Rights groups announce new project for children's mother tongue rights

The Children First Association, together with the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (TİHV/HRFT), announced a new project for children's rights, with the support of the European Union. 

"More Right to Tomorrow" is a comprehensive project comprising monitoring and reporting children's native language rights. Languages such as Zazaki in Turkey, which is on UNESCO's list of disappearing languages, mean that children's access to the language is decreasing.

The project also aims to monitor children's cultural rights. Children who cannot receive education in their native language and have difficulties using their native language also have problems learning and living in their own culture, says a press bulletin for the project.

In regions where Kurdish is their native language, children can't understand and live the tunes, stories, tales, legends, and plays in their language, it says.

"More Right to Tomorrow" will also provide multiple cultural and creative workshops and exhibitions with and for children, with each workshop focusing on fundamental rights themes. The project includes philosophy, acting, animation, photography, and cartoon workshops.

The Children First Association was founded in the southeastern city of Diyarbakır in 2017. The association studies children's psycho-social, cultural-artistic, linguistic, mental, and physical development. The Human Rights Foundation of Turkey was established in 1990 to treat torture survivors and document human rights violations. (WM/VK)