The Kerala State Council for Child Welfare will conduct children’s parliament in all districts on Saturday.
Organised by the respective district councils for child welfare, the parliament will introduce children to the need for democratic systems, values of parliamentary democracy, and how it functions. The proceedings will also aid the children’s personality development.
The parliaments will also standout because these will not be the usual closed-door affairs. Instead, these will be held in public spaces so that the public too can attend, council general secretary G.L. Arun Gopi told mediapersons on Tuesday.
The proceedings will be modelled on the actual Parliament, with walkouts and adjournment motions.
The parliament, Mr. Arun Gopi said, was a reminder of ‘A world fit for children,’ the outcome document of a special session of the United Nations General Assembly in 2002 that emphasised the need for children’s needs and rights to be prioritised in all development activities. The State child welfare council had organised its 2023 Children’s Day celebrations highlighting the theme of ‘A world fit for children.’ The children’s parliament too was emphasising the same, besides putting forth the idea of ‘An India fit for children.’ The children’s parliament should become a step towards making the country fit for children, Mr. Gopi said.
Those elected as representatives to the children’s parliament would discuss the general development problems of the country and socio-economic and political problems, besides how much children’s rights have been protected for their health, education, safety, and recreation.
The children’s president would make a policy address on ‘An India fit for children.’ This will be followed by discussions on various topics such as child labour, child marriage, hunger, infant mortality, exploitation, scientific consciousness, and textbook corrections. The country, he pointed out, had failed to successfully protect the rights of its children, especially in areas such as education. Last year itself, over 10,000 public schools had closed down in the country, while the number of private schools was on the rise.
Even as the parliament debated these issues, the achievements of the State in ensuring their growth and development would also be discussed. The government, he pointed out, was making efforts to transform Kerala into a child-friendly State.
Nearly 500 upper primary, high school, and higher secondary students would participate in the children’s parliament in each centre. Thirty students selected by the district child welfare councils will lead the parliament as children’s leaders. One-week camps have been held in district centres to provide training to the children’s leaders.
Minister for Health Veena George will perform the State-level inauguration of the children’s parliament at Mallappally in Pathanamthitta at 11 a.m. on Saturday. In other districts, Ministers, MLAs, and MPs would address the children at the hour-and-a half-long parliament.
In Thiruvananthapuram, former Speaker M. Vijayakumar would inaugurate the parliament at Gandhi Park at 3 p.m.
