The ENYA Project Is Financially Supported by the FRC Programme of the European Commission

ENYA Annual Seminar

29th to 31st of August 2012

Warsaw

Poland

The ENYA project is financially supported by the FRC programme of the European Commission

Contents

Page

1.0 Introduction3

2.0 Structure4

3.0Attendance7

4.0Thematic Working Groups8

4.1Children in Care 9

4.2Juvenile Justice15

5.0Evaluation20

5.1Introduction 20

5.2Evaluation from Facilitators20

5.3Evaluation from Young People and Facilitators21

1.0 Introduction

During 2010, ENOC developed the ENOC Network of Youth Advisors (ENYA) and in doing so enabled almost 200 young people and over 20 moderators to exchange their views and experiences, and contribute through ENOC, their thoughts and comments on policy making at European, national and regional levels.

Through the 4 different thematics of violence, education, health and the internet, young people debated the issues through the e-forum; identified key common issues on each of the topics; agreed representatives from each country to represent them at the Annual ENOC Conference in Strasburg and finally, presented their proposals for action / recommendations to ENOC members.

Back in 2010 Thomas Hammarberg, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights (at that time) joined in the debate at the 14th ENOC Annual Conference and told us “Time to stop having young people present as decorations in your debates about their rights and needs. Listen to them properly, and act!"

This was followed up by an Annual Seminar held in Belfast in July 2011 and a presentation in Warsaw in September 2011. Following evaluations of these conferences, the E-forum was re established to focus on the areas of Juvenile Justice and Children in Care.

Young people from across Europe contributed to the E-Forum resulting in an Annual Seminar held in Warsaw during August 2012. This report describes the outcomes of this seminar.

2.0 Structure of Annual Seminar

The Annual Seminar was held on the 29th and 31st of August. The three day seminar was structured as follows:

Agenda: DAY 1

Date:WEDNESDAY 29TH AUGUST 2012

Location:OMBUDSMAN OFFICES

DAY AND TIME / ACTIVITY
13.30pm / Lunch
Location: Conference Room
14.30 pm / Introduction and icebreakers (Facilitators Guide Session 1)
Location: Conference Room

• Ice breakers and introductions – Matoula (Greece)

15.30 - 17.00
(including break for refreshments) / Group work (Facilitators Guide Session 2)

• Juvenile justice
• Location: Library
• Facilitator- Mat (Northern Ireland)
• Summary Presenter – Christina (Cyprus)
• Children in institutional care
• Location: Cabinet Room
• Facilitator- Suzanne (Malta)
• Summary Presenter – Jurga (Lithuania)

17.00 -17.30 / Return to hotel
Meet in lobby at 17.30
17.30-18.00 / Bus journey to old town
18.00-19.00 / Dinner in old town
19.00 - 20.00 / Guided walking tour of old town

Agenda: DAY 2

Date:THURSDAY 30TH AUGUST 2012

Location:OMBUDSMAN OFFICES

DAY AND TIME / ACTIVITY
8.30 - 9.30 / Breakfast
Location: Hotel
10.00 -13.00
(including break for refreshments) / Continuation of Group Work (Facilitators Guide Session 3)
Location: same as previous day
Break into the same 2 groups as group the previous day, including Ombudspeople.
13.00 -13.45 / Lunch
Location: Conference Room
Confirm dinner venue for that night
13.45-14.00 / Break
14.00 -16.00
(including break for refreshments) / Finalising Presentation (Facilitators Guide Session 4)
Location: Conference Room
Facilitated by Niall (Northern Ireland)
Join the two groups together and each presents their slides.
16.00-17.00 / Final Presentation (Facilitators Guide Session 5)
Location: Conference Room
Facilitated by Niall (Northern Ireland)
Presentation to the Commissioner and questions and answers
17.00-18.00 / Dinner
Location: To be decided over lunch
18.00-21.00 / Bus tour of Warsaw

Agenda: DAY 3

Date:FRIDAY 31ST AUGUST 2012

Location:OMBUDSMAN OFFICES

DAY AND TIME / ACTIVITY
8.00-9.30 / Breakfast
Location: Hotel
Be at lobby at 9.30 for bus
9.30-10.00 / Bus to City Centre
10.00-13.00
(including break for refreshments) / Januscz Korczak / children’s rights awareness session
Location: City Centre
13.00-14.00 / Lunch
14.00-14.30 / Conference evaluation and close
Location: Conference Room
Facilitated by Agnieszka (Poland)

• Evaluation of conference
• Close of conference by Polish Ombudsperson

3.0 Attendance

The conference was attended by the delegates shown below broken down by country.

