Youth in Petrozavodsk Open Dialogue with Regional Government

Members of the Children‟s Legal Chamber in the Republic of Karelia are standing up for children‟s rights and effecting change in the region. Thanks to the efforts of its members, students and children in Karelia have a direct connection to the government officials responsible for their daily life. The Children‟s Legal Chamber, part of the USAID-funded Youth Development Competencies Program (YDCP) implemented by IREX, provides young people with a platform to educate their peers about their rights as well as meet with the government to ensure that those rights are protected.

During the third session of the chamber, held at the end of 2009, youth met with officials from the Karelian Legislative Assembly, the Ministry of Education, the Committee for Reforming the Housing and Public Utilities Sector, and the Ministry of Labor and Employment. The session yielded successful results and set the foundation for further formalized cooperation with the regional government.

A Direct Line with the Ministry of Education
Aleksandr Selyanin, the Karelian Minister of Education, met with members of the children‟s legal chamber and fully supported their proposal to create a “direct line” between the chamber and the ministry, allowing students in Karelia to submit questions on education and student issues directly to the Ministry of Education. Students simply enter their questions on the chamber‟s website and an answer is posted within a few days. “We understand that we have to answer the questions in a different way,” said Aleksandr Selyanin. “Typical „adult‟ answers are not always understandable for youth and often appear as a formal run around.”

Heating in Regional Schools
During the first few months of winter, a school in the Lakhdenpokhsk region of Karelia was not properly heated and students could not concentrate during class. Arina Medvedkova, a chamber member from the school, took her concern about the lack of heating to a meeting with the Committee on Reforming the Housing and Public Utilities Sector. Committee representatives were shocked to hear that the school was not properly heated and sent an inspector to the school the next day to fix the problem. Students now study in warm classrooms and Arina‟s classmates are very thankful for her work with the Children‟s Legal Chamber.

Curfew Extension
Because of the youth‟s open and frank discussions with governmental bodies during the Youth Chamber‟s Third Session, government officials decided to formalize cooperation with the chamber. On February 25, 2010, representatives of the chamber signed agreements on further cooperation with the Karelian Legislative Assembly, the Ministry of Education, the Committee for Reforming the Housing and Public Utilities Sector, and the Ministry of Labor and Employment. Because of the agreements, members of the chamber can now be even more active in the legislative and decision making processes.

When talking about the chamber's success in working with the government, Sergei Kuchin, Coordinator of the Children's Chamber, noted “I've never heard of a precedent where children approached the government and said 'We want to be involved in the decision making process,' and the government said 'Great! Work with us.'”