On the 20th Anniversary of the United Nations

Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) coming into e�ect, we are

glad to be granted $100,000 by the Constitu-tional and Mainland A�airs Bureau to organise

activities celebrating the anniversary of the Convention and promoting children’s rights in Hong Kong for the general

public to know about the Convention and children’s rights. In this way, we hope to arouse people’s attention on children’s a�airs and more active

involvement in activities related to children’s rights.

After considering di�erent strategies, such as children’s rights education stickers, children’s rights photo-taking competition and photo exhibition… etc., we have decided to introduce a

children’s rights interactive game for all primary one to three students in Hong Kong. We hope by knowing their rights early, children can pay more attention to matters concerning them and give

their voices on those matters.

The Children’s Rights Interactive Game includes a lea�et and a set of stickers. The lea�et will have a brief introduction on children’s rights and the UNCRC and also a game to test the school children

on how much do they know about children’s rights and how children’s rights can be applied to their daily life. With the help of stickers, students will be more interested. Thus, they can learn about

children’s rights in a more e�ective way.

November 20th is the Universal Children’s Day and also the day when the UNCRC was endorsed the UN General Assembly 21 years ago. On such a special day, we hope to distribute the Children’s Rights

Interactive Game to all junior students of primary school to celebrate this special day together.

Other than the 20th Anniversary of the UNCRC coming into e�ect, this year is also the 4th Anniversary of Kids’ Dream coming into establishment. Over the years, Kids’

Dream has been striving hard to promote children’s rights in Hong Kong. In the coming year, Kids’ Dream will continue this role and advocate the

concept of “Children speaking for Children” in Hong Kong.

Vivian Li

Promotional Activity for the 20th Anniversary of the CRC

Our PowerEditor’s Notes

Meeting with the Ombudsman for Children in Norway

Henry Leung (translated by Jason Lau)Kids’ Dream and its former body, ‘Children’s Council Working Committee’, have repeatedly requested the HKSAR government to set up a powerful Children’s Commission to coordinate and harmonize all child-related policies and matters a�ecting children.

In September 2009, the Ombudsman for Children in Norway, Mr. Reidar Hjermann, visited Hong Kong. Norway was the �rst country to set up an ombudsman for children in the world. In order to learn more about the Ombudsman’s work and its e�ects in Norway, several members of Kids’ Dream and the Children’s Rights Association of the Society for Community Organization met with Mr. Reidar to discuss about the life of children in Hong Kong and the di�culties in setting up the Children’s Commission.

Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child states, ‘the views of the child being given due weight in accordance with the age and maturity of the child.’ During the one-hour meeting with Mr. Reidar, the article was fully embodied. The obstacles of languages did not a�ect our interactions with him. Mr. Reidar was listening to us seriously in every single second during the meeting. He was even interested in our murmurs in Cantonese, worrying that he would miss anything important. After the meeting, Mr. Reidar wrote a letter to the HKSAR government to suggest setting up the Children’s Commission in Hong Kong.

During the process of policy making, the HKSAR government always draws reference to foreign experiences. Norway is the �rst country to set up an ombudsman for children. It provides Norway children with a direct and e�ective channel to express their opinions, so that children’s special needs are considered when policies concerning children are made. Its contribution is doubtless. We hope that with the successful experiences of the foreign countries and �rst-hand information from ombudsman for children, the HKSAR government can manage the child-related policies properly, and set up the Ombudsman for Children or the Children’s Commission soon.

Introduction of Kid’s Dream

2

Kids' Dream is the �rst child-led organization established in Hong Kong. We have the mission to promote the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). We strive hard to actualize the concept of "Children speaking for Children" by collecting views from as many Hong Kong children as possible so that their views can be truly represented and heard.

Brian KwokThis is my third year being with Kids’ Dream. Three years’ time is neither a short period of time, nor a long one. I dare not say that I have grown up and improved much, but the growth of Kids’ Dream is undeniable. It is di�cult for me to put into words how sad it is to see members leaving. Nevertheless, we witness energetic Child Councilors joining our family every year, and this have given us determination to work harder. It is not an easy task to promote children’s rights in Hong Kong and there is no short cut for that. But I truly believe that, as long as we hold our belief of “Children speaking for Children”, children’s rights would be actualized in Hong Kong one day.

This year is the 20th anniversary of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child coming into e�ect. Kids’ Dream, with the support of the Constitutional and Mainland A�airs Bureau, has created a Children’s Rights Interactive Game with the hope to promote children’s rights to children at the age of 7 to 12. Besides, Kids’ Dream members have also been working very hard in various occasions in promoting children’s rights. Their hard work and experiences have all been recorded in our 4th Newsletter. Now, please kindly appreciate the 4th Kids’ Dream Newsletter that we have prepared for you.

