House President addresses Children’s Parliament

HOUSE President Marios Garoyian yesterday welcomed the convening of the Children’s Parliament, marking the beginning of this year’s Children’s Week.

“The Children’s Parliament is an opportunity for young people to make a substantive intervention in social and political structures and to raise those issues that concern them, in an attempt to shape a better future for them,” Garoyian told his young audience of students.

He said that young people have both opinions and vision and that the Children’s Parliament has been established as an institution which can highlight the concerns and demands of the younger generation.

Five parliamentary committees consisting of children have also drafted reports on topics such as children’s rights, the Cyprus issue and social matters, with interesting conclusions and important proposals, he said.

“Their work reflects their concerns and tells us that we can expect a lot from our children. We can invest a lot in the new generation,” he stressed.

In an opening address, Commissioner for the Protection of the Child’s Rights Leda Koursoumba focused on the need to treat children as complete human beings, albeit with less knowledge and fewer abilities than adults, but certainly no fewer rights and no less dignity.

“There is a lot more to be done before the world is shaped in such a way that would serve the needs of the child,” Koursoumba said. “Cypriot society shows intense interest in children, but often in our effort to provide the best for them, we are only guided by our own perception of life, ignoring their own.”