Children’s rights are not optional – they are essential. Article 42 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child reminds us that everyone should know about these rights.
Today, on Children’s Day, REAIE honours children, as learners, and as citizens with rights, voices, and infinite potential. In a time where hope, compassion, and new ways of thinking are more important than ever, children remind us what is possible. Rooted in the spirit of the Reggio Emilia Approach, we see children as active participants in society – curious, capable, and full of ideas that matter. Their questions challenge us, their creativity inspires us, and their presence calls us to build a more just, joyful, and inclusive world.
“Children are the first great researchers. If we are capable of listening to them, children can give us back our pleasure in wonder, in marveling, in doubt. Children can convey the joy of search and research which belongs not only to children, but to women, to men, to humankind – it belongs to life.”
Carla Rinaldi – In Dialogue with Reggio Emilia: Listening, Researching and Learning, 2006.
When we listen to children, with all of our senses, we discover an opportunity to see the world with new perspective. Children model presence, wonder, honesty, delight, imagination and hope. They remind us to stay open to possibility, to approach the world with curiosity rather than judgment, and to connect with others with authenticity and care.
On this Children’s Day, we are reminded to slow down, pay attention, and continue to learn from the youngest among us. Today, we celebrate children; we stand with them; we listen to them; we learn from them and we commit to walking alongside them in rich and meaningful collaboration as we work together to co-construct a brighter future.
