For the seventh consecutive year, the Office of the Commissioner for Children organised its annual children’s rights course ‘Rights 4U’ with the support of its main sponsor being HSBC Malta Foundation. This is in line with the mandate of the Commissioner for Children to “provide public education and information designed to promote an understanding of the rights of children.”

This year, 35 participants between the ages of 13 and 15 were selected to participate in the Malta Rights 4U course, which starte yesterday, the 21st of July and finishes tomorrow, Saturday the 23rd, at the Archbishop seminary in Rabat. Another course will be held in Gozo in August. This year is the European year dedicated to Voluntary Organisations therefore the theme for this year’s Rights 4U Course was voluntary work.

The interactive programme of the Rights 4U course included various activities in which children not only learnt about their rights, but also actively explored and engaged in discussions on their rights. In light of this year’s theme on voluntary work, the young participants organized a morning of games and activities for children coming from various children’s homes. In this way they actively experienced voluntary work.

The Commissioner for Children, Mrs. Helen D’Amato, was present during the event in order to increase dialogue with the young people, and receive feedback from the young people themselves. The Commissioner for Children encouraged these young people to become multipliers, and to be socially active within their environments. The participants were visited by Dolores Cristina, Minister of Education, Employment and the Family. Minister Cristina stated that: “This is an activity which should be encouraged in order for children to integrate with each other and learn how to share. This course also gives the young people an opportunity to commit themselves to activities like these were they have fun and which have a positive impact both mentally and physically.” Minister Cristina thanked the Commissioner for Children for organizing this Rights 4U Course year in year out.

Mrs. Catherine Gonzi, Chairperson of the HSBC Malta Foundation, also visited the participants. Mrs. Gonzi expressed that through this initiative the young participants will be able to engage in discussions with their peers and make new friends. In light of the European year dedicated to voluntary organizations, Mrs. Gonzi emphasized how through this enriching experience the participants will be encouraged to engage in voluntary work which will help shape their characters whilst helping others.

The activities were partly sponsored by San Michel Table Water.

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