Putting children at the heart of Europe’s recovery

Eurochild’s breakfast webinars to mark World Children’s Day 2020
18- 20 November 2020; 8h30 – 10h00 hrs CET

#PuttingChildrenFirst: watch the webinar recordings and video addresses in the playlist below!

Eurochild, in partnership with its national members hosted a webinar series to bring a children’s rights perspective to Europe’s recovery. The series was organised to coincide with 20th November World Children’s Day which marks the 31st anniversary of the adoption of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Questions addressed: What is an ‘economy of well-being’ & why & how does it prioritise children? Why is tackling child poverty a pre-requisite to sustainably exit the crisis? Why and how does protecting children’s rights strengthen our democracies?

The COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing economic crisis is changing the lives of children and young people across Europe. We are witnessing a steep rise in poverty and inequalities, which threatens to deepen existing societal divides.

Vulnerable people and communities undoubtedly paid the highest price of the pandemic in terms of health and lost livelihoods. While children weren’t the face of the pandemic, they have borne the brunt of its impact. Investing in children and prioritising children’s well-being is an essential ingredient of building more inclusive and resilient societies

The discussion continues on social media: #PuttingChildrenFirst

Poverty, anxiety, digital and educational divide
Read the new report published by Eurochild on 18 November 2020, “Growing up in lockdown: Europe’s children in the age of COVID-19”, provides a unique in-depth, country-by-country assessment of the situation of children’s rights and conditions in Europe, and measuring some of the concrete effects of the coronavirus pandemic on children across Europe.

Key messages

• What is an ‘economy of well-being’ & why & how does it prioritise children?

H.E. Marie-Louise Perera, President of Eurochild opened the webinar by bringing attention to the suffering of children as a consequence of the pandemic, as documented in our new Growing Up in Lockdown report. Eurochild, she explained, has developed the #Childonomics model that can be used to help inform policies of investing in children’s wellbeing within an economy of wellbeing.

Angel Gurría, Secretary General of OECD expressed that investing in children and their wellbeing is a winning ticket for social resilience, highlighting OECD’s rich tradition of measuring wellbeing beyond GDP. “With COVID19 taking a heavy toll on children, mechanisms like the Next Generation EU should put children at the front and centre of all recovery efforts,” said Gurria. Because as Olivier Thévenon, Head of the Children's Well-Being Unit at OECD) later explained, it takes five generations to lift children from poor families out of poverty and they are the future human capital and taxpayers.

Krista Kiuru, Minister of Family Affairs and Social Services of Finland expressed her appreciation for the work of Eurochild and OECD on putting children at the centre of recovery debates. The way forward, she explained, is committing to an economy of wellbeing while building national strategies for children across political spectrums, across disciplines and with local communities. Sanna Koulu, Senior Adviser for the National Child Strategy in the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, further explained that the national strategy is now intertwined with their COVID19 recovery strategy.

Professor Jennifer Davidson, Executive Director, of Inspiring Children’s Futures raised the question on how civil society could help policy makers to put children first in an economy of wellbeing. “We need to make sure that all stakeholders are connected, including children, and organisations like Eurochild with a fantastic track record on child participation,” Davidson said.

Last but not least, participants heard from Eetu, from the Children’s Parliament of the city of Tampere (Finland) and a member of the Eurochild Children's Council who called on politicians to listen and make room for children’s perspectives because adults might not remember what they needed as children. “Sometimes children’s voices can be smarter than adults, like for example Greta Thunberg,” Eetu concluded.

• Why is tackling child poverty a pre-requisite to sustainably exit the crisis?

Pedro Sanchez Prime Minister of Spain set the mood of the discussion with a very strong message on how Spain is prioritising children in the recovery strategy. “There is no shame in acknowledging child poverty exists in our countries. But it would be shameful if we did not take ambitious measures to combat it.” Ernesto José Gasco Gonzalo, High Commissioner for the Fight against Child Poverty, Spain also spoke later on how Spain is prioritising the fight against child poverty, and how they are consulting children on policies affecting them.

Katarina Ivanković Knežević, Director, DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, European Commission highlighted that a result of the pandemic, more children are experiencing poverty than before, with poorest children getting even poorer. Investment in children and in the services they need, she stressed, is essential for a sustainable and inclusive recovery. In 2021, the Commission will launch the European Child Guarantee to provide a policy framework to reduce poverty and inequalities among children, and to ensure that children in need have access to the services and the support they need.

Petra Mackroth, Head of Directorate-General Family Affairs at the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth of Germany highlighted that Germany wants all EU Member States to prioritise the reduction of child poverty during their Presidency of the EU Council. She also announced that the trio presidencies of Germany Portugal and Slovenia are preparing a joint declaration on mitigating the COVID-19 crisis to support children in the recovery strategies.

Afshan Khan, UNICEF Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia and the Special Coordinator for the Refuge and Migrant Response in Europe highlighted that UNICEF, like Eurochild, believes that children should be at the heart of the recovery and that the role of civil society is crucial for putting children first.It is important to adopt a comprehensive approach and this can be achieved through the Child Guarantee Action Plans and multiannual national strategies to tackle child poverty.

Mariam and Ángel from the youth journalist network of Plataforma de Infancia spoke to their Prime Minister and all present on how children are not just the future they are the present.

• Why and how does protecting children’s rights strengthen our democracies?

George Bogdanov, Director National Network for Children Bulgaria (Eurochild member) highlighted the unprecedented attack on children's rights in Bulgaria by extremist far-right and religious groups using fake news to spread fear among parents; and intimidating child rights activists which in itself is a threat to democracy. “The question is not only how to put the child at the heart of European recovery, but how to put the child at the heart of the European democracy,” Bogdanov said.

Dubravka Šuica, Commission Vice-President on Democracy & Demography highlighted that child protection is a Member State competence, but the aim of the upcoming EU Strategy is to be taken on board by all member states, including Bulgaria, in their bid to bring about positive change. She then spoke about the importance of child participation in policy making: “The Commission’s work has already benefitted from the vision and ideas of 10.000 children who contributed to our consultation on our rights of the child strategy, and I want to thank Eurochild for its great work on this.”

Denitsa Sacheva, Minister of Labour & Social Policies, Bulgaria thanked the civil society in Bulgaria for their tireless work despite the precarious situation created by the forces campaigning against child rights in the last few years. She then highlighted progress made on the dialogue between parents’ organisations and the civil society to introduce the act on social services, fundamental for children and vulnerable groups.

Bruce Adamson, Chair of the European Network of Ombudsmen for Children reiterated how supporting civil society organisations with funding, education and broader public education, is key to ensure that human rights defenders are protected and they can protect children in return.

Baroness Massey, Member of the Parliamentary Assembly Sub-Committee on Children, Council of Europe; Member of the House of Lord (UK) joined the discussion by saying that much of the work on children is about child protection. Yet, to influence the future we need to involve children in our political systems and organisations not only just to give children a voice to speak out. But to also helps organisations, Parliaments, to gain insights which they may never have thought of.

Milena from the Bulgarian Safer Internet Centre, and a member of the Eurochild Children's Council explained that rights are all about recognition that young people are members of society whose voice has to be accepted. “We are not naïve or greedy. We want our voice to be heard and our rights respected because the decisions made today concern our future,” Milena concluded.
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Full programme

• English
• Spanish
• Bulgarian

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