Singapore - Young delegates voice their aspirations at ASEAN Children's Forum

SINGAPORE : Learn, Express, Act and Dream (LEAD) is the theme of this year's ASEAN Children's Forum (ACF), which aims to convey the hope that children will take ownership of children's issues and step up to be active leaders.

Thirty-six young ASEAN delegates, aged 12 to 18, voiced their hopes and aspirations for children at the Forum which was held from June 6-8.

The representatives to the biennial event, which Singapore played host to, included delegates with special needs, as well as those from the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the ASEAN Commission on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children (ACWC).

In a badge design competition as a lead up to the ACF, there were eight winning entries out of a total of 160 submissions by children from the ASEAN region.

The pre-event activity aimed to raise public awareness among youths about the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) principles.

A Singaporean delegate, Asyahari Hussaini, 16, said: "I wish that children will voice out their opinions more so that we can listen to them, and I also hope that the adults will take their opinions seriously."

Halimah Yacob, Minister of State for Community Development, Youth and Sports, said: "I listen to the children, I look at all their presentations, what is loud and clear is that the children said 'don't talk about us without us'. That is a very consistent message. That means 'we want to be involved, we want to be engaged, we want to participate in the policies and decisions that you make about us'.

"(This) is good, because they do not want to just be on the sidelines, just to be on the receiving end. They want to be an active participant to be involved, to be engaged, to take ownership, which is good."

Thailand will be hosting the 3rd ACF in 2014.

- CNA/ms

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