Almost 900 young people from across the Strasbourg region came together at the Council of Europe on 20 and 23 May to discuss the issues of democracy, children's rights and diversity, and present initiatives discussed in class.
The Children's Forum focused on the issues of diversity and democracy through workshops that enabled the young pupils to better understand their rights and responsibilities in an inclusive society.
The Young Citizens' Forum gave participants the opportunity to exchange views with Éric Delemar, France's Children's Ombudsman, on the issue of children's right to age-appropriate justice. In particular, they discussed access to information on justice, rules at school, relations with the police, violence between minors and the recent "Attal" law in France. Their proposals will feed into the Children's Ombudsman's annual report.
The Council of Europe has established education for democratic citizenship and active participation of young people as priorities.
A second session of the Children's Forum will be held on 17 June, focusing on diversity.
These events held in co-operation with the Association d'accès au droit pour les enfants et les jeunes (children's rights association) are part of the World Forum for Democracy, the next session of which on "Democracy at risk: how can we revive it" is due to take place from 5 to 7 November 2025.
