The Ombudsman for Children, Dr Niall Muldoon, today (Wednesday) travelled to Phibblestown to meet with the For\u00f3ige Youth Committee to hear their views on children\u2019s rights. This visit formed part of the Ombudsman for Children\u2019s Office Tune In consultation which is underway until the end of November.<\/p>\n
Speaking ahead of his visit Ombudsman for Children, Dr Niall Muldoon said:<\/p>\n
\u201cMy job is about helping to make sure that children\u2019s rights in Ireland are respected and made real for every child and young person under 18 years old. I know that to achieve this, I need to speak to and listen to as many young people as possible. That is why I came to Phibblestown to meet with the For\u00f3ige Youth Committee.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy office has launched a consultation called Tune In, because we want to listen and to hear young people\u2019s ideas on good ways for us to raise awareness and understanding of children\u2019s rights. We are consulting with over 150 schools across the country, as well as many youth groups and organisations, like For\u00f3ige.<\/p>\n
\u201cI find that our children and young people are often underestimated. We need to give our young people more credit and to realise that they are interested in what\u2019s going on, they\u2019re just informing themselves about issues in different ways.<\/p>\n
\u201cTune In is all about listening and understanding where and how young people would like to get information about children\u2019s rights.<\/p>\n
Renagh Hayden, Project Worker with For\u00f3ige said<\/p>\n
\u201cThe For\u00f3ige Youth Committee represent the various groups within For\u00f3ige in Ongar and Clonee from a variety of For\u00f3ige programmes that take place in Foroige Phibblestown each week\u00a0including NFTE, Leadership, Be Healthy Be Happy and Citizenship.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Committee thought it was important to take part in the Tune In Programme and voice their opinions to the Ombudsman.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were absolutely delighted when the Ombudsman offered to visit Phibblestown Community Centre to hear about the work of these fantastic young people and to tell them about the amazing work he is doing.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe young people are full of ideas and suggestions about how the Ombudsman can engage with other young people, ensuring their voices are heard and rights achieved.<\/p>\n
\u201cNew media such as social and video, and word of mouth from peers and youth workers is key to reaching young people and the youth of Phibbletown are delighted to relay this information to the Ombudsman.<\/p>\n
\u201cParticipation in the Tune In programme ties into the work they do each week representing young people to enable them to develop consciously and actively in their own development and in the development of society,\u201d Ms Hayden finished.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"