The project “Right(s) Court for Children” is funded by the European Commission and includes partners from six countries. Four of them – Hungary, Croatia, Romania and Bulgaria will work specifically on its objectives, and Italy and the UK will share best practices due to the experience already gained in the field of juvenile justice.
This legal-oriented project aims preparation of virtual game to train young people and give them knowledge of how the judicial system works and what are the legal procedures that affect children in conflict with the law.
The project, in which the National Network for Children is a partner, works in Bulgaria with two schools: 26th School “Jordan Yovkov” in Sofia and School “Nesho Bonchev” in Panagyurishte. From each school one class with students from 8th grade are involved in different activities for a period of one year.
The main focus of the project is to present to young people involved in the project their specific rights and limits in the system of juvenile justice in Bulgaria and to involve students’ trough listening to their views and ideas which finally will be implemented in the creation of the digital game. So after a year and a half young people will be able to see their own input and ideas in the already finished educational game.
The final product – game related to justice – will be completed by the end of September 2017 and will reach a large audience of children and youth, as well as experts interested in the topic. The game, which will be result of the partnership efforts of participants from 6 countries, will be officially presented in Brussels.
The activities to be implemented under the project in Bulgaria are:
- Weekly meetings with “Children and youth participation” experts from the National Network for Children who will acquaint students with their rights in an interactive and interesting way, will talk about the system of justice in the country and what happens to children in Bulgaria who have been in contact with the law.
- Organization of a workshop on a national level, which will be attended by professionals and youth from both schools. This will enable young people to feel empowered to express opinions and to be heard and their views to be taken into account by experts from various fields.
- Regional virtual meetings enabling children involved in the project to get acquainted with their peers from other European countries to exchange views and ideas. So young people will communicate with other students who share their interests and realize the importance and their own contribution to the project. Meetings in the cyberspace are another opportunity for young people to exercise and put into practice their knowledge of English, create friendships and contacts in other countries.
- Organization of meetings between the two selected classes from both schools, so that Bulgarian students participating in the project meet live and know each other. This is again opportunity to share their views and opinions in a friendly atmosphere and contribute in interactive way to the project.