Name
Country / Name
N.Ireland / Mat Crozier
Niall Moore
Thomas Crossley
Nicole Morgan
Patricia Lewsley-Mooney
Cyprus / Christina Hadjisavva
Leda Koursoumba
Anastasia Tsolaki
Alexandros Karamallis
Finland / Jouko Laaksonen
Markus Nieminen
Marjo-Reetta Kaul
Poland / Agnieszka Koziol
Michal Koba
Filip Lazarski
Marek Michalak
Republika Srpska / Stefan Marinkovic
Zlatoljub Misic
Blazenka Lukic
Greece / Dimitra Maria Tsakogia
Katerina Vasileiou
Matoula Papadimitriou
Belgium / Bernard De Vos
Stephan Durviaux
Malta / Suzanne Gili
Michelle Summat
Sarah Said
Lithuania / Jurga Kinderiene
Skaiste Dilginaite
Rugile Matuleviciute
Edita Ziobiene
Audrone Bedorf
ENOC Secretariat / Polina Atanasova

4.0 Thematic Working Groups:

The thematic working groups met over two days on the 29th and 31st of July. The first day was dedicated to listening to the summaries presented from the E-Forum discussions and to prepare ideas in relation to what topics could be presented to the Chair of the working Group on ENYA, Patricia Lewsley-Mooney.

The second day of the annual seminar was dedicated to each thematic working group preparing a presentation and then joining the groups together to present each presentation and common themes.

The following pages include a brief summary of the discussions of each thematic working group.

4.1 Children in Care

During the ENYA Seminar that took place on the 28-31 of August, 2012 in Warsaw one of the two issues discussed was Children in Care. This document is a summary of the discussions held over the two days and the final presentation to the Ombudspeople who were members of the Bureau.

Group Composition

Co-ordinators:Suzanne Gili (Chair) (Malta)

Jurga Kinderiene (Topic Summariser) (Lithuania)

Matoula Papadimitriou (Greece)

Zlatoljub Misic (Republika Srpska)

Niall Moore (Northern Ireland)

Young People:Blazenka Lukic (Republika Srpska)

Katerina Vasileiou (Greece)

Michelle Sammut (Malta)

Sarah Said (Malta)

Marjo-Reetta Kaul (Finland)

Nicole Morgan (N.Ireland)

Skaiste Dilginaite (Lithuania)

Rugile Matuleviciute (Lithuania)

Summary of Discussions

The discussions that took part in the group were made up of examining the conversations young people had in the E-forum and then a group discussion on young people’s recommendations and experiences of the care system. These discussions can be grouped into the following categories.

a)Trust and Social Environment

The forum discussion on this topic focussed on the characteristics of social workers. The young people discussed at length the need for social workers to be appropriately trained, have the ability to organise a range of initiatives to help the children and young people in their care and also to be approachable and open minded. The group discussed these findings at length alongside the difficulties associated with trusting adults who you find you cannot relate to. The group had mixed experiences of social workers they had worked with and whilst some highlighted very good practice by some social workers, others highlighted the need for stability with one young person stating that social workers ‘…change all the time’.

The group agreed on the following recommendations under this topic:

Recommendations:

1. Thorough training needs to be provided for social workers on how to listen and to work with children.

1. Government systems should reward social workers for continuing with a set of clients as opposed to only providing financial gain if they move to more managerial positions.

b)Personal, Social Life and Leisure

Closely linked to the topic above was around the amount of personal, social and leisure time that young people, who lived in care, had. The E-forum provided a lot of information in relation to this topic, with participants comparing activities that young people in care take part in against those that young people living outside of the care system participate in. The experiences articulated on the forum varied as shown by these two quotes:

‘… As far as my experience goes, on the issue of leisure time the institution is like family!’

