Children's Rights Day is celebrated annually in Finland and around the world on 20 November in honour of the adoption of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Children's Rights Week is built around the Children’s Rights Day, during which the rights of the child are highlighted in many ways.
The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child sets out the rights of the child for every child under the age of 18. All children and young people have the right to good health, adequate nutrition, social security, an adequate standard of living, a healthy and safe environment, education, rest, play and leisure.
Tampere is involved in UNICEF's A Child-friendly Municipality development work, which promotes the realisation of the rights of the child. UNICEF's A Child-friendly Municipality model is based on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Children's Rights Week will kick off on Monday 20 November Children's Rights Day, which is the national flag date. In the afternoon, children will have an opportunity to address the City Council during its evening session at Tampere Hall. The address will include a video with greetings from under school age children, ideas from regional children's parliaments and views gathered from youth centres and the young people’s group for development work on the Child-friendly Municipality project.
During Children's Rights Week from Wednesday 22 November to Sunday 26 November, you can visit Children's Culture Centre Rulla's Onni on olla exhibition and art workshop. At the exhibition visitors will have the opportunity to view the illustrations in the ONNI book series, play on Onni's play mat and in Onni’s kitchen, make a shadow theatre performance and play in a small ball pit and sail Onni's cardboard box ship. Visitors to the art workshop will make cover art for their own small books.
Thursday 23 November is Dress in Yellow Day, which parents’ organisation Tampereen Vanhemmat ry is challenging all Tampere residents, work and volunteer organisations, homes, schools and daycare centres to take part in Taking part is easy. All you have to do is agree with everyone in your community or organisation that you will all wear something yellow on Thursday. The colour yellow represents friendship and friendship skills Take photos during Dress in Yellow day and share them on social media using the hashtags #lastentre, #pukeudukeltaiseen, #olettärkeä, #äläoletörkeä, and by tagging @tampereenvanhemmatry and @lapsiystavallinenkunta_tampere in photos on Instagram.
On Thursday 23 November at 9:00–11:00, the Rulla Family Club will meet at Children's Culture Centre Rulla. This even is intended for all under school age children and their parents. The family club programme includes storytelling and nursery rhymes. During the same visit, you can also borrow books from Metso's mobile library.
Friday 24 November, it is Bring Your Child to Work Day when children will have the opportunity to visit the workplace of an adult they are close to. The City of Tampere encourages employers to participate in the day. During this day, children can be given a presentation and a tour of the workplace and organised programme allowing them to participate. A workplace can be presented to children by telling them what people who work there do each day, what professions people who work there have and what the workplace's facilities are like.
On Saturday 25 November, a family event for Children's Rights Week will be held at Youth Culture Centre Monitoimitalo 13. The event will begin at 10 a.m. and offer families a wide range of things to do together. At the event’s activity points, children and parents can play, try out games, do crafts, exercise, learn digital skills and discuss what makes people feel happy and good and increases well-being. The event will provide information on the rights of the child and the parties that organise activities for families with children in Tampere. Children can also bring their own teddy bear, doll or other toy to a teddy bear doctor for treatment, and you and your child can borrow books from the mobile library. The event will ends with a performance by children's orchestra Höpinätötterö. The performance will start at 2 p.m. and last about half an hour. The café in the youth cultural centre building will be open during the event, and will sell small snacks.
