International Children's Day : A conference-debate organized in Kinshasa Lukunga on the rights of young people

Yoy Bokete, director of the Kinshasa Lukunga Educational Province, led a panel discussion in the meeting room of the Gombe Institute on the theme: "Children's rights in the digital environment as a factor in improving the quality of education and combating negative values in schools." This theme was chosen for the celebration of International Children’s Day on Monday, November 20. The audience included not only students but also all division heads, the deputy provincial inspector of secondary education representing the chief provincial inspector of this educational province, the sub-provincial committee of the Gombe EPST, school principals, and teachers. International Children’s Day has been observed since 1954 to promote respect for children’s rights as enshrined in Articles 28 and 29 of the International Convention on the Rights of the Child. Moreover, nearly all countries that have signed the Convention on the Rights of the Child have made primary education compulsory. And more than 100 of them have provided at least nine years of compulsory and free education for the youngest children. The DRC, one of the signatories to this convention, has committed its government to respecting children’s rights, particularly with regard to their education. In fact, since 2019, the DRC has implemented a system of free public primary education to make education accessible to all children. Education is the fuel that a child’s mind needs to hope for a better future in such a complex world. Thanks to this program by the Congolese government, today more than 5 million children have returned to school. This figure represents a major success, according to President Félix Tshisekedi, who has promised to extend this constitutional measure to secondary education. Alain Kinanga and Marie France Pala