Children Council 2009-2010

Ferdinand Tsang (translated by Cherry Chan)

There were more than 50 Child Councilors that all have the same goal to voice out for children. As a partnering organization of the project, we have the responsibility to instill the concept of children’s rights to all of them. What are children’s rights? How do we �ght for the rights that we are entitled to? How do we actualize these rights? Through di�erent activities and in-depth discussion, we encouraged the Child Councilors to express their ideas positively and actively to actualize the concept of ‘Children speaking for Children’ and let them know more about children’s rights.

During the project, Child Councilors made use of the knowledge that they have learnt to voice out for the children and promote children’s rights. They held many meetings, designed questionnaires and conducted visits or interviews to prepare their motions. Three trainers were there to give them advice and assistance to prepare the motions. Although in the end only one out of the three motions was passed, the e�orts that they have put in are obvious to all and will not be wasted. I deeply believe that they will not regret about the time and e�ort that they have put in. The �re of children’s rights inside them has not been extinguished, in their hearts, there is still su�used with a sense of mission.

Children’s Council 2009/2010 has provided a platform for children under 18 years old to participate in promoting children’s rights. At the same time, it has also given our Kids’ Dream members an opportunity to put the child-led idea into practice. We planned and led many di�erent training programs to help the Child Councilors understand the spirit of children’s rights and join in to promote it.

Children's Council 2009/2010 has been successfully completed this year. However, this does not mean that the work of our Children Councilors has come to an end. A huge majority of them have joined Kids’ Dream and keeps the sense of mission in their hearts going. Therefore, Kids’ Dream could relay from one generation to another and continue to �ght for the rights of children!

3

4

Children’s ServiceChildren’s Rights Super Camp

Bobo To, Kezia Wong

Every year, Kids’ Dream organises a service programme, in hopes of promoting children’s rights to children normally hard to reach. This year, we set sick children in hospital as our service target. These children spend most of their time in hospital. It isolates them from the outside world, and even bars them from playing like every other kid. We hope, through games, we can bring them not only happiness, but also knowledge about children’s rights. Before the commencement of the service, our members have received training in the Princess Margaret Hospital. Karen, a professional Hospital Play Specialist, gave us a two-hour training session on skills and attitude in serving sick children from volunteers’ prospective. This provided us con�dence in our service preparation. Unfortunately, it was the peak season of the Human Swine In�uenza. We were barred from entering the hospital, especially the paediatric ward. After a thorough discussion, we decided to hold a day camp for our target group by partnering with Playright Children’s Play Association. The day camp was held in Sai Kung Outdoor Recreation Centre. We played some ice-breaking games with around ten children and their parents in the morning. They were then divided into groups. Initially, they were reluctant to speak or to move. In view of this, we played games like ‘Rights or Wants’ and ‘Child Right TV’, to let them have a brief idea of what the 4 basic Rights and the 3Rs are. With our encouragement, they became more comfortable with the environment, and started the discussion and shared their thoughts with other group members. The afternoon session began with mass games about children’s rights were introduced to them. The 4 groups competed for points in 5 games namely “Show your face”, “Fishing”, “Puzzle”, “Magic carpet” and “Scavenger”. Through questions and answers, their knowledge about children’s rights was consolidated and deepened. Time �ied, the long-prepared service soon came to an end. We had a strong feeling that children’s rights are not as popu-larly known as we had expected. Simple questions about children’s rights that are easy for us, however, are not to some of our participants. They showed a puzzled face after they knew the answer. Despite of this, we were most encouraged when we saw them answering the questions correctly after the series of activities. Though we cannot tell how long the knowl-edge can stay, we know as long as we keep on, more and more people will be able to learn about children’s rights.

5

Nikita LeeAt the moment stepping out of the Manila airport, I took o� my jacket feeling the warmth of the burning sun, hoping to be warmed by the passion of people and the smiles of children as well. On the way heading to the hotel where this learning exchange will be held, I wondered what I should expect to happen in the following days. Yet, it was the unexpected which turned out to be the most memorable in this trip.

When we arrived at the hotel, we were cordially welcomed by Cynthia, a colleague of Save the Children Philippines. Yingying, Po, Jason, Victor and I were waiting in excitement to meet the representatives from di�erent children’s groups in the Philippines. When both parties �nally met, both appeared to be pretty shy at �rst. But after several glances and exchange of smiles, the barrier soon became removed. We started to introduce ourselves and talked about things in our lives, like the di�erent school culture between Hong Kong and the Philippines. Anyway, the atmosphere was joyful, and the seeds of friendship were sowed.

