Here you will find up-to-date information, documents and links regarding this project. If you feel as if there is anything missing from this toolbox, please let us know at ydm@tgmag.ca| Date Posted | News Item | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|
| If you’ve any questions or comments, send us an email at tgmag@tgmag.ca or call us at (416) 597-8297! | |||
| March 1st | YDM’s Recommendations Time! | It’s time to look at what 1500 young people told us last summer and decide what we want the Canadian government, schools, media, adults and youth to do. Make recommendations here! | |
The Students Commission (and The Centre of Excellence for Youth Engagement) has been asked by the Canadian Coalition on the Rights of the Child (CCRC) to help them better understand what is happening in this country around children’s rights. Next year, in January of 2009, we have an amazing opportunity. As a country that has ratified (signed) the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) (we signed it way back in 1991) we are required to update the United Nation’s High Commission on Human Rights in Geneva on how we are doing. It’s kind of like a report card that tells the High Commission what we’re really good at around children’s rights, and what we’re really not so great at.
When the Canadian government ratified the UNCRC, they made a commitment to uphold the rights of children in this country and we want to make sure that we get a real picture of what’s happening out there so that we know what needs to change, and what we can celebrate!
The Survey
The surveying period of the project is now complete (as of October 14, 2008) and we are proud to say we have approximately 1500 surveys! To see what the survey looked like, please click here. If you are interested in working with other young people, young adults and adult allies on preparing YDM's voice to the United Nations, check out our poster below which highlights some of our key findings. For a full summary of our results, please click here.
Recommendations
Now that you've had some time to read and understand what almost 1500 other young people think about their rights, it's time to figure out what all stakeholders (Canadian youth, Canadian media, our governments and others) should do to help improve children's rights in our country. For example, 68% of young people don't know about the UNCRC, how can we change that? Some young people have suggested teaching about the UNCRC in all Canadian schools. That is a recommendation. To make your own recommendations, click here now!