From 30th June to 3rd July, a high-level Chilean delegation comprised of the Secretary of the Childhood Rights Council, María Estela Ortiz Rojas, and two members of her team participated in a visit to meet with the OECD expert in Paris and learn about Italian policies on childhood.

Chile, with the second term of President Bachelet, has made a commitment to changing the paradigm for attention to childhood to universalise the guarantee of the rights of this third of the population which is so important for the development and future of the country.

To accomplish this, the Childhood Rights Council was established as advisory body of the Presidency of the Republic. Its members are representatives of the three branches of government—the executive, the legislative, and the judicial—and the so-called “fourth estate”, in other words civil society, to ensure the participation, organisation and coordination which are essential for an issue this fundamental.

The reforms the Council is promoting are related to the presentation of a draft law for guaranteeing rights, approval of a policy with a comprehensive focus on rights, and the creation of new institutions. The creation of a national observatory on childhood and adolescence is also planned, in addition to a Children's Ombudsman as an independent figure.

To strengthen this process, Chile, with the support of EUROsociAL, programme funded by European Union, is learning about the policies, experiences and good practices of various countries. Following a visit to Norway and the technical assistance of European experts, Chile turned its gaze to Italy. In Rome the delegation was able to participate in a session of the Bicameral Commission on Childhood and Adolescence in which the results of a survey on “Poverty and hardship among minors in Italy” were presented. The delegation was received by the President of the Italian Senate, the President of the Bicameral Commission, and the Minister of Labour and Social Policy of Italy. Next the delegation met with the Deputy Secretary for policies on childhood, senior officials of the Ministry of Labour and Social Policies, and the social policy advisor of the City of Rome, who is responsible for preparing the Social Master Plan for Rome. Thus it was possible to develop a very frank exchange regarding the policies and programmes that make up the Italian system for action on children's right, in accordance with the UN Convention, and how this has been affected by budget cuts due to the economic crisis.

In Florence, the delegation learned first-hand about “Istituto degli Innocenti” (http://www.istitutodeglinnocenti.it), which has been working to protect vulnerable boys and girls for nearly six centuries. With its national centre for documentation and analysis on childhood and adolescence, it has become an international leader in the production and management of knowledge in the area of childhood. The Institute, under the coordination of Italy's Ministry of Labour and Social Policies, supports the Italian national observatory on childhood and adolescence, pursuing activities related to information, monitoring, promotion, advising and technical assistance.

Establishing a legal and institutional framework that guarantees the rights of all children and adolescents living in Chile, and creating the conditions for their healthy psychological-physical development are powerful means of promoting social upward mobility, reducing inequality and guaranteeing sustainable development.

The activity is part of the social policies area coordinated by the IILA, and it was possible thanks to the management of the operational partner, CISP, and the support of ADECRI.