There were many sharing sessions in the following days. Those included introduction of di�erent children’s groups, sharing of experiences in organizing activities to promote children’s rights, and also the involvement of children in CRC reporting. It was undoubtedly fruitful. Participants from both Hong Kong and the Philippines paid full attention and were very active in learning from each other. Because of the di�erent backgrounds of the two areas, the di�culties encountered and concerns of Kids’ Dream and the Philippines children’s groups were varied to a certain extent as well. For instance, not having a �xed venue for meetings is considered a problem to some of the children’s groups in the Philippines. For KD, it does not constitute a problem owing to the long time support of ACA and HKCCR. Besides, the Philippines children’s groups may be �ghting for provision of clean water and a safe environment to grow up, while Kids’ Dream is �ghting for the establishment of a children’s commission for Hong Kong. In spite of all these di�erences, the ultimate wish of providing a child-friendly environment for every child to grow up happily is of no di�erences. We are all working hard to strive for the actualisation of the UNCRC, and hoping that every child would be enjoying the four cardinal rights.

The exchange marked its end in a jubilant atmosphere. We played local games together, like limbo dance and “shell chess”, everyone was having great fun and the room was �lled with laughter. It also proved that music has no borders, Taylor Swift, Wonder Girls, Super Junior, we were all singing of the same language. The buds of friendship blossomed.

Though we are apart now, I faithfully believe that we are still working hard and walking towards the same goal. I am grateful for having such a precious opportunity to meet such great people and to share our dreams. Their passion encourages me to continue to walk down the road and may their passion burns like the golden sun, to evaporate the tears of children brought by injustice or disappointment; sickness or brutality.

“Aroma, light, colors, murmur, moan, and song,Constantly repeating the essence of my faith.” -José Rizal

Let the burning sun evaporates the tears of children

Elaina Wong (translated by Hinson Ngai)On 24 January 2010, Kids’ Dream was invited to attend an exchange programme with the Elderly Council. Event on the day was divided into two parts: introduction and sharing. Two organizations introduced themselves to one another respec-tively. We introduced Kids’ Dream as a platform for teenagers to promote children’s rights and it is the extension of the project Children’s Council. After the project, Child Councilors can join Kids’ Dream to promote children’s rights to continue its mission. On the other hand, Elderly Council is set up to care about the retirement life of elderly, the services and facilities they need, so as to take care of these people that have contributed a lot to Hong Kong. After some ice-breaking games, our members started exchanging ideas with the Elderly Councilors by groups. We discussed two issues: “Communication between elderly and children” and “How to advocate children’s rights and elderly rights?” Our group discussion results were presented and shared in the end.

We have to respect other’s rights while we are promoting ours. Although the views from children and elderly may di�er, we have to learn and take account of their views. In fact, children and elderly are the vulnerable groups in the society; the rights of both groups should be considered and cared. After this exchange, not only do we promote children’s rights to the elderly people, but we have also put human rights into practice through exchange. It is a meaningful exchange!

When The Voices of Children and Ederly Meet

6

Christie Lai

On 24 April, 2010, six KD members and I went to a workshop to comment on a guide book to be jointly published by Save the Children, Plan International and War Child Holland. The guidebook aims to educate children aged 7-12 around the world on Children’s Right to Participation.

The workshop took place at the o�ce of Save the Children Hong Kong, the sta� there welcomed us with a warm smile. She also showed us some guide books that Save the Children have published before. They are really colorful and can attract children to read them.

After that, our trainer Billy guided us to review the guide book. Although the book is written in English, it is very simple and easy to read for children aged 7-12. As a 13-year-old child, I can easily spot out words which might be di�cult to the targeted children. I think children’s views are really important to make this guide book meet the interests and needs of the children.

I am glad that we were invited to attend this workshop as children. It means children’s comments and opinions are being considered. Secondly, it also means that children are given opportunities to participate in events and in�uence decisions around them. Lastly, it �ts the theme of the guide book – Participation!

Making this guide book will let children around the world know more about their right to participation. So I think it’s really meaningful. I hope that from now on, when some events or things come across to children, they can express their views and opinions like this time we give comments on the guide book.

Our Views on a Guide Book about Children’s Right to Participation

7

Kelly Chan (translated by Vivian Li)

Promoting children’s rights is always the mission of Kids’ Dream. Since the last school talk was conducted at Shatin Government Secondary School in 2007, Kids’ Dream held our second school talk that lasted for about one hour at Baptist Rainbow Primary School on 8 July 2010.

This time, our target audiences were students from Primary 1-5. Knowing that students would be attracted by interactive activities, we tried to introduce how children rights could be applied on daily life through drama, discussion and games.

During the talk, although the students were interested in our drama and games, we knew that they did not have deep understanding on children’s rights. To intensify the content into a one-hour talk and make the students learn about it e�ectively was simply our biggest challenge.

To me, I have only joined Kids’ Dream for less than three months. It is my great pleasure to help conduct a school talk with the older members, and it was a very practical experience for me in promoting children’s rights. Facing di�erent types of target audience, we would need to use di�erent kinds of method to express ourselves e�ectively. Like in this school talk, we had to use the language and wordings that could be easily understood by children. We believe that through more practices, we can gain and accumulate more experience that could further improve our skills in organizing school talks and other activities in future.

