Children have their say in choice of Child Commissioner

Auberge de Castille this evening opened its doors to schoolchildren, welcoming in some 280 kids representing public, private and Church schools who participated in the consultation period ahead of the appointment of the Commissioner for Children.

"The Commissioner should know how to think like a child, to be near the students and to put the children's interests before anything else," the students proposed.

The kids themselves, whose age varied between 9 and 14, also proposed for the new Commissioner to understand that their needs were not only restricted to the academic life but also in their social and private life and citizens.

Surrounded by children of all ages, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat told his young audience that the government could have easily chosen a Commissioner for its own liking without first seeing what the children wanted.

"You have now given us an identikit of the Commissioner you want and it's now our challenge to find the right person with the qualities you have pinpointed. I am happy to have shared this responsibility with you because you have proved to be the best ambassadors in voicing the needs of children," Muscat said.

On her part, Family Minister Marie Louise Coleiro Preca said this was a "historic occasion" as it was the first time that children were taking part in the democratic process.

"You were the protagonists in today's history and it is our commitment to continue listening to children," Coleiro Preca said.

The minister went on to present a gift to the Junior Euro Song Contest winner Gaia Cauchi who was invited to attend the activity.