The Children's Parliament: Access to Justice - International Day for Street Children 2026

International Day for Street Children 2026 - Access to Justice

The Children’s Parliament poster shows a busy, colorful scene filled with children from different backgrounds, all living different realities. Five characters are highlighted with color-coded circles, each corresponding to one of the five pillars of access to justice. On the right side of the poster, the five colored icons represent the five pillars of access to justice: Equality; Voice; Support; Safety; Knowledge.   

Each pillar aligns the child-friendly version of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child with the Consortium of Street Children’s 4 Steps to Equality framework, keeping Access to Justice as the core focus throughout.  

By using the interactive search-and- discuss methodology of the StreetSmart materials, this activity turns legal theory into action, encouraging vulnerable children to identify rights-based situations within The Children’s Parliament poster, starting a reflection process that builds self-esteem and empowers them to claim their rights and access justice.  

This activity is part of the International Day for Street Children 2026 campaign “Protect, not Punish”, organized by the Consortium for Street Children.

Equality

• Step 1 of the CSC framework – Commit to Equality: Recognize street-connected children have the same rights as everyone else and reflect that in the law.  
• The linked rights of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child are the following:  Art. 2 – No discrimination; Art. 3 – Best interests of the child; Art. 6 – Life survival and development.

Voice

• Focused on the principle that justice begins with listening to children.  
• The linked rights of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child are the following: Art. 12 – Respect for children’s views; Art. 13 – Sharing thoughts freely; Art. 14 – Freedom of thought and religion.

Safety 

• Step 2 (Protect every child) of the CSC framework.  
• The linked rights of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child are the following: Art. 19 – Protection from violence; Art. 32 – Protection from harmful work; Art. 34 – Protection from sexual abuse.  

Support

• Step 3 (Provide access to services) and Step 4 (Create specialized solutions) of the CSC framework.  
• The linked rights of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child are the following: Art. 20 – Children without families; Art. 22 – Refugee children; Art. 26 – Social and economic help; Art. 39 – Recovery and reintegration.

Knowledge

• To access justice, children must be aware of their rights.  
• The linked rights of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child are the following: Art. 17 – Access to information; Art. 28 – Access to education; Art. 42 – Everyone must know children’s rights.

The Characters' Stories

Equality - Maryam

Maryam arrives at school every morning full of energy - and every morning, she stops at the bottom of the stairs. Her wheelchair can't go up, and the ramp was never built. While her classmates walk straight in, she has to wait outside until someone notices. Same school, same lessons, same dreams - but a different door. Maryam deservers to get into school like everyone else. That's not a favour, that's equality. 

Voice - Viktor

Viktor doesn't carry a sign, he carries a megaphone. At rallies, in school hallways, on street corners, he performs slam poetry about climate change, war, and the world he wants to live in. Some adults tell him he's too young to have opinions, but Viktor disagrees - loudly. His words travel further than he expected and his voice is getting heard. 

Support - Ibrahim

Two years ago, Ibrahim fled a warzone and crossed forests, mountains and a dark sea - alone. But somewhere along the way, he stopped being alone. He met Amir, Ivan and Daniel. Now they share a small apartment, cook together and look out for each other. A social worker checks weekly, his teacher knows his name, and he's planning for university. Ibrahim found a community, and with their support he's building his future. 

Safety - Julio

Julio was walking home from a football practice, when a police officer stopped him - for no clear reason. He wasn't doing anything wrong, he was just a kid in his neighborhood. Standing there, in front of the police officer, Julio felt unsafe. That feeling stayed with him the whole walk home, even though he did nothing wrong and deserved to be treated with kindness. 

Knowledge - Priya

Priya wakes up at 6:30 every morning to sweep, clean, and head to her uncle's bakery. She loves it there, but she also carries a quiet secret but what she really wants is to go to school. She was never allowed to. Every evening, she waits for her brother to come home and open his school books. Page by page, she is learning to read, to write, to understand the world - and to understand that she has rights too. The right to go to school, to choose her own future. Priya wants knowledge, and the freedom that comes with it. 

Reflection Questions

You can use these reflection questions to deepen the discussion after reading each character's story. Choose the most relevant to your group:

Equality - Maryam

• Is Maryam being treated fairly compared to her classmates? Why or why not?  
• Have you ever felt treated differently from others? How did it feel?  
• What does equality mean to you in your everyday life? 