Cheng Po Yan (translated by Dorothy Lui)It was a pity that the Youth Summit has disappeared for three entire years. But with the e�orts of many parties, the 7th Youth Summit was able to appear again and was conducted at Youth Square in Chai Wan this March. The 7th Youth Summit was co-organized by Home A�airs Bureau and Commission on Youth, and was supported by The Hong Kong Council of Social Service. Bearing the theme “Shaping the Future – Challenges and Opportunities Faced by Adolescents”, the Youth Summit dug into the issue of how youth in Hong Kong could turn risks into opportunities under the fast and ever changing world and society. Participants were invited to discuss and share in one of the four sub-topics set by the organizers including: The challenge posted by the change in population structure; Environmental protection and sustainable development; Health and psychological quality; as well as Multi-culture and integration of science and technology.

Over 600 youth participants from Hong Kong, Macau and Mainland China gathered at the Youth Summit. Kids’ Dream members were also inside to mingle with the crowd, as it is a valuable opportunity for youth to enter the discussion platform of civil society. In the summit, we have met many acquaintances who shared similar enthusiasm. Everyone at the summit was so passionate and eager to share his or her own knowledge and experience as a form of contribution to the summit. Our society should encourage and motivate youth to participate in public a�airs. On the other hand, teens should also take the initiative to make contributions to the society instead of solely complaining about social problems.

Youth participation is indeed a very important part of the society. We sincerely wish that the Youth Summit would continue to relay from one generation to another. It shall also absorb youth participants from a more diverse background. Youth participation is not only a learning opportunity for young people, it is also a way for us to contribute and shape a better community for all with youth power!

Small TalkBig Interaction

Youth Summit 2010

Adrian LeeKids’ Dream attended the Children’s Rights Forum upon the invitation of Constitutional and Mainland A�airs Bureau (CMAB) on 5 January 2010. We expressed our ideas on the development of Western Kowloon Cultural District. Later on, we also compiled and submitted our suggestions to the authorities concerned.

We have included our six main expectations on the development of the district, that the district must be child-friendly, inclusive, environmental-friendly, cultural consideration ahead of commercial bene�ts, show multi-national cultural elements, as well as possesses the innovative and unique features of Hong Kong.

Indeed, every policy in the society is closely related to children, and we also have our expectation when envisaging our future. Yet, Hong Kong lacks channels for children to express their views and ideas. We, hereby, hope the government will establish a platform for children to express their views, so as to allow children’s voices be heard by di�erent sectors of the society.

Cheney Cheng

Cheney took part in the “Safer Internet Day” in February this year, where he gave a short speech on behalf of Kids’ Dream as a participant of the “Punch Party”. A “Punch Party” was a blogger activity originated from the West, during which participants need to �nish 20 slides of powerpoint within 7 minutes. Cheney chose “Cyber- bullying” as the theme of his speech, which he had brie�y introduced causes and consequences of cyber-bullying as well as some suggestions towards solving this problem. Rapid speed, powerful destruction level, and collective responsibility are all the character-istics of cyber-bullying, so the problem is hard to be dealt with at present. To protect ourselves, we should handle our personal data with due care and at the same time, refrain ourselves from taking part in any cyber-bullying activities.

Cheng Po YanSpankOut day is held annually on the 30th April, during which lots of activities will be held around the world in order to spread the message of loving and caring for children. In April this year, Po took part in the “Zero Tolerance on Violence – Legislation Banning Corporal Punishment” Summit organized by Against Child Abuse, in which she shared her views on legislation against corporal punishment as a youth. Other speakers in the summit included radio host Ms Blanche Tang and academic Dr Edward Chan.

With the traditional Chinese perception of “Corporal punishment makes obedient children” deeply rooted in parents’ heart, many have misunderstood that the legislation will weaken parents’ authority when teaching their kids. Yet, corporal punishment is not the only way to teach children, and thus, legislation does not aim to challenge parents’ authority. In fact, legislation sets the bottom line for the society and conveys the message that it is unacceptable to use violence against children in whatever means.

“Violence” is a vicious cycle. Let’s put a full-stop to it to build a harmonious society from our youth now!

Expressing ideas on the development of

Western Kowloon Cultural District

“Safer Internet Day” Punch Party Lite

Against Child Abuse“Zero Tolerance on Violence –

Legislation Banning Corporal Punishment” Summit

Participation of KD on Different Social Affairs

8

9

Jerry TamMany teachers, parents and social workers gathered at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre on 30 January 2010 to attend a two-hour Children’s Rights Talk organized by the Hong Kong Committee on Children’s Rights. Aims of the talk are to allow parents and adults understand how to let children learn their rights, which is essential in fostering harmonious family life, healthy lifestyle and a fruitful childhood. Guest speakers at the talk shared their views on how children’s right to survival, protection, development and participation are essential in supporting a child’s development to adulthood. Guest speakers on the day included Dr Chow Chun Bong, Chairman of Hong Kong Committee on Children’s Rights, Mrs Priscilla Lui, Director of Against Child Abuse, and Ms Kathy Wong, Director of Playright Children’s Play Association. And Jerry, as a representative of Kids’ Dream, was invited to share his personal experience in promoting children’s rights, especially his views on children’s right to participation. Jerry began his speech with “This very talk has already actualized children’s right to participation. Parents and teachers who used to take up the role of teaching and instructing children, are now sitting back and listening to a child’s sharing.”

