On World Refugee Day, unaccompanied migrant children and members of the Children's Rights Committee gathered to pay tribute to the resilience, courage and strength of refugees worldwide during the “Children Under the Same Sky: Empowering Young Voices” event.
Through activities from the Council of Europe's COMPASITO manual for human rights education with children, participants explored children's rights, participation, inclusion, and collective responsibility on what it means to feel heard, safe and part of a community.
By engaging collaborative exercises, children shared their experiences, listened to different perspectives, and discovered common values and hopes. In the workshop “Placing Rights on the Map,” they explored how children's rights are experienced in their communities, while the “Water Drops: Shared Resources, Shared Rights” session encouraged them to think about sustainability and the protection of common resources.
One of the most meaningful parts of the day was the exchange between unaccompanied migrant children under institutional care and Turkish children. By sharing their experiences, building new friendships, and learning from one another, the children showed how children's rights can become a common language that connects them across cultures and life experiences.
The event concluded with a shared message from children to adults: children want to take part, be included and have their voices heard in decisions that affect their lives.
At the end of the gathering, children released balloons into the sky, symbolising their shared hope for a more just, equal, and inclusive world for every child. The event served as a powerful reminder that all children, wherever they come from, deserve to be heard, protected, and empowered.
The event was organised by the Council of Europe project “Strengthening the protection of unaccompanied migrant children in Türkiye” which is funded by Sweden.