‘…From my point of view leisure time in institutions is like being in a school without classes’.

The group who met in Poland discussed the opportunities presented to children living in care at length and came up with the following recommendations:

Recommendations

1. Each child has an individual plan that is decided by children together with the social worker and the Manager(administrator) of their institution that includes;

-Structured time.

-Freedom to choose hobbies and things to do.

1. There needs to be smaller numbers of children living together, to allow for more time to be spent with each child and privacy.

c)General Access to Family, Friends and Information

Alongside the previous topics, access to information, family friends and pets was an issue that generated a lot of discussion. The group present in Warsaw divided this complex topic into 3 distinct areas, resulting in a recommendation for change in each area.

FAMILY

In terms of maintaining relationships with family members and parents participants on the E-Forum highlighted that this decision must be decided on according to a number of factors:

• Are parents safe to be around the child (as decided by a competent authority)
• That visits are supervised from the beginning
• That parents have demonstrated that they have overcome problems which has led to the child being taken into care

The discussions held in Warsaw reflected a more measured approach resulting striking a balance between children’s best interests and parental rights.

Recommendation

1. The decision to see family should be based on a balance between what the child wants and what social workers see as in the child’s best interests.

FRIENDS

On the E-Forum access to friends was seen as more permitable for older children who lived in care. Some young people who took part in the forum cited examples of going on walks and parties and letting their friends come to visit. This experience was echoed by the participants who took part in the discussion in Poland and resulted in a recommendation that there should be a duty on social workers to ensure a child’s right to continue friendships, unless it is not in the child’s best interests.

Recommendation

1. There should be a legal requirement that the social worker/foster carer must ensure the child’s right to continue friendships.

INFORMATION

In Warsaw access to information such as the internet, mobile phones and support services varied across countries. There was however a general consensus that information should be accessible to children and young people who live in care to allow them to connect with their social environment, particularly if they are isolated, or where they live is inaccessible. Amongst services discussed were health and education services but also more practical skills such as driving lessons.

Recommendation

1. Children in care should have access to information unless it could harm them.

d)The Care System and Crime

Closely linked to the discussions of the juvenile justice group, there were a number of questions on the E-Forum which attempted to explore the link between children in care and crime. It was felt by the participants in the E-Forum and those in Warsaw that children who live in care are not necessarily more likely to break the law than those who live outside. As noted by a participant in the E-forum children in care maybe more susceptible to bad external influences due to the instability in their lives. In Warsaw a number of initiatives to combat this susceptibility included, shared experiences of young people who got involved in crime through interactive lessons, using alternatives as opposed to harsh punishments and to try and develop better positive bonds with social workers and those around you.

Recommendations

1. Reduce the punishments (use the alternatives).
2. Form a strong personality and sense of belonging.
3. Inform about the consequences.

-Interactive lessons.

-Shared experiences.

e)Aftercare

Moving on having lived in care was identified as a worrying time for young people, both in the E-Forum and in Warsaw. In general both groups felt that it was important that childrenare prepared, both practically and emotionally to transition out of the care system and go on to lead independent lives. There was a lot of debate in the group of when and how this could happen; with practices from across various countries being shared in general the following recommendations were made:

Recommendations

1. Planning for leaving care should be done as far in advance as possible. The training and preparation for this should include:

-Semi-independent living. To practice what it would be like to live on your own and identify any problems you have.

-Developing through education tools to help young people learn how to make good independent decision with regards a range of issues including finance.

1. Alongside this plan education should be provided to support each child in any areas they are finding difficult.
2. There should be the opportunity to do paid work whilst still living in an institution in order to earn money and learn how to manage it.

f)General Recommendations

Across all of these categories several key themes began to emerge from the discussions.

• Child’s voice to be heard- Throughout all of the categories the need to hear from children directly about their experiences and need was seen as crucial.
• Social workers were seen as vital to the experiences of young people in care. However there is a need to provide more training to ensure social workers stay motivated to continue providing stability to children and young people they work with.
• Throughout the discussions held in Warsaw, participants continually made reference to including children and young people with children who didn’t live in care. This was seen as a positive influence and one which should be encouraged in services such as education. This also includes sharing and learning from experiences of children living in care, so young people don’t feel alone.
• The need for plans for each child which were individual and tailored to each person’s need was seen as important in all aspects of living in care.
• The need for a support structure which reflects practical skills with emotional and physical wellbeing is essential.