With a mere speech of 10 minutes, Jerry saw a lot of smiling faces and acknowl-edging nods. Other than the rewarding talks from di�erent guests, the participat-ing adults also asked questions enthusiastically from the guest speakers. What touched me most is their willingness to understand, respect and care for children!

“Adults First!” Children’s Rights Talk

Jason LauTo commemorate the 20th anniversary of the endorsement of the UNCRC, the Hong Kong Council of Social Service conducted a seminar on 20 November 2009 to review the Convention’s implementation and its future development. They invited government o�cials as well as both overseas and local experts to share their experience and future plans on promoting and implementing children’s rights. Jason and Po were invited as representatives of Kids’ Dream to share the challenges and roles of child-led organizations in advocating children’s rights.

As a child-led organization, we played three major roles in advocating children’s rights, namely peer educator, adults’ partner and a part of home. We believe children understand their own di�culties best, so peer educator is an e�ective way to promote children’s rights to children and our peers. We can also cooperate with adults and NGOs, or even plan children’s rights promotional activities by ourselves, through which we could express our feelings and ideas directly, which we believe is the most e�ective way in re�ecting how various issues could in�uence children.

UNCRC:Review on its

Implementation and its Future Development Seminar

10

Hercules Lai

Po, Nikita, Elaina and I represented Kids’ Dream to attend the Children's Issues Forum - The Resolution of Disputes Relating to Children that took place at the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre on 24th and 25th September 2009. The forum had brought together members of the local and overseas judiciary and legal professionals, government o�cials, health care professionals and social workers to consider the development of a Children’s Dispute Resolution procedure and the formation of Children’s Commission in Hong Kong.

Before the o�cial start of the legal forum, Po and I had attended a dinner gathering with the professionals who were working on this �eld to share our experience. It was our privilege to be able to share our passion, our worries with the people who deem children as a very important priority. We had a great fun at the dinner gathering and we did meet lots of people who appreciated our work so much.

On the �rst day of the forum, we listened to lots of presentations which have given us good inspiration to continue with our path. But the second day was actually a very nervous day for both Po and I since we would be doing a presentation in front of almost over hundred judges, lawyers and many others. We were so jittery that we even couldn’t �nish our lunch. However, we were so relieved to hear the organizers emphasizing the following, “Just say anything you like, just be yourself.” At that moment, I think Po and I would agree that we had been treated as children and were sincerely encour-aged to air our opinion towards how children su�ered in the divorce procedures of their parents. Not only did this remind me our role at the legal forum to give out constructive and concrete opinions from a child’s perspective, but it also reminded me that children’s voice had always been overlooked and now, a group of professionals was going to lend an attentive ear to us. It was undoubtedly a great inspiration and privilege for us.

Po has shared her own story and the whole audience was giving the thumbs up to her for being so brave and courageous to share her misery with the purpose to help the next generation. And for me, I was so glad to have a partner like her. Her devotion has never been doubted. We also presented some data and views that we had collected from children and youth su�ering from divorced families to the audience. They were so shocked about the feelings of those children. I remember one of the judges addressed that in the closing ceremony, “Kids’ Dream would be my �rst consultant in the formulation of policy a�ecting children.” We were so �abbergasted at that single second since we’ve never anticipated that the e�ort made by Kids’ Dream would be that highly appreciated. And I am pretty sure that it was the most profound accomplish-ment in these two days, for both Po and I.

Although the forum only lasted for two days, I do believe that we, including the judges, lawyers, social workers, etc. would be more single-minded in helping the children in future and surely for Kids’ Dream.

Children's Issues Forum The Resolution of Disputes

Relating to Children

Bob Ho, Brian Lau (Translated by Li Cheuk Ying)

BackgroundIn year 2005, Cheney and April went to Geneva in Switzerland to report to the United Nations on the implementation of the UNCRC in Hong Kong, from the perspectives of children and youth. To our surprise, there are only a few places in the world that have involved children and youth representatives to report to the UN directly. Therefore, in June 2009, children and NGO repre-sentatives from six regions were invited to London to share and discuss with each other their experiences and challenges, as well as to design questionnaires to collect further experiences from other countries. Half a year later, Cheney along with the other representatives from the six places went to Geneva to report to the UN their major �ndings of the survey report.

