11^th April 2000

INSIGHT INTO CHILDREN’S RIGHTS IN ITALY

A university lecturer has returned from a teaching and research tour of Italy as part of a European programme to help teachers and students exchange knowledge and ideas.

David Crimmens from the University of Lincolnshire & Humberside spent a week visiting Italian cities as part of a research trip to find out more about the state of children’s rights in the country as a result of recent legal changes.

Two Italian students are currently studying in the Department of Applied Social Science and Social Work and under an exchange agreement made through the European Union’s Socrates programme Mr Crimmens was able to lecture at the University of Verona.

During his trip Mr Crimmens spent a week at the university working with Italian social work students on issues of European childcare, before visiting organisations in Florence, Turin and Bologna concerned with developing rights for children and young people.

“My interest in all these visits is about the development of children’s rights in Italy in response to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child which achieved its tenth anniversary in November,” said Mr Crimmens.

One visit took Mr Crimmens to the international headquarters of UNICEF, a former ‘foundling’ hospital built in the 19^th century, which also houses the National Documentation Centre on Children and Young People.

In Turin, an ‘Educational City’, he discussed their work to develop the city environment as a safer place for children and the projects which involve children and young people in educational and cultural activities.

Medical professionals and psychologists in Bologna provide a confidential problem-solving service for young people aged 14-20 years. Mr Crimmens visited this project which helps youngsters address a range of problems from contraception to healthy diets as well as mental health issues.

Ends

Sam Hendley

Press Officer

Marketing (Media Relations)

Tel: 01522 886042