Participating in the celebration of December 11: International Day for Children, the “Foundation for the Child and the Family”, organised an event with the topic “The International Convention for the Rights of the Child and the Role of the European Union”.

Opening the event, the President of the Foundation Mrs Marianna Vardinoyannis said, inter alia: “The fact that we still speak today about the need of respect for the rights of the child, which means that these rights are not evident to all or respected by all, demonstrates the extent of the problem and the need of our awakening and mobilization”.

 

For this reason, the speakers who next spoke –Mr Antonis Komninos, President of the Greek Committee for Cooperation with UNICEF, Mr Marios Kamchis, Director of the Delegation of the European Commission in Greece, Mr Ioannis Roumbatis, Member of the European Parliament- pointed out that the need for the sensitization and mobilization of the European citizens in the field of the rights of child should be intensified and more effective.

The speakers referred to the role of the European Parliament as well as the developments concerning children on a European level. They also stressed the fact that, despite the efforts up to now, some serious and acute problems still demand urgent solutions, especially those connected with the fight against violence and criminality aimed at children. All the speakers emphasised the need for a leading role assumed by the European Union and the European citizens in all sectors relating to children as well as the need for respect of children rights.

Within its efforts to contribute to the wider campaign concerning the awareness and information of the citizens, the “Foundation for the Child and the Family” presented the book entitled “THE TEN BASIC PRINCIPLES of the United Nations’ declaration on the Rights of the Child”, illustrated by the artist Manolis Charos.

The event took place in a hall full of people at the European Parliament Offices in Greece where the wish and message expressed were the need every attitude and action to be coordinated with the Principles of the Declaration of the Rights of the Child as well as the responsibility and collaboration of all of us for the realization of this wish.