The Geneva tripCheney was having his exchange at Harvard University in the US by then, he �ied to Geneva by himself to meet trainer Billy and went to the UN headquarters for the meeting. The trip lasted for four days, during which the �rst and second days were mainly some preparatory work. The report included the planning and preparatory process before the reporting process, the actual reporting process (which includes the venue, facilities, translation, etc…) and the follow-up work after the reporting process. Cheney recalled the conversation between the children and youth representatives was a bit chaotic, since diverse languages such as English, Spanish, Bengali and East European language were involved that required at least twice interpretations, and the discussion process was extremely slow. Cheney also felt the UN Committee Members have failed to put away their tinted glasses, and gave reservations to many good suggestions that could improve children’s active involvement in the reporting process. Cheney also expressed his nostalgia during our interview, as his last visit to Geneva was in year 2005 when he was only 15 years old. Although he had already been to a lot of tourist spots in Geneva, he still loves Geneva for its relaxing atmosphere and tranquil lifestyle. When asked to choose between Geneva and London, Cheney preferred London as there are comparatively more tourist spots with a vibrant city life.

Don’t you dare to underestimate our trainer Billy! Although many people knew that she is a football fan, few will know that

she is undertaking her diploma in wine and spirit on tasting and knowledge. Cheney told us during their last night of the Geneva trip, they dined in a restaurant at the Old Town. Cheney ordered duck breast and liver that evening, and Billy selected a glass of red wine for him for accompaniment, after which he fell in love with wine. Hmm … we can’t help but to wonder should this be

something our trainer passes on to us as well.

How much do you know aboutTrainer Billy ?

The Geneva Trip

Kids' Dreamers

11

Timothy Cheung (translated by Vincent Ng)

‘Global Warming’ is no longer a new term for us. Climatic change has begun leading to catastrophic consequences long time ago. Continuous rise of water level in Maldives may eventually lead to the island’s disappearance under water. Children change their residence every year; even schools cannot maintain its normal function as a result of �ooding. Heat waves in Europe kill family members of the children. What has been described above may sound distant, but these are the real cases learnt by our Kids’ Dreamer, Jerry in Copenhagen.

Children’s Climate ForumBeing one of the Hong Kong young Climate Ambassadors, Jerry attended the ‘Children’s Climate Forum in Copenhagen 2009’ which was organized by UNICEF and the City of Copenhagen in November 2009. The purpose of the Children’s Climate Forum was to allow 164 children from 44 developing and industrialized countries to meet face-to-face in order to discuss the impact of climate change on children, and how children can take part in �ghting climate change. Jerry participated in trainings, workshops and learning sessions of di�erent natures, to learn about combating climatic changes. By the collaboration of 164 child delegates, the Children’s Climate Forum produced a joint declaration and presented to the COP15 President, embodying the spirit of child participation in global issues.

Copenhagen, a place di�ers from Hong KongFrom Jerry’s point of view, Copenhagen is a typical European city, which gives him a feeling of comfort with a slower pace of living. The local government has put much e�ort in promoting environmental protection. The well-established network of Cycleways reduces the burden of public transport, leading to alleviation of air pollution. Despite of the packed schedule of activities, Jerry had an eye-opening visit to a local eco-friendly farm. In the farm, excessive industrial carbon was buried underground, which enhanced the capability of plants in carbon uptake. This reveals the emphasis of environmental protec-tion. Nevertheless, Jerry felt sorry for these farms as they were unable to grant support from the local government, but to sustain the farm on their own.

Children from 44 countriesJerry said he learnt a lot from the collaboration with child delegates from 44 countries. He encountered some unforgettable moments during the forum. In one occasion, he was arranged to have a discussion with delegates from Finland and Africa. Communication was tough for speakers whose mother tongue was not in English. Every time when Jerry was expressing his ideas, interpreters would be busy doing translation. Sometimes he was confused by di�erent languages heard. Besides, as only hamburgers and sandwiches were served during the forum, he was asked by a reporter if he missed rice. Interesting enough, this appeared in the news next day. Jerry thought that each country has its own cultural characteristics, so the way people work di�ers from each other. This is why mutual respect and understanding are vital for working with each other, and this is the key to e�ective cooperation.

Raise awareness of children in Hong KongJerry expressed his heartfelt gratitude to the Hong Kong Government, for providing the youth with tremendous chances to explore the world and to broaden their horizon. He also pointed out that all the while Hong Kong children have received lots of information about global warming, however, they still express indi�erence in environmental issues. One-way delivery of information has proved insu�cient to meet the needs of children that have been spoiled in various ways in this generation. As a member of the earth, it is our obligation to increase our awareness towards the changes in environment, and combat climate changes. Let’s take action and Save the Earth NOW!

