Students raise issues with ministers as child rights programme launched

The 35th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) was celebrated locally on Friday with the launch of the Child Rights Ambassador Programme. 

The programme was announced during the National Child Rights Symposium, held in partnership with the National Committee for Monitoring the Rights of the Child (NCRC) and the Ministry of People Empowerment and bringing together children from across Barbados under the theme Keeping the Promise.  

During his address, UNICEF’s Jean-Benoit Manhes noted that the new programme aims to empower children across the island to stand up for their rights and support their peers in communities nationwide.

Designed for children and adolescents under 18, it will provide the young advocates with training and resources to lead conversations about child rights on various stages, including their communities. 

“The programme is specifically for [youth] who are interested in child rights everywhere, not just here in Barbados,” Manhes shared. 

Addressing the young audience, from which the first cohort of ambassadors was chosen, he said: “As a Barbados Child Rights Ambassador, you are an important role model for both children and adults. You also carry out activities in your school, in your community and via other organisations to promote respect and realisation of the rights of the child.” 

Manhes encouraged the student participants to hold leaders accountable, expressing his hope that the programme would prove to be meaningful and effective.

Reflecting on the CRC anniversary celebrations, he said, “After 35 years, it might be easy to forget about those promises. So let us rely on you to keep it alive.”

The highlight of the symposium was a ‘Children Speak’ session during which students had the rare opportunity to directly question a panel of government ministers. 

Among the panellists were Minister of People Empowerment and Elder Affairs Kirk Humphrey; Minister of Industry, Innovation, Science, and Technology Marsha Caddle; Minister of Youth, Sports, and Community Empowerment Charles Griffith; Minister of State in the Ministry of Education, Technological, and Vocational Training Sandra Husbands; Minister of State in the Ministry of Health and Wellness Davidson Ishmael; and Minister of Home Affairs and Information Wilfred Abrahams.

Students raised pressing issues impacting their lives, from bullying and discrimination in schools to the need for a more efficient assessment framework to ease the transition from primary to secondary education, child labour, mental health, drug prevention, school security, and gender inequality. 

Deighton Griffith Secondary School student Uriel Reid challenged ministers to implement better strategies to protect against drug usage in schools and the protection of mental health in students.

The ministers praised the students for their courage, with Humphrey noting that the issues raised would “be taken back to the office for serious consideration”. 

The ministers lauded the symposium as an essential platform for nurturing informed, engaged citizens from a young age, empowering them to use their voices to impact necessary changes. (SM)