More Student Councils in Armenian schools will be created and strengthened after recent training on child rights for 150 11-year-old students from Talin during Summer Camps organised by World Vision in the country's north.

The Grassroots Action for Child Protection project aims to promote children's age-appropriate participation in decision-making by activating and building the capacity of Student Councils in schools.

Seven out of the 27 students who took part in similar training last year were selected to become trainers themselves. Equipped with knowledge, these students will train their counterparts to become initiators in establishing Student Councils at their schools.

'We will help other students to create Student Councils, raise questions, put forth our proposals and have our stand in making decisions at our schools. Our councils will consist of senior students who understand student concerns better due to their longer experience of school life', said one of the seven 'trainer' students, Ani Davtyan, 16, from Talin secondary school #2.

At the camp students learnt of their rights and how to be observant about exercising them.

'Through the Student Councils we will protect our rights and ourselves', said another student from the trainers' group, Svetlana Harutyunyan, 16, from secondary school #1 in Talin.

'For me, freedom of speech is the most important right. I have my opinion about many things at our school, for example the planning of curriculum or organising the leisure time. I want my teachers and the school management to take my opinion into account', continued Svetlana.

To make the learning process easier and more interesting, lessons were followed by games and discussions.

'I think all the rights are important – the right of free speech, health and education, free movement, leisure time, etc. Many students have no idea what a child right is. We will organise workshops to share our knowledge with those students who haven't participated in this training, not only in our town, but also in the nearby villages', said Narek Grigoryan, 13, from Talin secondary school #2.

The Grassroots Action for Child Protection project promotes children's age-appropriate participation at the school level to ensure a child-friendly, safe and happy educational environment for students.

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