Kamloops Children's Charter - Summary of Process

The 1990 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child says:

"the child, be reason of his physical and mental immaturity, needs special safeguards and care, including appropriate legal protection, before as well as after birth."

The Convention contains 54 articles detailing the rights of the child including:

• Equality of all family members
• Promotion of social progress
• Childhood is entitled to special care and assistance
• That the family is a fundamental group of society and should be afforded the necessary protection and assistance
• To improve the living conditions for children in every country
• To take into consideration the importance of traditions and cultural values of each people for the harmonious development of the child

Make Children First initiated and lead a community wide process to enhance awareness about children's rights and needs and our responsibilities as adults.

Our Charter acts as a catalyst to:

• Show that in our community children are valued
• Adopt a strong message to guide multiple levels of planning
• Show leadership by those in positions of influence

Who did we work with?

Make Children First suggested that the Kamloops Charter creation process follow in the footsteps of other communities (Peel ON, Thunder Bay ON, Powell River BC, etc.) who successfully created and adopted a Charter. We learned a lot about their process to engage decision makers, practitioners, community organizations, individuals and children.

Who did we invite to our first gathering?

1. Charter Research – We chose to follow the model of the Peel Charter as they created a powerful Charter which included the voices of the children in their community, and they work to keep the document energized and alive.
2. First Gathering – We invited influential leaders, knowledgeable professionals, interested individuals, organizations and groups to engage the community and establish our own process.
3. Establish an Advisory – We formed a working group to oversee the process and guide the creation of the final document. This was an incredible group of enthusiastic professionals and individuals.
4. Collecting the voices of children – Working with schools, childcare centres, summer programs, and the Boys and Girls Club, we collected over 300 worksheets that children completed with visual and written examples of what "Every child needs..."
5. Creating the Vision – introducing graphics for the document and finalizing the document to include our children's words.
6. Launching the Charters – International Day of the Child – Nov 20, 2010
7. Declaration & Endorsement –of children's day in Kamloops by municipal, school district, YMCA
8. Ongoing Celebrations & Projects –each year.