Minister announces annual ‘Children’s Day’

Tuesday 02 July 2019

The island will hold an annual day dedicated to children to mark the findings of the Care Inquiry, it has been announced - but it's not yet decided whether it will be a public holiday.

The Minister for Children and Housing Senator Sam Mézec this morning announced plans to instate an annual ‘Jersey Children’s Day’ on 3 July 2020 to mark the day the Care Inquiry published its findings two years ago.

The new ‘Children’s Day’ comes as part of the Government’s response to the findings and recommendations of the Independent Jersey Care Inquiry (IJCI) which published its report on 3 July 2017.  

When asked during today's States Assembly meeting, Senator Mézec could not confirm whether it would be a public bank holiday, but said that he was generally supportive of more bank holidays.

Pictured: The Minister announced the plans in the States today.

In 2018, an independent Citizens’ Panel was commissioned to develop recommendations for a memorial to honour those who were historically failed by the island’s care system. 

The Minister announced the plans in the States Assembly this morning, saying: “In 2018, survivors who were failed by Jersey’s child care system and randomly selected members of the public were invited to help develop recommendations for a memorial. The creation of a memorial was recommended by the Independent Jersey Care Inquiry as a way for Jersey to acknowledge the realities of the past and speak to the future aspirations of the island for its looked-after children. 

“I would like to publicly thank each of the members of the Citizens’ Panel for their hard work and commitment working alongside the Government of Jersey on the Legacy Project with such passion and personal insight and for their thought-provoking ideas, which include establishing an annual Jersey Children’s Day, which I fully support.”

Pictured: The day has been announced as part of the Government response to the IJCI findings.

The Minister also announced the opening of a competition to all children and young people of secondary school age under 19 years old to design a butterfly-related symbol or logo which represents the aims of Children’s Day.

A statement from the Citizens’ Panel said: “The Citizens’ Panel are proud to be working with the Government of Jersey on the Legacy Project and their priority to put children first. This competition will enable children and young people across the island to be involved in designing the emblem. The winning design will become the symbol which links all four elements of the Legacy Project.” 

The emblem designs should be related to a butterfly or butterflies and communicate ideas related to:  

• the importance of recognising every child and young person’s full potential;
• feeling safe and being able to express yourself;
• enjoying life to the full;
• learning to cope with change;
• feeling supported to try new things and succeed;
• a good sense of freedom.

Pictured: The Minister has invited young people to design a butterfly symbol to mark the day.

The winner will be awarded a £200 voucher and invited to work with a professional graphic designer to see their winning idea developed into the emblem for Jersey Children’s Day and the other elements of the legacy project recommended by the Citizens’ Panel. 

The competition runs until 31 July 2019 and the winning design is expected to be announced this autumn.