The Children’s Congress is part of the celebration of the National Children’s Month spearheaded by the Davao City Government through the Special Office of Children's Concerns (SOCC) and the Local Council for the Protection of Children.
The activity aimed at providing a venue through which children can discuss and voice their concerns over various social issues.
Also discussed during the activity was alternative education programs for the out-of-school youth.
According to SOCC head Consorcia Ronquillo, these issues along with the recommendations of the children’s congress were discussed by various participating public and private stakeholders and will be considered for the creation of future policies.
Empowering children to use their voice to champion causes that are most relevant to them, does not only encourage them to become active citizens, Rinquillio said, as this also provides unique insights to problems in society.
“We really want this to flourish, to strengthen the voice of the children because this program is for the children, by the children, with the children,” she said in a report from the City Information Office.
The congress was attended by 185 children from the 182 barangays in the city and 10 child members of civil society organizations.
The 195 participants convened and took part in a workshop where they got to express their opinions on social issues that they find most relevant to their welfare. They were also given the chance to formulate and suggest solutions to these problems.
During the event, 10 sectoral representatives from the pool of participants have been elected and they are tasked to present the results of the workshop to relevant lawmakers, public officials and civil society organizations.
Ronquillo said all invited stakeholders from the local government, national agencies, members of the Local Council for the Protection of Children, and civil society organizations that deal with children also responded to all the issues raised during the workshop.
DepEd File Photo
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