LISTEN TO CHILDREN DAY DECLARED TO GIVE VOICE TO MONGOLIAN CHILDREN’S NEEDS

During the second meeting of the Council for Children of Ulaanbaatar, Mayor of Ulaanbaatar S.Batbold declared that every Wednesday of the last week of May will be Listen to Children Day, to give voice to children’s concerns and respect their opinions.

The Mayor ordered representatives from every district to organize Listen to Children Day events every year.

“Listening to children and respecting their voices will directly benefit our work. We will be able to get more realistic results if children evaluate the investments, policies, and projects we carry out for them,” stated Mayor S.Batbold.

Nearly half the population of Mongolia lives in the capital, and more than 450,000 of the city's residents (30 percent) are children, according to U.Gan-Ulzii, the head of the Children and Families Development Center. He emphasized the importance of paying more attention to children.

During Monday’s meeting, members of the council reported on projects and made recommendations related to children’s leisure. The results of The Voices of Adolescents survey conducted by Save the Children Mongolia NGO were shared to give the meeting's attendees a better grasp of the challenges faced by teenagers in Mongolia. The survey was conducted in Ulaanbaatar among 1,236 sixth, eighth, and tenth grade students between the ages of 11 and 16.

Children's Rights Governance Program Coordinator of Save the Children Mongolia E.Tsolmon said, “Children must be allowed to exercise their right to freely express their thoughts in every environment. Listening to children’s opinions and reflecting them in our activities is the responsibility of adults. Raising children’s awareness about exercising their rights, identifying violations of their rights, reporting such instances, and voicing ideas for potential solutions is a normal practice in democratic societies. ”