UNICEF's young reporters will organize a dialogue tomorrow between the youth of Montenegro and the representatives of electoral lists participating in the parliamentary elections, which will be held on Sunday.
UNICEF announced that the invitation was sent to all political lists and 14 of them, out of 15, confirmed their participation in the event, and the majority named the list holders.
As they stated, during the dialogue, young people will ask political leaders questions about topics they consider relevant and urgent.
"Questions were collected by UNICEF's young reporters from their peers and their families across Montenegro through social networks and a field campaign," says the announcement.
The head of the UNICEF representative office in Montenegro, Juan Santander, said that, as a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, Montenegro undertook to enable every girl and every boy to exercise the right to participate in making all decisions that affect their lives.
"At this event, two days before the elections, UNICEF provides a platform for constructive dialogue on key issues of children's rights between representatives of all political parties and young people in Montenegro," Santander said.
He said that their goal is to support Montenegro by establishing a good practice example of youth political participation.
"Such engagement of young people is their right and is essential for the democratic development of any country," Santander said.
Young UNICEF reporter Vojin Perović said that through the political participation of young people at that event, they want to ensure that solutions to the problems of children and young people are discussed during the elections.
"That's why we invite all media editors to support us by making daily news about children's rights issues, and that means during the election campaign as well," said Perović.
His colleague, young UNICEF reporter, Hana Ljuca appealed to all citizens who can vote on Sunday.
"I invite all voters, especially young people, to take into account what each political list proposes to do in order to solve the key issues of children's rights in Montenegro when making a decision about who to vote for on Sunday," said Ljuca.
As stated by UNICEF, according to the latest census, children up to 18 make up almost a quarter of the population of Montenegro, and together with their families, they make up the majority of the population.
"Numerous analyzes and reports by UNICEF on children in Montenegro in recent years point to pressing problems related to child poverty, violence, education and health," the announcement says.
UNICEF stated that one in four citizens in Montenegro and one in three children are already living at risk of poverty.
As they said, children who live in rural areas and in the north are generally in a worse position than their peers who live in urban areas and in the south of Montenegro.
"Children who grow up in poverty face deprivation in all areas, especially in the areas of education, housing, health and nutrition," the announcement states.
UNICEF said that education is essential to get out of the vicious circle of poverty.
They said that poor children attend preschool education, primary and secondary schools in much smaller numbers than their peers.
UNICEF stated that two-thirds of Montenegrin children aged one to 14 years experienced some form of physical punishment and/or psychological aggression by an adult member of the household in the last month.
As they said, two out of three children in Montenegro attend a primary school that does not have the appropriate infrastructure.
UNICEF stated that approximately seven thousand children are born in Montenegro every year.
"And despite recent efforts to change practices in some maternity hospitals, none of the maternity hospitals are fully baby- and mother-friendly, which is the recommended international standard in order to ensure quality care for all mothers and the best start in life for all babies," it added. announcement.
The event "Young people ask politicians" will be broadcast live on all social networks of UNICEF in Montenegro.
UNICEF invited all media to broadcast it live YouTube link of UNICEF Montenegro.
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