the human mind,
our system is artificial and thus, it can be changed.
The relationship between information and change
In order to achieve change we need to start being mindful
of our consumption on every level possible and demanding
new, affirming legislation. We consumers are constantly being
fed by advertisements claiming that a company’s brand new
product is a must-have. This propaganda brainwashes us
into harnessing, buying and owning material things. After all,
everyone subconsciously yearns for an ostentatious lifestyle
because only then you are considered “successful” and
I recently hosted a discussion about the very fundamental facts
about climate change for a Finnish association called “Martat”.
As I was progressing with my PowerPoint presentation, one
audience member asked a question, breaking the utter
silence, which then ultimately escalated into an enthusiastic
conversation amongst the whole audience. When the topic
changed into high consumerism, a woman suddenly turned
towards me and asked: “Is this all made to blame us?” At first, I
did not quite absorb what she meant by that remark, but only
afterwards it really sunk in me. I was not angry at the woman
but rather empathetic about her point of view: she had never
in her life known the truth about how much the Western and
Northern people consume. But if she did not know, how many
others like her are still out there?
With information comes sagacity and with that a possibility
to utilise it. The woman has now gained knowledge as she is
one fact richer than before she posed the question. She is a
great example of how vital information is for mindfulness: if no
one knew about the critical state that the human civilisation
is submerging in, change would not occur. For something new
to be born the old state of humanity cannot remain the same.
This concept has to be the catalyst for the necessary legal
alterations that we need to confront.
Responsibility over blame
Returning to the initial question the woman asked, the answer
is no. The fact that very highly developed countries have about
30 times higher consumption emissions than low-developed
countries2, and that they consume an average 23.5 tonnes
of material things per year (which is 10 times the amount of
the consumption of low-developed countries), is not done to
blame. Blaming only invests our precious time into negativity
instead of contributing to genuine actions targeting the
problem itself. The numbers are there to show us the truth,
that being the lack of responsibility that us highly developed
nations with soaring consumerism levels are not willing to face.
From my own point of view I used to love shopping, whether
it was fast fashion or useless Ikea furniture. I had a habit of
leaving the lights on in the whole house and continuing to
charge my phone despite it being fully charged. In all honesty,
I did not know better back then and after learning the truth
I blamed myself. The feelings of abhorrence and repulsion I
had towards myself and my family that kept on overconsuming,
started festering in my mind. I became outraged. But that anger
did not lead me to a better place. It was only after accepting
my responsibility I was able to begin mindful meditation and
developing a minimalist, low-consumerist mindset.
Our right to know
I still do not meet the criteria of an ideal low-consumerist
profile. My life is so deeply embedded into the economic
and financial reality of this era that I still consider myself as
an excessive consumer. However, the turning point in this
short life of mine has been education. There is so much that
is unknown to the public that needs to be addressed. For
instance, a pivotal graph produced by the World Meteorological
Organization (on the right) clearly indicates that our emissions
keep on increasing, and thus the warming effect proliferating in
numbers as we hankering homo sapiens keep on guzzling more
individual power, more material things and more energy. This
graph is one of the fundamental but substantial pieces of the
bigger, forgotten truth – and yet, it is not shown to the public
eye. The complexity of the science behind climate change is
an utterly invalid excuse not to inform the global population
about the unimaginable disaster that lies ahead of us. Our
right to know the truth has been seized by our world-leading
politicians due to fear, greed and the lingering uncertainty of
people’s reactions and opinions. But climate change is not an
opinion. It is an environmental catastrophe and a violation of
our rights and our moral principles. Denying the truth will not
change it and leaving the problem untouched will only bring
even more devastation. We human beings have a right to know
our reality and a right to challenge our very own legal, political
and economic system. We have a right to act and react, and
the right and responsibility to ignite change.
10

"Stand up for
children's rights!"
Fahima, International children’s
peace price nominee.
"Adults often
concider children
less clever"
Tymon, Children’s rights activist
"It's important
that children
can express
themselves!"
Aibek Akzholov
"The EU provides
stability and
opportunity"
Konstantinos (Student)
"Children's rights
are something
constant"
Sandra Kebede
"Better facilities
for mothers for a
better start in life"
Henk Voskamp
"Children
must
be heard!"
"Working
together and
finding solutions!"
Xabier (Student)
Jana Hainsworth
You!
What is very
important
to you?
This is
Opatija!
"It is important for
children to have
rights!"
Matea, Society ‘our children’ Opatija
11

Places to go,
people to
cover!
Childpress covers inspiring people
in cities accross Europe! Do you
organize an even or know any event
you think we should visit? Tell us!
Contact us: info@childpress.org
or share the event on social media
and tag it with #ChildPressOrg!
25.04.2020
Training Day for
World Leaders!
On 25th of april 2019 childpress presents World
Leaders Training Day. Here all inspiring citizens
found by our reporters worldwide are invited
to show influencial world leaders, how they use
their talents to set the world in motion. As good
examples, they can inspire policy makers
and together we can things in motion!
Donald, you’re invited! ;-)
Location
Marineterrein Amsterdam
2018 2019 2020
Week of Democracy
Groningen, NL
Book Release,
No Common Sense
NOT,
Utrecht, NL
Peace Jam,
Leuven, BE
We Make The City,
Amsterdam, NL
Universal Children’s Day,
Brussels, BE
Eurochild Conference,
Opatija, Croatia
Universal Children’s
Day, Brussels, BE
COP24 Climate Conf.
Katowice, Poland
Super Kinderradendag,
Amsterdam, NL
International ChildPress
Meeting, Amsterdam, NL
Arendalsuka,
Arendal, NO
Nov Dec Jan Feb Apr Jun Aug Nov
12

13

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PUBLISH YOUR OWN
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14

Colophon
Reporters:
William Frodesen, Norway
Mats Hoel Pedersen, Norway
Nora, Norway
Darryl, Netherlands
Thijmen, Netherlands
Julia, Belgium
Nora, Belgium
Vappu, Belgium
Angela Vasile, Romania
Andreea Dana Osman, Romania
Chief Editor:
Mats Hoel Pedersen,
Child Press Association
William Frodesen,
Child Press Association
Supporters:
Bendella Lahbib,
Children’s International Press Centre
Elise Sijthoff, Children’s
International Press Centre
Marit Klaassen, Children’s
International Press Centre
Davide Rambaldi, communication
Eurochild
Mieke Schuurman, Eurochild
Producers and digital designers:
Stijn van der Pol, thisissaf.com
Illustrations:
Stijn van der Pol
Wendelien van de Erve
Photo and video:
Bendella Lahbib
Print:
Melior Opatija
Initiative:
Eurochild and
Children’s International
Press Centre
15

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International
galactic
Press Centre
#ChildPressOrg
#EuroChildConf
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