World Children's Day Approaches in Darmstadt, a City Known for Its Small Size, Celebration Scheduled for Sunday
On Sunday, 21 September, Darmstadt's city centre will be a vibrant hub of activities as it hosts the Children's Rights Festival. This event, organised by the children and youth promotion in the youth department of the Wissenschaftsstadt Darmstadt, the Bund der Deutschen Katholischen Jugend (BDKJ) Darmstadt, and the Christliche Pfadfinderinnen und Pfadfinder der Adventjugend (CPA Marienhöhe), promises a day filled with fun, learning, and dialogue.
The festival is more than just a celebration of children's rights; it emphasises their active role in shaping today's democracy. Over 60 initiatives will present various activities for children at their stands, including crafting, painting, singing, and dancing. The focus is on participation and dialogue, with the theme of the consultation hour being 'And What Do You Want?' to make children's voices heard.
Mayor Barbara Akdeniz will give a speech at 12:15 PM, reminding participants that children's rights are fundamental building blocks for democracy. She emphasises the importance of the event and the need to hear and address the concerns and needs of young Darmstadt residents.
At 12:00 PM, an experience course will start, where children can collect stamps at various stations. For each stamped pass, two euros will be donated to the 'Jugendplenum Darmstadt' project. The Lions Club Darmstadt-Castrum is involved in the festival, supporting social projects in Darmstadt.
World Children's Day, a globally celebrated annual reminder that these rights must be respected and continually claimed, originated from the United Nations. The 1989 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, signed by 196 states, granted children worldwide legally binding rights, including protection, promotion, personality development, education, health, and participation.
Parents are welcome to accompany their children to the consultation hour at the festival, which takes place between 1:00 PM and 2:30 PM at the stand of the Jugendbildungswerk of the Wissenschaftsstadt Darmstadt and the Jugendring e.V. Akdeniz will remind participants that during this hour, children and young people can discuss their wishes, concerns, and ideas with the mayor.
In addition to the stands and the consultation hour, there will be a colourful stage program at the festival. The festival is a testament to Darmstadt's commitment to fostering a democratic society where children and young people are not just the future, but active participants today.
