(25 January 2018, Opatija) Eurochild’s next bi-annual conference takes place in Opatija, Croatia from 29-31 October 2018. The conference entitled ‘Building a better Europe with children: All Aboard!’ will be hosted by Society ‘Our Children’ Opatija in partnership with the City of Opatija, under the auspices of the President of the Republic of Croatia Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic.

The host, Secretary of the Society “Our children” Opatija Sanja Škorić and Secretary General of Eurochild Jana Hainsworth announced the Eurochild Conference in Opatija this morning, in the presence of the Mayor of the City of Opatija Ivo Dujmić; Head of UNICEF Croatia office Valentina Otmačić and the Children’s Mayor of the City of Opatija Petra Deranja along with Croatian media, including child journalists who raised pertinent questions to the organisers and hosts.

“We are delighted to bring the children’s rights community with us to Opatija this year to discuss why and how to involve children in public decision-making in particular children from disadvantaged backgrounds.  Involving children meaningfully in decisions that affect them impacts other societal outcomes like employment, skills development, democratic participation and civic engagement. The conference will be an opportunity for us to discover how the child-friendly City of Opatija supports children’s participation and share its lessons with other governments, organisations and individuals”, said Jana Hainsworth, Secretary General of Eurochild.

The Eurochild Conference in Opatija will bring positive examples of how public decision-makers at local, national and European levels are respecting the right of children to participate in decisions affecting them. The conference will host an estimated 300 participants including public sector officials, politicians, children’s rights professionals as well as children themselves. By involving under 18 years-olds in the planning, preparation and delivery of the conference, the conference itself will be an example of participation in action.