Nearly 40,000 children between ages of 9 and 18 in 72 countries across East Asia and the Pacific, Europe and the Central Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean were the subject of extensive interviews over the last two years, as UNICEF set out to systematically collect their thoughts and opinions on matters that affect them most. In one of the largest multi-country surveys of children�fs opinions ever carried out, UNICEF queried young people on such topics as school, violence in their lives and their expectations of government. The findings offer a uniquely valuable perspective on the state of the world�fs children through the eyes of the world�fs children.

The right to education
    About half the children in Europe and Central Asia and in Latin America and the Caribbean say they go to school in order to learn. Almost 60 percent in Latin America and the Caribbean spontaneously brought up the right to education when asked about their rights, and over 40 percent wanted laws to protect that right. In East Asia and the Pacific, UNICEF found that half of those polled spontaneously mentioned education as a child�fs right, and, not surprisingly, that school was the main topic of children�fs conversations with friends.
    When children in Europe and Central Asia were asked what they would tell their teachers if they could say what they thought, 20 percent said they would ask for better teacher-student relations. In Latin America and the Caribbean, a negative relationship with their teachers was linked with perceived authoritarian attitudes and the lack of space for children to express themselves

Seen, heard and loved
    Over half the children interviewed in Latin America and the Caribbean felt they are not heard, either at home or in school. In Europe and Central Asia, over 60 percent said their opinion is not sufficiently taken into account by their government. Only 30 percent felt they can trust their government. Close to 20 percent of the children thought that voting in elections is ineffective.
    When polled on what they would ask of social institutions such as the Church, their mayor, government and laws, Latin American and Caribbean children listed helping the poor and needy as one of their top two concerns. Almost half the children polled in CEE/SIS and Baltic States wanted their country to be place with a better economic situation and where everybody has a job. Children in all the polling regions asserted their right to be loved.

Violence in and outside of the home
    In Europe and Central Asia, 6 out of 10 children reported violent or aggressive behaviour at home and just over one quarter of those interviewed in Latin America and the Caribbean complained of a high level of a aggressive behaviour, including shouting and beatings, in their homes. In East Asia and the Pacific, 23 percent said they are beaten by parents at home, and in some places like Cambodia (44%), East Timor(53%) and Myanmar (40%), the rates are even higher.
    Nearly one in five of the children interviewed in Europe and Central Asia felt their neighbourhood was unsafe to walk around in. In the Latin America and Caribbean region, the feeling of insecurity was even higher at 43 percent; about 15 percent of the children interviewed have themselves been victims of robbery.

Social justice and peace
    Over half the interviewees in Europe and Central Asia believed that children from poor families are discriminated against, and 46 percent thought that disabled children are treated unfairly. In Western and Central Europe, over 40 percent felt that children of different ethnic groups are treated unfairly in their country. In Latin America and the Caribbean, about 12 percent of the children polled listed the right not be discriminated against as one of the laws they would make to help children and adolescents.
    In the Latin America and Caribbean region, one out of five children wished for a country at peace, with an even higher figure of 50 percent in the Andean countries. And in Europe and Central Asia, about 40 percent of the children polled by UNICEF said their desires for a country where there would be peace eclipsed their desire for full employment and a better economic situation.