Kids’ Dreamer in Denmark

12

13

Timothy Cheung (translated by Kelvin Kan)Under the big blue sky of Perth in Australia, Kids’ Dreamer Ah Po did not take her leisure to enjoy the sunshine and breezes on this piece of wonderland. Instead, in November 2009, she attended a bi-yearly conference, Asia-Paci�c Regional Confer-ence on Child Abuse and Neglect (APCCAN), as a representative of Hong Kong. It is a conference which is jointly organized by the National Association for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (NAPCAN) from Australia and International Society for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (ISPCAN).

Everything starts from hereIn 2008, Against Child Abuse Ltd. (ACA) enhanced its international connections by being the main organizer of the 17th ISPCAN. At the beginning of 2009, the main organizer of APCCAN contacted Mrs. Priscilla Lui, Director of ACA. They wished they could recruit more adolescents in assisting in the preparation, especially in those sessions involving teenagers. Therefore, Ah Po then became one of the members of the APCCAN organizing committee.

Everything got started right after the organizing committee was formed. Starting from January 2009, Ah Po discussed with organizers in Australia through long distance calls. Their main task was to plan how to add the youth participation part into the 4-day conference. Later on, the organizing committee accepted a proposal initiated by a local teenage group by mobilizing more youth to propose ideas. By considering the applications from a huge number of teenagers through selections, about 30 ideas were eventually chosen for this meaningful event.

A Coincidence!At the middle of the organizing process, one of the co-chairmen resigned suddenly. After voting, Ah Po was elected to be the new co-chairman. Ah Po especially wanted to give her sincere gratitude to the other co-chairman, for being so helpful and responsible throughout the preparation. Being alone in Australia, this Australian co-chairman showed great hospitality that helped Ah Po a lot during the journey. This has made Ah Po’s life much easier in Australia. Besides, the trip was made successful under the full support and sponsorship by the Constitutional and Mainland A�airs Bureau and Save the Children Sweden. Ah Po could �nally make her way to Perth!

Di�erent place, Di�erent atmosphereAh Po mentioned that support to teenagers in Australia is very su�cient. As this atmosphere has become very mature, many di�erent opportunities are ready for them. The Australian government is also very willing to provide �nancial support to projects related to teenagers and encourages them to join. Take APCCAN as an example, participants can receive sponsorship from the government, including accommodation and fees for air tickets. Ah Po realizes that Hong Kong government should give more resources for teenagers so that youngsters can have equal opportu-nities in participation. These precious chances should not be limited to a certain group of elite people. Even for those less talented, or the unfortunates, they should be given a chance to broaden their horizons, which in turn means that more tangible support should be provided.

Ah Po also observed the di�erences between Hong Kong teenagers and the Austra-lians during the trip. The working atmosphere in Australia is more relaxed and carefree, and heavy workload is very rare for them. Moreover, Australians are more passionate and devoted. Teenagers in Hong Kong are relatively introvert and passive. Australians will always take the initiative to express themselves. They have the courage and dare to take actions. We may think they are a bit rash, but their passion is still worth learning.

Kids’ Dreamer in Perth

14

Real Youth ParticipationDi�erent scholars gave their views and had discussion towards child abuse and neglect at the APCCAN. During the conference, adolescents have a lot of chances to voice out. For instance, at least a 15-minute session will be given to them every day. They could direct their ques-tions to scholars and request for more in depth explanation. The most unforgettable occasion should be the debate between the Child Commissioners and youth on whether children have the capability of taking care of themselves. Both parties have made the discussion a very impressive one. This has also brought out the spirit that teenagers do have their right to participation and expression on issues closely related to them.

Pondering…Ah Po worked painstakingly step by step in these nine months. Finally she can achieve her goal. And, the most important implication of this is that teenagers should always re�ect and ponder over their own work.

Teenagers should always be positive towards life, but it is even better to realize the beauty of contribution. Once you have the chance to contribute, we should do our very best. We have to know, chances are not always ready. We have to cherish every chance available.

This can be well shown by Ah Po’s trip in Australia. A Children’s Commis-sion was set up in Australia few years ago. It is responsible of monitor-ing the government in advancing child rights. Ah Po took the initiation to exchange views and opinions with the Child Commissioners there and obtained more useful information from them, so as to contribute towards the establishment of a same commission in Hong Kong. Ten years ago, the United Nations suggested every State Party of the Convention on the Rights of the Child should set up a Children’s Commission, however, there is still no signi�cant progress in Hong Kong yet. Ah Po emphasizes that Hong Kong needs views and voice from children. Without an o�cial way for children to express their views, policies always ignore its in�uence on children. Bene�tting from the trip, Ah Po has set up a network with those Child Commissioners. Ah Po believes, by collecting these overseas experiences, it will be helpful for the campaign in Hong Kong.

It is still a long way to go for the development of child rights with youth e�orts. But always put Ah Po’s words in our mind. ‘Stay positive and optimistic, ignite our passion, and let the �re continue to glow.’

15

Lau Chi Chung (translated by Vincent Ng)

Each year, a Christmas party will be held to let all Kids’ Dreamers take a break to relax, to enjoy and to celebrate. As a new member in this family, I was thrilled and so looked forward to have a gathering without formal discussion.

