Community of People Working on the Quality of Childhood

The Mission

The members of the Alliance for Childhood European Network Group share a deep concern about the quality of childhood in the member states of the European Union. For this reason, they have come together and have decided to start to work together to improve the ‘Quality of Childhood’ in the member states of the European Union.

The members believe that a poor quality of childhood is harmful for children. When society as a whole improves this quality, it will be beneficial for the children and adolescents in question and for the societies in which they grow up.

Furthermore, the members believe that a good quality childhood is based on the following principles and attitudes:

The child is respected as a fellow human being with his or her own aspirations to develop his/her inner potential.
The quality of the relationships of the child with important adults and others is a key element of the quality of his/her childhood and for his/her growth as a human being.

If you or your organisation wants to join this initiative, please contact Michiel Matthes (see below).

Partners

The Alliance for Childhood European Network Group is part of a global network of the Alliance for Childhood with a.o. the following partners:

in the United Kingdom: www.alliancechildhood.org
in the USA: www.allianceforchildhood.com
in Brazil: www.aliancapelainfancia.org.br

Work Method and Focus

The focus of the work is: to improve the Quality of Childhood in the European Union.

The Alliance for Childhood European Network Group is a network group of NGO’s in the member states of the European Union that work on the Quality of Childhood in their own countries or group of countries / specific areas. The activities of the Alliance for Childhood European Network Group are complimentary to the activities of the various members.

The ultimate objective of our cooperation is that the Quality of Childhood in the member states of the European Union will gradually improve.

Working Group on the Quality of Childhood at the European Parliament

The following Members of the European Parliament participate in the Working Group: MEP Evelyn Regner and MEP Karin Kadenbach (both from Austria and the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament), MEP Judith Merkies (The Netherlands, Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament), MEP Corina Cretu (Romania, Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament), MEP Livia Jaroka (Hungary, Group of the European People's Party (EPP), MEP Gerald Häfner (Germany, Group of the Greens) and MEP Edward McMillan-Scott (UK, Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE)). The Alliance for Childhood European Network Group is furthermore working with other MEPs on an ad hoc basis such as MEP Anneli Jäätteenmäki (ALDE Party, Finland), MEP Liisa Jaakonsaari (Socialist Group, Finland), MEP Lambert van Nistelrooij (The Netherlands, EPP) and MEP Peter Liese (Germany, EPP). The Alliance for Childhood is assisting the Members of the European Parliament to develop the agenda for the Working Group’s sessions and to draft the reports of these meetings.

The ultimate aim of this Working Group is for the European Parliament to adopt the approaches that were developed in the Working Group on the Quality of Childhood.

Ethical Boundaries

In a way, the Child Movement is in a fortunate position because it can copy a lot of the work done by the Environmental Movement during the past 50 years.

Questions can be addressed to:

Michiel Matthes