The 32nd session of the Sejm of Children and Youth opened on Monday, with Sejm Speaker Włodzimierz Czarzasty telling participants that the parliament was theirs for the day.
Czarzasty said this year’s session was taking place under special circumstances because of acts of violence at several schools. He said he hoped the meeting would promote tolerance, encourage a sensible approach to online activity and draw attention to loneliness among young people.
Nowacka said participation in parliamentary life was a major responsibility and duty. She added that the experience could help participants become leaders in their local communities and hold positions of power in the future.
She highlighted challenges facing young people, including the war across Poland’s eastern border, risks associated with artificial intelligence, social media addiction and the increasingly widespread mental health crisis.
Nowacka said the Education Ministry had spent the past year engaging in dialogue with young people, analysing research and preparing a strategy to address challenges in education and the digital world, including how to stay safe, resilient and healthy online.
She said the strategy would be opened to public discussion in the coming weeks and encouraged participants to review the document and take part in consultations.
Referring to recent aggression at schools, Nowacka said schools could be places where young people feel truly happy and safe. She urged pupils to respect teachers, describing them as people who ensure their safety and guide them.
The Sejm of Children and Youth is an educational and civic participation project for pupils in grades six to eight of primary school. Its aim is to teach young people about parliamentarism and democracy.
The sessions have been held since 1994. The first focused on the threat war poses to a happy childhood, in response to the conflict in the former Yugoslavia. Topics in later sessions included ecology, sustainable development, globalisation, schools, student councils and child labour.
Poland was the first country in Europe to organise this type of educational initiative. Similar youth parliaments now meet in countries including Portugal, France, the United Kingdom, Finland and the Czech Republic.
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Source: PAP