A youth-friendly version of the UNCRC recommendations helps children discuss their rights

Children have the right to participate in the monitoring and evaluation of their rights. They also have the right to age-appropriate information. This is why Finnish Eurochild member, the Central Union for Child Welfare (CUCW), published a youth-friendly version of the UNCRC recommendations.  

In 2023, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child issued its concluding observations to Finland, including dozens of recommendations. It is now the government’s duty to implement these recommendations – and children, of course, have the right to be heard.

To ensure children have access to age-appropriate information, CUCW published a youth-friendly version of the committee’s recommendations. This version was developed as part of an EU-funded project called Our CRC (“Meidän LOS” in Finnish).

CUCW received support from two other Eurochild members: Kinderrechtencollectief in the Netherlands and Together (The Scottish Alliance for Children’s Rights). Both organisations have produced similar material before and participate in the project as associate partners.

Before publication, the youth-friendly version was presented to six groups of young people aged 13–15 to test the clarity and youth-friendliness of the language. The overall feedback was positive, and the young people were very interested in discussing their rights.

In 2026, the youth-friendly version will also be published in Swedish and in the three Sami languages spoken in Finland. CUCW will disseminate the publication among educators, civil servants and politicians. At the same time, SOS Children’s Villages Finland will pilot models for discussing the recommendations with children and young people.

“Up to now children’s participation in the reporting process has been sporadic at best. We plan to make sure that the next time Finland reports to the committee, children will also have a say.” – Ira Custódio, Chief Advisor, Central Union for Child Welfare.

For further information, please contact Ira Custódio, chief advisor at the Central Union for Child Welfare or visit the project’s website (in Finnish).