The consequences of a negative family environment, the lack of psychological support at school, the attitude towards different children and the need for a modern children’s hospital are among the issues that concern young people.
The topic of mental health was discussed by young people at the eighth edition of the youth forum “Voice it: An opinion that matters”. The children spoke to politicians about the issues that most concern them.
The event on November 20, 2022, in Sofia is organized by “Megaphone” youth network and the National Network for Children on the occasion of the anniversary of the signing of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
According to a survey by the project “Civic participation of children – current policies and legislation”, 77.8% of children believe that institutions do not actively consult children when creating children’s and youth policies.
“We chose the topic of ‘mental health’ because it is very important for young people, but there are rarely spaces where it can be discussed,” said Ralitsa from the Megaphone youth network.
“It’s important that we, the adults, give space to children to lead by themselves, feel confident and teach them independence, and they can do much better than us. Since the existence of the “Megaphone” program, more than 350 children and young people have gone through it,” said Georgi Bogdanov, executive director of National Network for Children.
More than 140 children from the Megaphone youth network and from several schools from Sofia and the country took part in the event.
There was a special live broadcast from Varna, where young people from Bulgaria and Ukraine gathered in the space of the “Energy” foundation and also discussed the topic and asked their questions to the politicians.
Special guests were young people from the Office of the Children’s Ombudsman in Iceland.
