Children's parliament holds second session
The Moroccan Child's Parliament held its 2nd Session in the Atlas mountainous resort of Ifrane this September 11-12 under the topic of the generalization of schooling and struggle against illiteracy and children's labor.
The young parliamentarians pleaded for the improvement of the educational system and of environment at schools, especially canteens and boarding schools, the improvement of syllabi, and called for better libraries at schools.
The session decided to set up six committees dealing with health, environment, education, disabled children, ill-treated children, and children and communication. The committees, wherein two representatives of each of the 16 Moroccan regions will be sitting, will work in close cooperation with the national observatory of children's rights.
Princess Lalla Meriem, eldest sister of King Mohammed VI, sent to the session a message wherein she underlined the keen interest the late King Hassan II had always granted to the issues of children. She renewed determination to make of the child's parliament a model institution for the culture of democracy and patriotism and for solidarity among generations and to consolidate its mission as a forum to address the issues of concern to children and parents.
Some 357 children from various Moroccan regions are sitting in the parliament composed of pupils representing the same constituencies as those represented in the adults parliament. 6% of the parliament members are handicapped children, 4% deaf-mute children. Four children represent pupils attending foreign schools in Morocco and 6 members represent students of vocational training centers and children of the Moroccan community living abroad.
Selection of the students was made according to their school records. Girls were allocated 55% of seats in view of their excellent school results.
The child's parliament, a unique experience in the Arab world, is a forum of meetings and exchanges and an opportunity for children to express their opinion and propose solutions.