Our Europe, Our Rights, Our Future (summary)

While each child’s life is unique and children’s situations differ significantly, this report provides a coherent and insistent set of messages that speak to being a child in the 2020s. Many common themes emerge – discrimination and exclusion; lack of access to vital services; failures in the education system; high levels of violence; and continued failure to listen to, respect and consider children’s views – with the most marginalized children facing the gravest challenges. Perhaps of greatest concern is that a fifth of children in the EU are growing up unhappy and anxious for the future. The findings highlight powerfully that we are failing to create environments for optimum childhoods for far too many children.