The cold weather contrasted perfectly to the warmth that the hot pot has brought us. The warmth did not come only from the hot pot, but also from seeing all of us preparing, eating, chatting, and playing together. We are one big family, in which we support and encourage each other. This warm feeling �lled my heart completely. I hope this feeling could be kept among us, so that not only our pressure at work would be alleviated, but also the momen-tum of our team can be maintained!

Christmas Gathering

16

Retreat CampMickey Yip

This year’s retreat camp of Kids’ Dream was held on 27 August 2009. Time �ied. It was already the third year that Kids’ Dream has put its e�orts in promot-ing children’s rights in Hong Kong. The retreat camp was a good opportunity for us to review the past and plan for the future.

After the function for celebrating the 3rd Anniver-sary of Kids' Dream - Kids’ Café, members found that the anniversary functions usually invited similar guests and the format was with little di�erence. This kind of functions could not promote children’s rights e�ectively to a wider community, but have spent much of our e�orts. So we need a change! In addition, the workload of our members was consid-ered too heavy. Although members had already decided to cut down the number of activities we attended or held last year, we often treasure the precious chances that can promote children’s rights. Thus, many invitations were accepted in the end. Besides, most members of Kids’ Dream are students and on a voluntary basis. Too heavy workload is unbearable to us. Therefore, our members stressed that we should think twice before we decide to accept invitations and hold programs this year.

Nevertheless, with the 20th anniversary of the UNCRC around the corner and the sincere support from Constitutional and Mainland A�airs Bureau, we decided to hold a celebrating activity. However, the discussion about format was indeed very di�cult in the retreat camp, since we have to strike a balance between our workload and e�ectiveness of the activity. In the end, we decided to form a working group to work on it. Passing the UNCRC is an important chapter in the history of the develop-ment of children’s rights. Its anniversary is a good chance to promote children’s rights in Hong Kong. No matter how di�cult it will be, Kids’ Dream will do our best to organize the event.

Orientation CampAdrian Lee (translated by Vivian Li)

Time �ied. Children’s Council has now come to the seventh year. Our Child Councilors strive for promoting children’s rights from one generation to another, and have fostered the only child-led organization in Hong Kong, Kids’ Dream. In this regard, Kids’ Dream always values the new members very much in joining our big family, and we have organized an Orientation Camp to allow the new members mingle into our family.

This year, we had our Orientation Camp on 15 and 16 May 2010 at Lei Yue Mun Park and Holiday Village. We organized various activities, including market place to introduce our various working groups. Among all the activities, I believe Legoland and the Detective Game after dinner would be the most impressive for the new members.

Lego looks easy and it is just a kid’s game. However, Kids’ Dream’s Legoland is totally di�erent. It is an exercise to show how we could cooperate e�ectively amid arguments, con�icts, misunderstandings, mistrust and dissensions that sometimes are inevitable in the long road of promoting children’s rights. To make the Legoland function well, teamwork and mutual understanding are key factors to success, and we all experienced this deep meaning through the activity.

After dinner, we came to the mysterious and exciting Detective Game that popping up with settings of entertain-ment arena, rural village, stories about vampire, love, friendship, anger, jealousy, regret… The Detective Game was not only aimed to entertain, but it was also a challenge for people to show their logic, interrogation technique and most importantly their team work which are useful to apply on our future works.

After the Orientation Camp, our members are getting more familiar with each other. I hope from now on, we can all work together with pleasure in promoting children’s rights.

Orientation‧Retreat‧

Growth

Crew List

Editors：Marco Chu、Brian Kwok

Art Editor：Nicolle Liu

Authors：Adrian Lee、Bob Ho、Bobo To、Brian Lau、Cheney Cheng、Christie Lai、Elaina Wong、Ferdinand Tsang、Henry Leung、Hercules Lai、Jason Lau、Jerry Tam、Kelly Chan、Kezia Wong、Marco Lau、Mickey Yip、Nicolle Liu、Nikita Lee、Cheng Po Yan、Timothy Cheung、Vivian Li

Translator：Alexandra Chan、Charlotte Chui、Cherry Chan、Dorothy Lui、Hinson Ngai、 Jason Lau、Vincent Ng、Vivian Li、Li Cheuk Ying、Kelvin Kan

Members of Kids’ Dream exchanged ideas on children’s issues with representatives from The Children’s Assembly of Macau. (Li Cheuk Ying)

Members of Kids’ Dream were interviewed by volunteers of Letter Box to Uncle Long Leg Newsletter on the preparation of the UNCRC Report and shared their views on children’s dreams. (Li Cheuk Ying)

Members of Kids’ Dream expressed their thoughts on the design and content of the UNCRC Report (child-friendly version) to be published by the govern-

ment at a meeting with CMAB. (Li Cheuk Ying)