The World of Children, a new Kids’ Own title about children and their rights, is now available to buy on Amazon.

Imagine a playground with no children …
Look carefully and you’ll see us hiding.
– Shania

Kids Own’ partnered with the UNESCO Centre, Children and Youth Programme to publish this new book, written and illustrated by children aged 8-12 in Sligo and Fermanagh. The World of Children investigates children’s lives and rights with the child’s voice at the heart of the process.

What’s important to children?

It’s important for children to have a home because if you didn’t have a home you’d be on the street. Some children in the world don’t have a home. It should be every child’s right to have a home. – Danielle

A series of conversations and workshops with children were framed by four questions leading from the four General Principles of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC):

• The principle of non-discrimination
• The best interests of the child as a primary consideration
• The right of the child to life, survival and devlelopment
• Due weight be given to the voice of the child

The young people who took part in this book created all the writing and artwork, including the design and layout, working alongside a writer and artists  from Kids’ Own. The children used different art techniques and assembled collages which combined their prints, their photographs and their drawings.

Children can have a voice by talking and by writing…

The World of Children book project was the first collaboration between the Children and Youth Programme (CYP) and Kids’ Own Publishing Partnership. The CYP is an academic, independent research programme, focusing on the well-being of children and youth in Ireland and Northern Ireland, using a rights-based approach, led by the UNESCO chairs at the University of Ulster and the NUI Galway. Kids’ Own is Ireland’s first and only dedicated publisher of books made by children for children. To find out more information on the development and methodologies of this project visit: http://issuu.com/practice.ie/docs/the_world_of_children_methodolgynar