A 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.

The Members:

Read more …

If you or your organisation want to join this initiative, please contact Michiel Matthes (see below).
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.
Concrete activities, read more …

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 Adrian Severin, MEP Rovana Plumb, MEP Corina Cretu (all three from Romania and the Socialist Group), MEP Evelyn Regner and MEP Karin Kadenbach (both from Austria and Socialist Group), MEP Livia Jaroka (Hungary, EPP) and Gerald Häfner (Group of the Greens, Germany). The Alliance for Childhood European Network Group 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 reports can be accessed via the link above 'EP Working Group'.

The session on 8 June 2010 will be held in the European Parliament, Rue Wiertzstraat 60, Brussels, Entrance Spinelli, Room 05M003

On 8 June the subject is 'The city for the children' with Vanessa Pallucchi from Legambiente in Rome.

Please send a mail to Michiel Matthes if you want to participate. The sessions are from 13.00 until 15.00 hours. Be present at 12.30 hours if you need a badge.

The dates for the Working Group sessions in 2010 are: 2.3, 13.4, 8.6, 31.8 and 17.11.

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.