On the 19th – 20th August 2025, the Hong Kong Committee on Children’s Rights held the “I Have Something to Say” Children’s Forum – a platform for children to speak up on matters of their concern. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) has been in force in Hong Kong for 30 years since 1994. Last year, we had a CRC Conference Series bringing together the professionals to review the child rights situations in our city. This year, children aged 10-17 took over the microphone and shared the child rights situations in Hong Kong from their perspective. There are a total of 7 sessions, which include topics of: Session 1–Establish Children’s Day to let the public know the rights of children; Session 2–The hidden tragedies of children: abuses from friends and close adults; Session 3–Schoolchildren under too much pressure to study leading to suicide risk; Session 4–Impact of the Hong Kong education system on students’ mental health; Session 5–Challenges faced by non-Chinese speaking children in Hong Kong; Session 6–Overly controlling school policies violate students’ rights; Session 7–Children face challenges leaving children’s homes.
Check out the highlights here!