It's Your Right: Emma (11) on Children's Rights

Emma, aged 11 from Educate Together National School in Navan, Co Meath, talks to us about child labour, and how children around the world lack equality. Emma also explains the importance of expressing yourself, and how she uses dance to express herself. Below is the text transcript of what Emma had to say.

(Background Music) Emma: I’m Emma, I’m 11 and I go to Navan Educate Together.

Question: What right do you think is the most important for children?

Emma: For children to be free from child labour. Because, like, some kids would be, like, forced to work in factories and, like, they wouldn’t get a good education.

Question: And how would you feel if you didn’t have that right?

Emma: Well, like, I would feel kind of, like, upset because like I know that everybody gets a good education and then like I’d be like working like in a factory or something and then like I’d find it unfair.

Question: What about the right to express yourself, how do you express yourself?

Emma: Sometimes, if I’m ever, like, happy or something, I’d, like, do like a really funny dance and, like, everybody would, like, laugh at me and then I’d just, like, that’s how I’d express myself, like, by doing funny dances. Like that’s how I’d express myself.

Question: What if you weren’t allowed do the funny dances.

Emma: If you weren’t able to, like, do whatever, like, anything funny or something you’re not really able to really express yourself then because, like, if you don’t express yourself, like, people won’t get to know, like, who you are and things like that. (Background Music)