4.2 Juvenile Justice

During the ENYA Seminar that took place on the 28-31 of August, 2012 in Warsaw one of the two issues discussed was Juvenile Justice. This document is a summary of the discussions held over the two days and the final presentation to the Ombudspeople who were members of the Bureau.

Group Composition

Co-ordinators:Mat Crozier (Chair) (Northern Ireland)

Christina Hadjisavva (Topic Summariser) (Cyprus)

Jouko Laaksonen (Finland)

Agnieszka Koziol (Poland)

Young people:Anastasia Tsolaki (Cyprus)

Alexandros Karamallis (Cyprus)

Stefan Marinkovic (Republika Srpska)

Dimitra Maria Tsakogia (Greece)

Markus Nieminen (Finland)

Thomas Crossley (N. Ireland)

Michał Koba (Poland)

Filip Lazarski (Poland)

Summary of Discussions

Although many themes were brought up during the discussion the participants were asked to choose up to five to bring to the attention of the Ombudspeople. Based on what young people consider being the most prominent causes of criminal behaviour in youth, the high value of early prevention and intervention measures and respecting child´s rights, the participants believe that the following five issues should be given serious consideration:

a)Play and Leisure

One of the causes of delinquent behaviour identified by young people is having a lot of unsupervised free time with nothing to do. Being bored and unsupervised puts youth in high risk of getting involved in antisocial activities which later can escalate to unlawful ones. The solution proposed is, establish and make easily accessible to youth a range of community based support measures such as development centres, recreational activities and facilities so that young people, and especially young people at risk, spend their time creatively and constructively.

b)Training of Professionals

It was a common observation amongst all the participants that many professionals that work with children are not specially trained to work with this specific age group. Participants concluded that especially within the justice system the professionals are neither knowledgeable on youth issues nor trained to work with young people. As a result many times the punishments given to young offenders are harmful to their wellbeing and are based only on the gravity of the crime without taking into consideration the personal circumstances of the young offender. The participants believe that harsh punishments that fail to take into consideration the personal circumstances of the youth can brutalize them and lessen their chances of reformation. What young people need is to receive continuous and constructive help and support to deal with the causes that lead them to delinquency in the first place.

The suggestion of the participants is that ALL professionals involved within the justice system are specialized on youth issues, youth psychology and children’s rights on an ongoing basis.

c)School as the best place for early prevention and intervention

School was identified as one of the most important places for early prevention and intervention since it is the second most influential place for children after their family. Forms of punishment used in schools like exclusion and suspension fail to address the underline causes of antisocial behaviour, help students change their behaviour or support them in dealing with personal, social or familial difficulties. On the contrary they deprive youth from the opportunity to complete their education, receive help and stay away from dangerous situations.

Participants identified the following good practices which can make schools effective places of early intervention:

1. All schools must have a clear policy on how to react to antisocial behaviour so that everyone knows what to do. Early and appropriate reaction to antisocial behaviour is an essential factor to preventing the problem from escalating. At least one member of the school personnel needs to be specifically trained on how to help students who behave antisocially.
2. Each school must establish good cooperation with the parents on an on-going basis in order to support them in setting boundaries and use appropriate methods to discipline their children. Special attention needs to be given to disadvantaged families. If needed, the parents can be referred to other appropriate professionals who should be available to parents in good time, without charge and on an ongoing basis.
3. If the antisocial behaviour is persistent then good cooperation and coordination amongst different services i.e. social services, school, health services is essential.
4. Since peer pressure was identified as an important factor that contributes to delinquent behaviour, participants proposed that more emphasis on character development, building interests and talents and respecting individuality should be placed within schools. Too much emphasis on academic achievement puts a lot of students at risk of experiencing failure, rejection and disappointment and therefore makes them more vulnerable to peer pressure. Finally the rewarding system in the schools must be based on improvement and not only on high achievement.
5. Combating school failure by offering additional support to children and young people with special educational needs or with limited support or access to resources.

d)Combating discrimination and marginalization of certain groups