Children's rights to experience: Interactive learning paths in the PM district!

Children's rights to experience: Interactive learning paths in the PM district!

A lot is happening in the Potsdam-Mittelmark district when it comes to children's rights. An exciting initiative to bring these rights to life has just seen the light of day. In collaboration with the German Children's Fund and the committed Teresa Linke, the children's and youth advisory board has developed interactive learning paths that were specifically created to introduce children to the most important children's rights. Station by station, the young explorers learn interesting facts about the right to education, protection and participation. And the best thing about it: you don't just learn here, you also play!

The individual stations are designed to be child-friendly and not only promote awareness of equal opportunities, but also exercise, creativity and consideration. Care was taken to ensure that the boards were designed to be easy to understand and at the children's eye level. The municipalities are responsible for selecting the locations, setting up and maintaining these boards, which are financed by the children's and youth advisory board at a cost of between 1,500 and 2,000 euros per station.

First learning path opened

The first learning path was ceremoniously opened on September 19th at Seddiner See and is part of the multi-generational path. At the opening ceremony there were numerous hands-on activities organized by child and youth work organizations. What is particularly noteworthy is that the children's and youth advisory board collected the children's wishes and gave away instant photos. Another highlight was the family bike tour in Borkheide and Borkwalde, which was intended to enable the children and their families to properly celebrate children's rights.

The students from Borkheide elementary school also got actively involved and planned a themed route with ten stations. The culmination took place in the community center. A colorful children's disco was celebrated there, which was accompanied by inclusive participation activities. Not only is the fun important, but the children's active participation in their own everyday lives is also encouraged.

Children's rights in a suitcase

If the interactive learning paths aren't enough for you, you can also look forward to the children's rights case. This was developed by the KiJu office together with children and is aimed at children aged around eight and over. The suitcase is equipped with interactive methods and games that bring UN children's rights to life. This equipment can even be borrowed free of charge for schools, after-school care centers and children's and youth facilities in Potsdam.

The contents of the children's rights case are mixed and include games such as “Are you right?”, quiz cards and a fairy tale game. There are also documents documenting the most important children's rights as well as child-friendly postcards and brochures designed for children and adults. The suitcase not only supports the implementation of the right to freedom of expression and information in accordance with Article 13 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, but also ensures that this knowledge becomes reality for the children. All borrowing inquiries can be made conveniently by email or telephone.

UNICEF Germany offers valuable materials for all those who want to deal more intensively with children's rights. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child is formulated in child-friendly language and is equipped with brochures and posters that are also available in various languages. These materials promote children's awareness of their rights and support their education. After all, it is important that the children know what they are entitled to.

The timed combination of exciting learning paths and interactive methods such as the children's rights kit clearly shows that children's rights are anchored not only theoretically, but also practically in everyday life. In this way, everyone involved can have a good knack for taking the voices of the young generation seriously and promoting them.

You can find more information on the websites of Potsdam-Mittelmark, SJR Potsdam and UNICEF.