In 2020, Queensland Child Protection Week runs from September 6-12, and to help grow the conversation about child protection there’s a special “Shine a light for children” lantern making project underway.
The creative DIY initiative was put together with the help of Hands on Art, which is in the Brisbane suburb of Paddington. It’s available to anyone or any group in Queensland.
Starter paper lantern packs of 30 are free for community groups, and the team at Hands on Art can share its expertise about running a Lantern Decorating Workshop.
The point of the exercise is to shine a light on child protection and to remind us that protecting children is everybody’s business.
Queensland Child Protection Week Chair Sara Evans works in the child wellbeing area of the early learning sector. She says that all children deserve the best possible start in life.
“By listening to children we can all make a difference. We need to trust and believe our children and by making decisions with children’s rights, safety and dignity at the heart, we can all play a role in keeping children safe.”
Channel Seven’s Kay McGrath was Chair of a committee that came up with the concept of Child Protection Week, back in the late eighties. It has warmed her heart to see it grow into a national event.
“Every child deserves to have a happy healthy childhood and grow up as a vital adult, and if we don’t protect them while they’re young, it’s much much harder to fix broken adults,” Kay says.
“Most parents want to grow healthy children and they’re loving caring parents, but not everybody has the necessary skills and I think particularly in these uncertain times that we’re going through, it’s more important than ever that we look out for one another.”
To find out the location of your closest lantern-making workshop, or to order a lantern pack, you’re best to visit the Child Protection Week website.
Queensland Child Protection Week
Shine a Light for Children
September 6-12
