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Summary: To commemorate Universal Children's Day, Commissioner Hammarberg organised a ceremony in memory of Janusz Korczak, a Polish paediatrician, author and child pedagogue who died in 1942 together with 190 children in the extermination camp of Treblinka.
To commemorate Universal Children's Day, Commissioner Hammarberg organised a ceremony in memory of Janusz Korczak, a Polish paediatrician, author and child pedagogue who died in 1942 together with 190 children in the extermination camp of Treblinka. Read more about Universal Children's Day 2006
“Janusz Korczak’s life, work and solidarity with children are permanent lessons on how to practice the principles of the rights of the child. He taught us to listen to children and to allow them to contribute to society,” the Commissioner said.
At the beginning of the 20th century, Janusz Korczak was a pioneer in the field of children’s rights and development. Through books, radio programmes and national newspapers for children he developed fundamental principles of pedagogy such as the need to listen to children and to respect their right to participate in society. He implemented these theories through orphanages organised as “Children’s Republics”. During the worst hours of the Jewish ghetto in Warsaw, he continued to run an orphanage in which children were deciding the rules of life for themselves.
During the ceremony, the Permanent Representative of Poland to the Council of Europe, Mr. Piotr Świtalski, also gave a speech and presented a picture of remembrance to the Commissioner. Mr. Hammarberg announced that there would be a Janusz Korczak Lecture in the Council of Europe on 20 November 2007 in order to demonstrate the paramount importance of promoting the rights of children.