Voice - Viktor

• Have you ever wanted to speak up about something but felt you couldn’t? What stopped you? 
• Who do you think should listen more to children’s opinions? 
• If you had a megaphone right now, what would you say? 

Support - Ibrahim

• Who do you turn to when you need help? Is it easy or hard to ask? 
• What kind of support do you think all children should have access to? 
• What does it mean to be part of a community?

Safety - Julio

• Why do you think Julio felt unsafe, even though he had done nothing wrong? 
• Where do you feel the safest and why? 
• Who is responsible for making sure children feel safe? 

Knowledge - Priya

• What is one thing you learned today that you want to share with someone else? 
• Who do you think is responsible for making sure all children know their rights?  
• Why do you think it’s important for everyone to know children’s rights?

Correct Answers to the Reflection Activity

On step three of The Children’s Parliament: Access to Justice activity, after having revealed and discussed the story of characters linked to each right/pillar, you can ask players to find at least one situation on the poster where that same right is respected or violated. In the game Materials you can find "The Children's Parliament: Access to Justice - Reflection Activity Solutions" poster, with circled correct answers. To build your discussion, you can use the tips below:

Equality

In this corner of the Parliament, children from all over the world have pulled up a chair, they don’t speak the same languages but that doesn’t stop them from sharing what they have to say and being listened to. This scene shows equality in action, children from different backgrounds are participating on equal terms. After having identified this scene, you can ask players:  

• Is everyone being treated the same way here? 
• Can you think of a situation where someone might be left out of a conversation because of where they come from?  

Voice

This child has something to say but the older person next to them isn’t listening, and is holding up a hand telling him not to speak. This scene shows a child’s right to share their thoughts or opinions being violated. After having identified this scene, you can ask players:  

• How do you think this child feels? 
• Has anyone ever made you feel like your opinion didn’t matter? 
• What could the adult in this scene do differently? 

Support

This child is sitting at the table with her family, there’s food, familiar faces, and on the wall behind her a flag from home. She has found her people and sense of belonging again. In this scene, we can see support through family and community.  After having identified this scene, you can ask players:  

• What does it mean to feel at home somewhere? 
• Who or what makes you feel supported? 
• What kind of support do you think children who are far from home need most? 

Safety

Two children are holding up the papers they’ve just received, showing each other official documents that mean they are recognized, protected and safe. This scene shows safety being restored through legal recognition and documentation. After having identified this scene, you can ask players:  

• Why do you think having an official document makes these children feel safer? 
• Who is responsible for making sure every child is protected? 

Knowledge

This child is in a hospital bed, but he has his laptop with him trying to make the most out of the time he has to spend there to continue learning and keep up his curiosity. This scene shows a child exercising his right to knowledge and education even in difficult circumstances.  

After having identified this scene, you can ask players:  

• Why do you think this child keeps studying even while in hospital? 
• What other situations might make it hard for a child to go to school or keep learning? 
• Who is responsible for making sure every child can keep learning, no matter what? 

Energizers & Icebreakers

If a specific pillar is of particular interest to your group, you can use one of the Energizers & Icebreaker activities linked below:

Equality: "Switch if..."

Voice: "1-minute spotlight!"

Support: "Human Bridge"

Safety: "Safe or Unsafe?"

Knowledge: "Teach me fast!"

Game variations and additions

• Focus on a single pillar per session, use the energizer activity linked to that pillar as a warm-up, then explore the character’s story and use the related reflection activity and questions to deepen the conversation.  
• After completing the activity, ask players which pillar they think is the most important and why, reflect on the difference of opinions within the group.  
• As a wrap-up activity, you can ask children to write the most important word they think is related to the “Access to Justice” theme on a shared poster, to display their collective voice.  

If you're playing with older groups

• Invite them to find a real-life example of each pillar being respected or violated in their community. 
• Ask players to engage in an "Advocacy Challenge", inspired by the Consortium for Street Children's "Protect not Punish" campaign. Divide players in small groups and let them create a message, slogan or short speech for the pillar they find the most relevant.

If you're playing with younger groups

• Instead of an open search-and-discuss reflection activity, give players more specific prompts regarding each pillar, for example "Can you point at someone who is being left out?".
• After explaining each pillar, ask players to repeat or rephrase in their own words to reinforce understanding using simpler terms.

Children explore five pillars of rights and justice, learn fairness, express their voice, value support, recognize safety, and understand the importance of knowing their rights.