As the conveners of Children’s Week in Western Australia, it was our privilege to launch this year’s celebrations alongside special guests and partners at Brookbank Park in Bullsbrook.
Jacqueline McGowan-Jones, the Commissioner for Children and Young People WA, and Mrs Michelle Maynard MLA, Member for Swan Hills, opened the celebrations while the City of Swan and Kingsford at Bullsbrook continued their strong support of Meerilinga’s presence in Bullsbrook by working alongside us in the running of this event.
Thank you also to support from the Department of Communities, the Department of Education and Lotterywest who have helped to make a number of events across Western Australia possible, including our Bullsbrook event. Children’s Week is designed to elevate the rights of children in our communities and the presence of these partners reaffirms their commitment to this shared goal.
This is especially important in 2025, with this years theme based on article 42 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), “Everyone should know about children’s rights.” The embrace of this theme was found throughout the stalls at Brookbank Park, whether it was our own Early Learning setup which featured signs written and illustrated by Meerilinga children exploring different rights of children or the local Toy Library’s collaborative painting on each of the UNCRC articles.
The right of children to discover was reflected in our most successful implementation of a ‘passport’ game yet, with families collecting stamps at different stalls as they explored community services and activities. At the City of Swan Libraries tent, children were even encouraged to make their own stamps and embrace their own unique works. The right of children to a good education was prominent with the Department of Education meeting with local families at their stall while other stalls embraced embraced the right of children to play with Cahoots and BusyBullz hosting fun activities throughout the day. Other groups such as the Department of Fire and Emergency Services, St Johns Ambulance and Smiling Starts encouraged children to consider their right to health and safety, while the Bullsbrook Volunteer Fire and Emergency Cadets prompted children to get involved in helping others.
After a successful launch, we can’t wait to see what other community groups throughout the state have been doing at their events, with the support of Meerilinga and our partners! Discover more of these events here: childrensweekwa.org.au/events/
